A man named Francis relates a story about his best friend Alan and his fiancée Jane. Alan takes him to a fair where they meet Dr. Caligari, who exhibits a somnambulist, Cesare, that can predict the future. When Alan asks how long he has to live, Cesare says he has until dawn. The prophecy comes to pass, as Alan is murdered, and Cesare is a prime suspect. Cesare creeps into Jane's bedroom and abducts her, running from the townspeople and finally dying of exhaustion. Meanwhile, the police discover a dummy in Cesare's cabinet, while Caligari flees. Francis tracks Caligari to a mental asylum. He is the director! Or is he?

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the most highly acclaimed of German Expressionistic films. Through it's sets, make-up and costume it effectively portrays an enigmatic expression of madness and confusion. The pretence of Dr. Caligari and the farst that his show with Cesare is all add to the confusion and horror that the director strove for. The effect of it is to create a world in which the bizarre characters and unsettling backdrops. It's mask is its costume and makeup and it disguises the scene and characters in an expressionistic world that is an extrapolation of the real world. It serves to create an entirely unique experience based on the emotive qualities of the production.

German Expressionistic film is part of the wider Expressionistic movement that sought to express inner emotions on the public stage. This movement included writing, painting, film and architecture. German Expressionistic film specifically however in the 1920's created a unique artistic style of expressionism in film that focused on symbolism, sets and single camera angles to create the type of expression apparent in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

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