Filmmuseum Berlin The Exhibition Text Eva Wesemann
FILM MUSEUM BERLIN THE EXHIBITION
\nicolail
Imprint © 2000 by Pilmmuseum Berlin- Deutsche Kinemachek
and Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhaodlung, Beuermann GmbH, Berlin
Coordinating editors Rolf Aurich Wolfgang Jacobsen Antonia :Meiners Annette Vogler Editor of cranslations Catherine Kerkhoff-Saxon Translatious Andrew Bareham Nicole Gentz Catherine Kerkhoff-Saxon John Lambert Jane Paulick Photos of exhibits Michael Liider, Potsdam
Design and layout Volker Noth Grafik-Design I Ehret Cover photographs Marlene Dietrich ("Naughty Lola Lola card"): :Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin, courtesy of 1-faria and Peter Riva as well as Frieder Roth, Munich "Oscar": © Academy of Motion Pic cure Arts, Los Angeles, USA Praoka Potence in LOLA RENNT: © Tom Tykwer, X Pilme, Berlin "Maschinenmaria": © Bertina Schulze-Mittendorf, Hamburg Copyrigh"t for all other cover photographs: Pilrumuseum Berlin -Deutsche
fhek
Kinema
Typeset and lithography Mega-Sarz-Service, Berlin Peine Heenemann GmbH, Berlin Binding Liidericz & Bauer GmbH, Berlin
ISBN
3-87584-935-3
Contents
Filmmu seum Berlin I
Room 1
Images
Room2
Pioneers and divas
11
Room3
Caligari
19
Room4
The Weimar Republic
23
Room 5
Metropolis
"35
Room6
Transatlantic
41
Room 7
Marlene Dietrich
47
Room 8
Olympia
55
Room 9
National S ocialism
61
Room 10
Exile
69
Room 11
From the p ostwar years to the present
77
7
Filmmu seum Berlin II
Rooms 12 and 13
Artificial worlds: Ray Harryhausen
87
Filmmu seum Berlin: Notes and floor plans
Notes Floor plans Phorographic acknowledgments
96 98 101
Room 1
Images
7
Images
8
Images
..,. LOlA RENNT Tom Tykwer Germany 1 998 Fronko Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu BRENNEN DES GEHEIMNIS Robert Siodmok Germony 1 933 Willi Forst, Hilde Wogner DER VERZAUBERTE TAG Peter Pewos Germany 1 944 Hons Stiiwe, Winnie Markus
It's the middle of the night when B i l l y W i lder wakes up with a start from a d ream: what an idea for a fi lm' He grabs the p enc i l and paper l y i ng next to his bed for just such moments. He quickly jots down the most important sequence, turns over and fal l s back to sleep . W hen he wakes in the morning, he reaches expectant l y for the sl i p of paper, there are only three words on it: boy meets g i r l .
DER TOO IN SEVILlA Urban God Germany 1 9 1 3
This anecdote, which has c i rculated th rough the history of f i l m and sometimes been attri buted to others, epitomizes the very essence of big movies. They are based on small stories or rather always the same sma l l sto r ies, those so very cruc ial f(>r our l i ves. The decisive moments of our existence are deter mined by g reat emotions: love and joy, fear and terror, grief. And where do these feel ings reveal themselves more clearly than in the look in someone's eyes' W h ich art comes closer to thei r expression than the c inema and its camera> A tear b reaks away from the eyelashes and we suppress a sob; a sarcastic, rai sed eyebrow achieves the desi red effect, and we know, something is developing here; a smi le brings our rhe w r i nkles round the eyes, and we mel r into sympathy. Vi rtual ly n o other a r t has a greater impact o n people, o n thei r imagin ations, thei r d reams and visions. The c i nema remorselessly
9
Images
transfiXes
us.
