''The Miracle'' () is a 1911 wordless play written by

Karl Vollmöller Karl Gustav Vollmöller (or Vollmoeller; 7 May 1878 – 18 October 1948) was a German philologist, archaeologist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and aircraft designer. He is most famous for the elaborate religious spectacle-pantomime '' The Mir ...

, from which three movie versions were adapted. The play launched the career of the author's wife Maria Carmi, who went on to star in 25 silent films.

Plot

Vollmöller's play wordlessly tells the story of a wayward nun who deserts her convent with a knight, influenced by the music of an evil minstrel. A statue of the Virgin Mary comes to life and takes the physical place of the nun (as a type of

Doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...

in), who makes her way through the world and its many vicissitudes. She is eventually accused of witchcraft, but escapes. Finally, the nun returns to the convent with her dying infant, and is forgiven as the statue of the Madonna resumes its place.

History

Charles B. Cochran, writing about Max Reinhardt in his autobiography, ''Showman Looks On'': "Our first close association was with the creation of ''The Miracle'', which arose from a suggestion made to him by me in the café at Budapest that he should produce for me a mystery play of the Middle Ages.... At the café table Reinhardt gave me a letter of introduction to Karl Vollmoller who, on my suggestion, prepared a scenario. It was accepted, and I worked in close collaboration with Max Reinhardt, Ernst Stern and Engelbert Humperdinck, until it was produced at Olympia in 1911." The play first appeared as a vast spectacle-

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

directed by

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...

at the London Olympia on 21 December 1911, with principal actors, cast and musical performers numbering around 1,700. The music was specially composed by Engelbert Humperdinck, who suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

while conducting one of the performances at the indoor arena. Thereafter the production toured continental Europe, ending in Berlin at the on 13 May 1914. The play was revived on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 1924 after a tour of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. The

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

version, which opened January 16, 1924 at the Century Theatre was produced by

Morris Gest Morris Gest (also Maurice Guest, March 15, 1875 – May 16, 1942) was an American theatrical producer of the early 20th century. Early life Moishe Gershnowitz was born near Vilna (then part of the Russian empire, now Lithuania), Edna Nahshon, "Go ...

, and starred

Rosamond Pinchot Rosamond Pinchot (October 26, 1904 – January 24, 1938) was an American socialite, stage and film actress. Early life and career Born in New York City, Pinchot was the daughter of Amos Pinchot, a wealthy lawyer and a key figure in the Progres ...

as the Nun and

Lady Diana Cooper Diana Cooper, Viscountess Norwich (née Lady Diana Olivia Winifred Maud Manners; 29 August 1892 – 16 June 1986) was an English silent film actress and aristocrat who was a well-known social figure in London and Paris. As a young woman, she ...

and Maria Carmi alternating nightly in the role of the Madonna.

Spanish versions

The play has its origins in a 12th-century legend which

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

writer

José Zorrilla y Moral José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

turned into a dramatic poem entitled ''Margarita La Tornera'' (Margarita the Gatekeeper). The poem differs from ''The Miracle'' in resetting the story in 19th-century Spain, as the 1959 film would do, and in not letting the reader know that the statue has taken the nun's place in the convent until nearly the very end. Zorrilla's poem was made 1909 into an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

('' Margarita la tornera'') by Spanish

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

composer

Ruperto Chapí Ruperto Chapí y Lorente (27 March 1851 – 25 March 1909) was a Spanish composer, and co-founder of the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers. Biography Chapí was born at Villena, the son of a loc ...

. It was his last work before his death. The poem was also loosely adapted into a Spanish film, ''Milagro de amor'', directed by

Francisco Múgica Francisco Múgica (10 April 1907 – 1985) was an Argentine film director, film editor and cinematographer notable for his work during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema. He was born and died in Buenos Aire ...

in 1946.

Film versions

The play was adapted into film three times. The original authorized version was a British financed, full-length, hand-colored, black-and-white film '' The Miracle'', filmed in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 1912. In the same year an unauthorized German version was filmed, titled '' Das Mirakel''. In 1959 the play was adapted to film a third time, by

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, again titled '' The Miracle'', directed by

Irving Rapper Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American film director. Biography Born to a British Jews, Jewish family in London, Rapper emigrated to the United States and became an actor and a stage director on Broadwa ...

References

;Notes ;Citations

Bibliography

External links

''The Miracle'' (1924 Broadway revival) at Internet Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miracle, The 1911 plays Plays about nuns German plays adapted into films Cultural depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus Doppelgängers