Wilton, a hunchback, who was always scorned and ridiculed by women, returns from Java a rich man after having discovered a diamond mine. He romances Gina, who is on the rebound from a broken affair, and showers her with expensive gifts. After Gina reconciles with her boyfriend, she continues to see Wilton because of what he gives her. After he discovers her perfidy, Wilton develops a poison and mixes it into her lipstick, which will kill any man who kisses her.
Direction
Murnau's early mastery of grotesque desire before Nosferatu.
Production
Java-shot exteriors for colonial authenticity, now lost to time.
Director
F. W. Murnau
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
No known prints survive; only production stills and a basic synopsis remain. Murnau himself considered it a minor work.
The poisoned lipstick device predates similar kills in films like The House of Fear (1945), suggesting Murnau invented a trope that outlived his own film.
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