We see ourselves mirrored in figures' faces, we
dream of beauty, wealth and happiness. We long for a
happy
ending, and hope rhat Billy Wilder's film may indeed culmin ate in: boy kisses girl ... The Filmmuseurn Berlin spirits you off into the history of suggestive images that rhe first room's journey back in time prepa_res for;
�Ii the following twelve rooms it tells rhe story of
the beginning of German cinema- of early stars, Caligari and Metropolis - of its heyday. during rhe Weimar Republic, and how it was rhen taken over by National Socialism. It follows the exiles on their exodus and the tracks left by film in divided Gc:rmany
as
articulations of social changes. And of
course, Marlene Dietrich should not· .be forgotten, whose glamorous estate fills several rooms. An independent area is also devoted to the technical development of motion pictures, special effects and the future in virtual worlds. And when, at the end, Han Solo meets Princess lea in rhe vastness of outer space; then it's the same old story: the myth lives on.
10
Room 2
Pioneers and divas
11
Pioneers a n d d ivas
At the begi n n i ng there was l ight - artificial light. Near che
end of rhe 19rh cenrury, rhe invenrion of elccrric lighr led ro
<11 fern Andro Stor postcard
the developmenr of a large number of devi ces with w h ich audiences who were immersed i n darkness could be shown i l lumi nated moving images. Tak i ng advanrage of how we p ro cess images - the "stroboscopic effect" - these new machines
projected photographic images in c1uick succession
to
give the
impression of movemenc: it was the b i rth of c i nema . In 1 H93, Thomas Alva Edison presented his fi rst short f i l ms in the Un ited States; two years later, the Lumiere brothers gave thei r fi rst film showi ngs in Paris and the Skladanowsky brothers presen red their "living p i ctures" to B erl i n aud ien ces.
Max Skladanowsky The phorog raph<:r and showman Max Skladanowsky fi rst traveled around Germany showing amazed aud ien ces his magi c l a n rern p rojections. He kept careful track, documen r i ng the dates, places and proceeds from his p erfilrman ces i n his note!JI!ok.r and jollnltll.r. Skladanowsky then began- the fi rst to do so in Germany - to crank out fi lms in the summer of 1 895. He fi lmed var i ety acts and short scenes, such as the uTeJt!ing matd; bet!l'een Greiner a/1(1 Sandrilc; he and his b rother
then put them together i nto the i r t:tmous "W i n rergarcen Prog ram". The performances always ended w ith the S k lada nowsky brothers cak i ng thei r legendary bow.
Mox Sklodonowsky showing o group his "flip book' Berlin, oround 1 900
12
P i o n eers a n d d ivas
Var i ety cheaters and showmen's booths were the fi rst home of "c i nematog raphy" - as fi lm was cal led in chose days. The aces shown were short, seldom longer chan three minutes, changed qui ckly and had a high visual appeal. Aud iences were fascinated more by the technical process involved than by the conrenrs. Early fi lms were often documentary in nature: beside var i ety acts, they showed scenes of Berlin street l i fe, a fire station alarm or a train rol l i ng in. The real scars in those days were the invenrors, the engineers and the projec tion equipment itself.
Guido Seeber at the film printer Chemnitz l 897
Gu ido
Seeber
One of c i nema 's early pioneers was the Chemnitz photo g rapher Guido Seeber. He began experimenting with fi lm equ i pment at IH and invented a "trawl c i nema projector", the Seeberograpb. In 1 9 03, he appl i ed for a patent. Seeber was one
of the most i nnovative inventors and technici ans in the fi eld of c inema. He contri buted a number of technical improve ments for r r i ck effects and became a renowned cameraman. H i s fame behind the camera was closely l i nked to the success of Danish d i rector U rban Gad and his wife, actress Asra Ni el sen. In 1 9 09 , Seeber was appoinred technical di rector of Deutsche B i oscop, one of Germany's oldest fi lm compani es. He was also a d riving force behind the establi shment of the studios in Babelsberg.
13
P i o n eers a n d d ivas
Karl Ge y er Geyer-Werke was another company supplying the f i lm i ndus try. By this ti me, c inema had lost its var i ety show character. Permanent movie theaters had been built and demand was high for new f i lms dai ly. Karl A. Geyer began spec i a l i z i ng in priming f i l m in 1 9 1 1 . W ithin an amaz ingly short ti me, h i s priming facrory g rew into a large-scale enterpr i se.
