The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: Character Analysis

at the start of the movie we see Dr. Caligari as a stout man with a top-hat, walking stick, and large black coat. this costumes instantly gives us the impression that he hold some sort of power, as he wears stereotypical magician attire.

by the second time we see him he is no longer using the stick as a walking stick but instead it is more of a prop/jewelry. as we see a close up on him holding the stick we see that he is actually wearing gloves. these gloves resemble magician gloves and adds to his character. in this close up, and nearly every single other one in the movie we can see that he has a grumpy or sinister face. this helps us to understand what kind of character he is. it makes us realize that he is actually a schemer and holds grudges.

to add to his scheming characteristics he is seen to wear a pair of glasses most of the time. the only time he pushes them up to his forehead is when he is addressing the crowd in the fair. this gives him a more sincere and kind appearance, thus making it easier to con them into going into his fair stall and helping him test out his abilities to control his somnambulist, Cesare.

throughout the movie there is a myriad times when he takes off his hat to people as a sign of respect. however this actually has a different meaning; i have noticed that whenever he takes off his hat to somebody something bad happens to them. the first time this happens is when he does this to the town clerk, after being called a fool. this will add to the characteristic that he holds grudges. the second time he takes off his hat is when he tells Alan to ask Cesare about a prophecy. we later find out that he, like the town clerk, was mysteriously murdered. the next person to fall pray to his signal is Francis. however Francis' 'judgment' comes at the very end of the movie. he is sent to the asylum and put in a straight-jacket. the fourth and final person that Dr. Caligari takes his hat off to is Jane Olsen. we see that Cesare goes to her room in a murder attempt, but fails as she wakes up from her sleep. then in failing to assassinate her he decides to abduct her.

i also noticed that Dr. Caligari only holds his stick when he is trying to con others. he does not hold it when he is with Cesare, at home, or in other private areas. this shows that the stick actualyl symbolises his 'magic' as a mountebank, with the ability to con.

the only time when a close up of him does not show his sinister face is towards the end of the movie when the officers realize that the Cesare in the box is actually a doll. this is a very effective use of mise en scene as we see the difference of his facial features and expression compared to the other times. thus helping us to se ehis anxiety.

during the flashbacks of Dr. Caligar's past self as the director of an asylum we see that he does not wear the top-hat, glove, cloak or hold onto the stick. this helps to show that those objects signify his change of personality into Dr. Caligari, the mountebank.