MovieChat Forums > Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920) Discussion > Is this the first plot twist in the hist...

Is this the first plot twist in the history of film?

posted 8 years ago by SantiagoSauer
2 replies | jump to latest

Well I think this shows us that the common plot twist of "He was crazy all the time" is almost as old as film itself, but is this the first time that there is a narrative twist?

[–] OneGettingOlderAndBetter 8 years ago

The twist was suggested by Fritz Lang, and he refused to make it anyway.
So, no, insanity is into Caligari, not the storyteller...
The twist was intended to avoid censorship, but not a narrative element, imho

Manelle
"to tax and to please, no more to love and to be wise, is not given to men"

[–] DanMetsFan 8 years ago

Charlie Chaplin's Shoulder Arms (1918) has a bit of a twist at the end. It's nothing big, but I don't think The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was the first to use a twist (although it's possible the "he was crazy the whole time" technique could have been first used here...I really don't know).