Max Linder Credit for the success of the film industry in Germany should not just go to German entrepreneurs. Pathe Freres, a French company, for instance, was one of several foreign f i rms to o p en off i ces in Berlin. Thanks to the commitment of Max L i nder, one of the most famous comed i ans in the h i story of f i l m, Pathe Freres also became a lead ing international p ro d uction company in Germany in the y ears before World War I. A Max
Linder statmtte is an early example of star cult.
Oskar Messter The true pioneer i n German film h i srory was Oskar Messter. As he h i mself told the story, he developed the Malte.<e cross - a technical innovation that revolutionized f i l m-mak ing - at h i s father's factory, Ed Messter company. T h e Maltese cross, a small component with at least four slots and a d isc fitted with a metal pin, causes the movement of the film to be con tinuous ly interrupted as it is pul led along. In t h i s way each frame remains stationary for a short time in the frame w i ndow and can be p erceived by the eye before being replaced by the next frame. It is this process w h i ch creates the i mp ression of flowing movement. W ithout the Maltese cross, indivi dual images would b l ur into unrecognizable streaks. The 35
111111
fwojector on d i splay here effectively demonstrates the p ro cedure. Oskar Messter received a number of awards for h i s inventions, includ i ng t h e B ronze Medal of tbe Gra11d D��t·by of Saxony from the German P h orographers' Assoc i ation. But h i s activities went far beyond t h e invention and production o f
14
Oskor Messler Around 1 900 Moltese uoss
P i oneers e n d d ivas
technical f i lm equipment. He shot his own short f i lms, began employi ng directors like Franz Porten, who produced "sound pictures" for him, bui lt his own c inemas, printed and screened f i l ms - Oskar Messter was an inventor, a producer, a manufacturer and c inema owner a l l rolled into one.
Henny Ponen
Franz Porten and his "sound pictures" were the l ink between Oskar Messter and the name of a woman who became the first German movie star and remained closely associated with the Messter company until the l ate 1910s: Henny Parten. She made her debut in 1906 in a "sound picture" directed by her father, opera singer Franz Porten: M E I SSN E R PORZELLA N.
"Sound pia11m" at this time were short films made co i llus trate famous ari as or popular songs. The song was recorded and the actors moved to the sound and mouthed the words. Then the film and the recorded music were played synchron ously in the c i nema. "Sound pictures" were therefore the first 'talkies' in an era most people assoc i ate with si lent films. For a long period they were considered the latest technical i nnovation.
Henny Porten Stor postcord Around 1 9 1 8
Henny Parten was f i rst mentioned in MeHler Film adverti.re ments in 1911. Her screen presence and popularity were roared in the depth and i nwardness of her bri lliant perfor mances. In most of her roles, Henny Parten portrayed aban doned or seduced women who suffered for their love in
a
spirit of passionate sacrifice. Her style was sentimental and Madonna- l i ke, her gestures were often posed - but this fit the taste of audi ences at the time and moved her viewers to rears.
adt•ertis ing tab!ea11x showing her in her best-known roles were soon on
She was soon the subject of an unparalleled fan cult:
display in showcases everywhere. Amongst Henny Parten's most fervent fans was a young girl who herself would soon become a f i l m srar: Marlene D ietrich. In her boundless admi ration, Marlene D ietri ch colored in a
Jtar postcard of the
actress and had herself photographed in a similar pose, play i ng the lure. Her diary entry for January 14, 1918, reads: "Loving Henny Porren has become my great passion. It's getting worse by the day. I'm writing a new story for a film so
15
P i o n eers a n d d iv a s
chat I'll be able co see her whenever I wane. Hcnny Porc(en), my g reat lover !I"
Fern Andro Stor photo
Fern A ndra Another actress who was famous ac the time was che Ameri can Fern Andra . She was from the world of vari ety shows, where she had made her debur in a tightrope act ar rhe age of four. The c i rcus, vari ety aces and revues continued co mark her performances on the screen; and her coles - such as i n E I N E MOTTE FLOG ZUJ\1 LICHT ( 1915)- were often set i n thi s
mi l i eu. Fern Andra embodied the i mage o f a modern woman who could be both athletic and comant i c . She promoted modern development in 'real life' coo, founding her own pco ducrion company, Fern-Andra-Film-Co., writing her own scripts and di recting. Her fi lms had a high visual appeal: che coscumes and sees thri lled her audi ences. She also developed a clever marketing concept. Sensational reports of dar i ng f i l m shootings, spectacular accidents and her private l i fe sparked che curiosity of che pub l i c and intensified her popularity.
