The Black Tulip
Sándor Korda, 1920. A Dutch tulip connoisseur in the court of the Turkish sultan.
Premiere: 13 March 1920 (Uránia)
Genre: feature film, drama, silent film
Director: Sándor Korda
Status
Original length: 4 acts, 1774 m, length of the Austrian distribution copy: 1880 m
Lost film.
Plot
A Dutch doctor is living in Turkey where he dedicates himself to botanical studies. He gets mixed up in a treasonous plot and is sent to prison, but the flower-loving sultan grants him clemency when he learns that the doctor succeeded in cultivating a black tulip. On his release the doctor marries the prison guard’s daughter he fell in love with while under lock and key.
What makes it interesting?
The film by Sándor Korda is about both East and West. We see Mihály Várkonyi in the role of the tulip breeding Dutch doctor whose talent is spotted by the Turkish sultan. This adventure story set in an exotic environment was successfully distributed abroad.
Cast & Crew
Production Companies: Corvin Filmgyár és Filmkereskedelmi Rt.
Writer: Alexandre Dumas
Screenwriter: László Vajda
Cast: Mihály Várkonyi, Margit Makay, Gyula Szöreghy, József Kürthy, Mari K. Demjén