page_title: F. W. Murnau
section_title: Death
hierarchical_section_title: F. W. Murnau / Death
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Berliner Gedenktafel, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Douglasstraße 22, Berlin-Grunewald, Deutschland English: Berlin memorial plaque, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Douglasstraße 22, Berlin-Grunewald, Germany Koordinate:52°29′6″N 13°15′38″E&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;52.485°N 13.26056°E
context_page_description: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was a German film director. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at the age of 12, and became a friend of director Max Reinhardt. During World War I he served in the Imperial German Army, initially as an infantry company commander on the Eastern Front. Murnau later transferred to the German Army's Flying Corps, as an observer/gunner, and survived several crashes without any severe injuries.
  One of Murnau's acclaimed works is the film Nosferatu, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Although not a commercial success, owing to copyright issues with Stoker's estate, the film is considered a masterpiece of German Expressionist cinema. He later directed the film The Last Laugh, as well as a 1926 interpretation of Goethe's Faust. He emigrated to Hollywood in 1926, where he joined the Fox Studio and made three films: Sunrise, 4 Devils and City Girl. Sunrise has been regarded by critics and film directors as among the best films ever made.
  Murnau travelled to Bora Bora to make the film Tabu with documentary film pioneer Robert J.
context_section_description: A week prior to the opening of the film Tabu, Murnau drove up the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles, California in a hired Rolls-Royce. The young driver, a 14-year-old Filipino servant, crashed the car against an electric pole. Murnau suffered a head injury and died in a hospital the next day, in nearby Santa Barbara, before the premiere of his last film.
  Murnau was entombed in Southwest Cemetery in Stahnsdorf (Südwest-Kirchhof Stahnsdorf), near Berlin. Only 11 people attended the funeral. Among them were Robert J. Flaherty, Emil Jannings, Greta Garbo and Fritz Lang, who delivered the eulogy. Garbo also commissioned a death mask of Murnau, which she kept on her desk during her years in Hollywood.
  In July 2015, Murnau's grave was broken into, the remains disturbed and the skull removed by persons unknown. Wax residue was reportedly found at the site, leading some to speculate that candles had been lit, perhaps with an occult or ceremonial significance. As this disturbance was not an isolated incident, the cemetery managers are considering sealing the grave.
caption: Murnau's memorial plaque in Berlin
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