Asta Nielsen In 1918 "l!lmtrierte
Filwuwbe'' magazine pcoclaimed the Dan
ish actress Asca Nielsen "the most popular f i l m arcisc" of the ti mes. Today's audiences are sti l l fascinated by che woman who caused such a sensation in the early days of c i nema. In concrasc co Henny Porcen, Asca N ielsen did nor assume exaggerated cheacrical poses; she was realistic and "genui ne", conveying che image of a real l iving person. Her coles ref lect the breadth of her acting ralenc . In ENGEL E I N , di rected by her husband U rban Gad in 1914, the 34 -year-old actress demon strates her abilities as a comedian in the role of a precoc ious, i l legitimate 17-year-old who makes a wealthy uncle bel i eve she is a legitimate chi ld of 12. She portrays a femme fatale, a cold and provocative "Carmen", between two famous toreros, in DEl\ TOD IN SEVI LLA ( 1913, U rban Gad); and in DAS MA DCHEN OHN E VAT E R L A N D ( 1912, U rban Gad) a young
woman who remains true co her soldier lover unci! death.
16
JUGEND UNO TOLLHEIT Urbon God Germany 1 9 1 2 Asto Nielsen
P i o n eers a n d d ivas
17
P i oneers a n d d iv a s
Asra Nielsen's creative activities were closely linked to the career of her h usband, director Urban Gad. A fter 1 9 1 1 , both artists worked with and for Guido Seeber. She is the protag onist in D E R TOTENTANZ, with which the B io.rrop-Atelier in Babelsberg launched their op ening on February 1 2, 1 9 12. A rare document, Urban Gad's hand-sketched /Jit�n, shows the camera positions for the fil m . Guido
Seeber
established
here
what
wo uld
beco m e
Europe's oldest and best-known fil m studios. P hotographs show the construction of the single-level glass studio with irs special p urry less glazing and complex iron girder strucwre. The spacious grounds made large-scale o utdoor sets possible. In the 1 9 2 0s, these grounds in Babelsberg became the loca tion of Ub; in the fifties, DEFA started shooting here. Today, these studios just outside B erlin are sti l l one of Germany ' s most fam o us production sires.
Friedrich Wilhelm Mumou Cord from the front to his sister Anno, November 8, 1 9 1 7
World War I Cinema's enormous impact on irs audiences did nor rem ain unnoticed by politicians. During World War I, fil m s were used for both military and m edia propaganda purposes. The big names of German fil m hisrory reappear in the history of German war fil ms: Guido Seeber, as an "acting government official " , m o unted his cam era on airplanes for reconnaissance flights for the .reaplane lt!boratorie.< in \VcmJeJIIiinde. Oskar Mess rer's films with Henny Porten were shown
to
German tro o ps
in occupied territories: D I E G ROSSE SUN D E R IN ( 1 914, Curt A . Stark) . And other dramas were s o popu lar rhar fio.
" H urrah' Henny Porten, guest of the Deursc h meister regi ment'" Am ong these front-line soldiers was Friedrich Wil helm Murnau, who sti l l considered himself a stage artist at this rime . B ur then taken prisoner in 19 1 7 he wrote a script f(>r his first fil m project, ··Twfel..-nitidet'. Oskar Messrer also p u r his technical know ledge at the dis posal of the German war ind ustry. His company m anufiK tured an ;\lG w111era which was later copied by other com panies, such as Aerophor in Amsterdam, 1 9 25. I t was used n1oniror accuracy during target practice.
