Which 1927 silent film features the robot Maschinenmensch?

Metropolis is the 1927 silent film that features the robot Maschinenmensch. Directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou, this German expressionist science-fiction film portrays a futuristic city split between wealthy planners above ground and workers laboring below it.

In the story, inventor Rotwang creates the Maschinenmensch, or “machine-human,” and uses it to impersonate Maria, a leader admired by the workers. The robot’s metallic humanoid design became one of cinema’s defining images of artificial life and technological anxiety. Brigitte Helm played both the human Maria and her mechanical double.

The film is sometimes described as featuring “the robot Maria,” but Maria is the human character being imitated; Maschinenmensch is the robot’s descriptive name. The robot itself is not consistently given a personal name in the film. Metropolis premiered in Berlin in January 1927 and is widely regarded as a foundational science-fiction movie, especially for its influence on later robots and androids in film.