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The Great King

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Wikipedia article




'The Great King' is a 1942 German drama film directed by Veit Harlan and starring Otto Gebhr. It depicts the life of Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786. It received the rare "Film of the Nation" distinction.Erwin Leiser, 'Nazi Cinema' p116 It was part of a popular cycle of "Prussian films".

The film is a depiction of the Fhrerprinzip. The analogy to Adolf Hitler was so clear that Hitler sent a print to Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Goebbels warned against the drawing of the comparison in print, in particular, because of the pessimistic mood that opens the film.Erwin Leiser, 'Nazi Cinema' p113-4 After a sergeant gives an unauthorised order, the king orders him simultaneously promoted and punished. His later decision to desert results in his death because no disobedience is justified. Goebbels declared that the parallels were not a matter of propaganda, but an obvious result of the parallels of history.Pierre Aycoberry 'The Nazi Question', p10 Pantheon Books New York 1981

Goebbels also regarded it as instructive that current sufferings would be a source of strength.Cinzia Romani, 'Tainted Goddesses: Female Film Stars of the Third Reich' p93 Goebbels had some difficulty with the Army High Command over this film because it depicted the king as being left in the lurch by his general. He complained that the army felt that any depiction, however historical, reflected badly on them.

Cast



* Otto Gebhr as Frederick II.

* Kristina Sderbaum as Luise Treskow

* Gustav Frhlich as Treskow

* Hans Nielsen as Niehoff

* Paul Wegener as General Czernitscheff

* Paul Henckels as Grenadier Spiller

* Elisabeth Flickenschildt as Spiller's Wife

* Kurt Meisel as Alfons

* Hilde Krber as Elisabeth Christine

* Claus Clausen as Prince Henry the Older

* Klaus Detlef Sierck as Prince Henry the Younger

* Herbert Hbner as Count Finkenstein

* Franz Schafheitlin as Commandant Bernburg

* Otto F. Henning as General von Finken

* Reginald Pasch as General Manteufel

* Otto Graf as General Seydlitz

* Heinrich Schroth as General Balthasar Rudolf von Schenckendorf

* Leopold von Ledebur as General von Retzow

Awards



* Director Veit Harlan won the Mussolini Cup for Best Foreign Film at the 1942 Venice Film Festival.

Citations



References



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