Which German playwright wrote the plays that inspired the 1929 film Pandora’s Box?

Frank Wedekind wrote the plays that inspired the 1929 film Pandora’s Box.

Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s film draws primarily on Wedekind’s two Lulu dramas, Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box. Together, those plays introduced Lulu, a complex figure whose relationships and social circumstances drive the story.

The film is a German silent drama and stars Louise Brooks as Lulu. Although it is commonly discussed as a single adaptation, it does not reproduce one play word for word; Pabst shaped material from both dramas into a cinematic narrative.

A frequent mix-up is confusing Wedekind with Pabst: Wedekind created the dramatic source material, while Pabst directed the film. The film’s title also causes confusion with the ancient Greek myth, but its plot specifically comes from Wedekind’s Lulu plays and the film’s expressionist-era setting.