18
to
Room 3
Caligari
19
Caligari
Between the end of December 1 9 1 9 and the end of January 1 9 20, a fil m was prod uced at Lixi"-Film-Atelicr char made history : DAS C A B I N E T D E S DR. CALI G A R I . For many it stands fc>r the beginning and
p rototype of expressionist fil m ,
although above all i t i s a manifestation o f a rime haunred by the specters of a lost war and collapsing world order. The film
gives fears and visions, madness and destruction for m . And so it is not without reason that the fil m opens with the words "there are spirits everyw here aro und us" . The story of D r. Caligari and his somna m b u l ist Cesare portrayed by the two g reat mimes of cinema d u ring the Weimar Rep ub lic, Werner Krauss and Conrad Veidt- is con fusing and complex . It begins as a tale of a yo ung m an named francis, as the story of what h e experienced at a fun fair: a magician, Dr. Caligari, introd uces rhe somna m b u l ist, Cesare, to the astonished crowd and then wakes him from his d eep sleep, bringing him back
ro
life. Yet b riefly afterwards, g hast
ly things happen: a friend of Francis is m u rdered and the fol lowing night his fiancee is kidnapped . francis suspects Cesare and the mysterious magician Dr. Caligari. He fol lows Caligari, who then flees inro an insane asy l u m . W hen Francis goes to warn the director of rhe asy l u m , he discovers that Dr. Caligari himself is the director. In the d octor's swdy, Francis
Werner Krauss. Conrad Veidt
finds a book about somnambu lism . He reads how in 1 7 03 in Italy a certain Dr. Caligari experim ented with a som nambu list cal led Cesare and forced him to commit c rimes. Francis also discovers the director's diary which says that Cesare is still alive and the director sees himself as Caligari's successor. Yet as it turns o ut, Cesare does not have m uch longer to live. Driven to despair by the crimes he has been forced ro c o m m it, Cesare kills himself. W hen his corpse is brought into the insane asylum, Dr. Ca ligari flies into a rage. A straitjacket puts an end to his freedo m . However, the fil m is not over here. Again we see the young man, Francis, as in the op ening scene. B ut now we can also see char he is in a gard en - the gar den of an insane asy l u m , and that the heroes of his tale are his listeners, a l l inmates like himself. In the final scene, the director joins them with a smile. It is D r. Caligari again. The .1't'rij1! for DAS C A B I N E T DES D R. CAL!G A I U - an original copy has been preserved in Werner Krauss' estate - was writ ten by Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz. In it, the fil m also
20
,.. OAS CABINET DES DR . CAllGARI Robert Wiene Germany 1 920 Conrad Veidt, Lil Oogover
C a l igari
Austrion premiere poster Artwork: Atelier ledl Bernhord Coligori Foxtrot Iitle page of the score Composer: Otto Weber Vienna/leipzig/Berlin 1 920 Advertisement for the film
reflecrs on itself as a medium. T h rouJ
ro
nature, while simul
tilllnded in delusion and illusion .
Caligari"s s pectators ar r h e fun bir sit in rhe renr like rhe spectators in the m ovie theater. Just as C:aligari revives Cesare, r h e cinema brings back to lite figures thought dead. In the rel atively early d ays of cinema, the visible disintegra tion of rime and space seemed jusr as t:u1tasric as omin ous. The incursion of the inexplicable, menaL·ing and strange, as the medium of film was generally perceived, was reflected in DAS CABINET DES DH. CAI.It;AIU
as the incursion of the mys
terious, magical and deadly. Following
CAI.IC;AIU,
rhe films of
21
Col ig a r i
the young Wei mar Rep u b l i c went on to be p o p u l ated by m ys terious figures, monsters, vam p i res and arti fi c i a l ly-produced humans. The fi l m gave expression to the fasc i nation of c inema as wel l as to the threat and disori entation of the p eriod, and so was a s mash success. This was enhanced by a p u b l i c ity cam paign, whi ch incl uded a poster focusing on the hypnoti c effect of the fi l m . It m esmerically stated: "You, too, m use becom e Cal igari." The
Caligari Foxtrot, composed b y Otto Weber i n
1 9 20, was m erely another expression of the growi ng Cal igari hysteria. Due pri marily to its sets, fi l m historians consider DAS CABI N ET DES DR. CAUGA I!I both the com m encement and c u l
m ination of German expressionist fi l m . Hermann Warm , one of the fi l m 's three art directors, descri bed the princ iple of its
desi,�11 with the words: " F i l m has to become graphic' F i l m i s drawing brought t o l i fe'" Until chis work, sees had been l i fe l i ke constructions. For DAS C A B I N E T D E S DR. CALIGA R I , they were, however, to correspond co the artistic concept of the screenwriters and director Robert W i ene. And so they were painted on canvas. Eerie b u i ldings with chi mneys jutting our at angles and zigzagging roofs, bizarre trees and dark alleys; even Dr. Caligari 's and his skeletonl i ke Cesare's sty l i zed gar ments emphasize rhe fi l m 's uncanny and fantastic atm os phere. W ith their exaggerated gestures, Werner Krauss, Con rad Veidt and L i l Dagover, who plays yo ung Franc is' fiancee, fir into the fi l m 's decor. The distortion of strucwres and spaces, the effective appl i cation of light and shadow, the graphic qual ity of the scenery and decor, and, nor lease, the extreme sty l i zation and arti fic i al ity have a l l evolved into the formal features of expressionist fi lm. Yet beyond this, DAS CAB I N ET DES DR. CALI G A R I antici pated - perhaps unconsc iously - a m onstrousness in che world off screen that was soon to cake on ever m ore threaten ing dimensions.
Gouache lor possoge 1 Set design Artwork: Wolter Reimann Bridge Set design Artwork: Heomonn Wmm Reconstruction Town Squme Set design Aotwook: Heomonn Worm Reconstourtion
22
Room 4
The Weimar Republic
23
The W e i m a r R epub l i c
Colorful and varied, che 1920s i n Germany were nonetheless troubled and torn with strife. Defeat in the war had changed everything: the empire had gone down, and with it the old world order. Uncertainty reigned: while some c l ung co trad itional values, others sought to revolutionize the world. Film in the Weimar Republic also oscillated between these two poles. National myths were celebrated, for example, in the four
part
film
FRIDERICUS
REX
( 1 922/23,
A rzen
von
Cserepy). For many, the glorious past, when Frederick the Great still ruled Prussia, provided a comforting distraction from che defeat just suffered in the war. The historical cos tumes and lavishly staged court ceremonies also injected some color into their drab lives. Otto GebLihr looked so like Frederick the G reat, whom he often portrayed, chat he was even celebrated as the Prussian king off screen. Ernst Lubitsch also used hiscorical costumes when he staged the story of the French Revolution in MADAME D U RA R RY (19 1 9), or a tale from che rime of Henry VIII in A N N A BOLEYN (1920). Lubicsch portrays a world i n which tradition
al values and institutions such as love, marriage and che mili tary have become questionable. At che same time he revels in elegance and luxury. H is films are pure entertainment and satisfy the need for amusement which characterized the age.
Ic was no coincidence char the B erlin U fa- Palast am Zoo opened on September 1 8, 1919 with MADAME D U BA R RY. With its lavish foyer, red velvet sears and extravagant selection
ANNA BOLEYN Ernst lubilsch Germany 1 920 President of the Weimar Republic Friedrich Ebert visits the set in Berlin·Tempelhof. friedrich Ebert (2nd from the left). Ernst lubitsch (ot top bock), Honns Kroly (to the right of lubitsch), Henny Parten, Emil Jonnings
of refreshments, sheer luxury reigned here too. Retitled PAS S I O N , the film MA DAME D U ilA R R Y was also the first German
production co run for monchs in New York. And ac home, che young German government wanced co cash in on irs success: President of the Republic Friedrich Ebert visited the film set in Tempelhof and allowed himsel f to be raised co p eerage by their 'royal highnesses' Henny Parten and Emil Jannings dur ing the making of A N N A BOLEYN. A 'king of the streets' p aid B erlin a week-long visit in March 1931 and sene che c rowds inca raptures. Charles Chap lin arrived co promore his film C ITY LIG HTS. According co the
Berlin-Aiitte police file.r, his journey from Friedrichscrasse
station to the Hotel Adlon ac Pariser P latz, where "he had taken lodgings", cook just ten minutes. B ur there was an enormous number of foot and mounted policemen. Ic was
24
-<11 DR . MABUS!, DIR SPIELER Fritz long Germany 1 922
The W e i m a r Repub l i c
a l m os t i mpossible co c l e a r a p a c h for che l i c cle m a n through che c h rong of fan s . The c rowds rushed forward , wan cing
co
couch h i m , shake h i s hand and gee an au tograph. No one felt ac a l l bashful abom approach i ng chis world scar. Why was Chapl i n received wich such e n t h usiasm' Kurc Tucholsky scar ed c har ic was because he was "one of l i fe's viccors who might belong
co
che repressed buc - u s i ng every means avai lable -
triumphs " . The aud ience, whipped by che war, unemploy m e n t and i nflati o n , recog n i led irsdf and d rew hope from che role chat Chapl i n embodied in all h i s fi lms, be ic in T H E G O L D R U S H , A DOG'S L I FE, T H E K I D , T H E P I LG R I M or T H E CI RCUS.
Chapl i n 's popularity transcended social barr iers.
However, che National Socialises and national ise press pole m i c i led agaimr h i m . T h e e d i cor of the virulent journal " D e r
CITY LIGHTS (horles Choplin USA 1 93 1 "lllustrierter Film-Kurier"
Angriff ' , Joseph Goebbels, who Iacer became c h e Reich M i n i s ter for Popular Enlighcenmenc and Propaganda under che Naz i s , d e n o u n ced che fuss over Chapl i n as the m ost appal l i ng example of " national loss of d ig n i ty ever manifested by a people " . Ten years Iacer, in 1 94 1 , che National Socialises would use footage of Cht�p!in'.r m-rit•t�! in Berlin for che ami semitic agitation fi l m DER E W I G E J U D E ( 1 940, Fritz Hippler). Goebbels preferred q u ire another genre. As he scared i n his 1 9 2 9 n ovel ·'f'vfic/;clel - f.iu dmt.rdm Schitk.wl in Tc!ge/){{ cb
/;/;;uem·· (Michael - A Journal of a German Desci ny), he was keen on m o u n ta i n s and therefore on mountain fi lms - which became a typically German fi l m gen re i n che 1 9 2 0 s . ft)' /({nc/
sCtljJeJ and w i l d , u n touched nacure are seen nor j usc as a refuge for a l l c h ose w i s h i ng to flee che ted i u m of everyday life, p rogress and civi l i zatio n , buc also as an elemen tal force
co
which man m u s e weak ly s u b m i t h i m self I c was Arnold Fanck who gave che i nv i n c i ble forces of nature the i r most powerful i mages. I n 1 9 2 0 , when h e began documenti ng sk iers and m o u n t a i n c l i m bers, he shoe his fi rst feature fi lms i n high a l p i n e areas . Together with his cameraman R ichard Angst, and e q u i pped wich an ice pick and crcllltj}()m, Fanck created fi l m s such as D E R H E I I . I G E B E RG ( 1 9 2 6 ), DIE W E I SSE H O I .I.E VOM P I Z PALU ( 1 9 2 9 ) and S.O.S. E I S B E RG ( 1 9 3 2 ) . The lead i ng
role i n each of chese fi l m s was played by a young dancer dis covered for the screen by Arnold Fanck h i mself: leni Riefen scah l . There seems co be no doubt char under che i nfl uence of Arn old Fanck's compel l i ng i mages Riefenscahl developed her
25
The W e i m a r Republ i c
own aesthetic o f the elemental forces of nature. And she soon went on to elaborate it as director of the films TRIUMPH DES WILLENS ( 1935) and OLYMPIA (PART PART
2:
I:
FEST DER VOLKER;
FEST DER SCHONHEIT, both 1938).
Aside from films depicting an escape to nature or a glori ous past, the Weimar Republic also saw a series of f ilms emerge which, in contrast, addressed contemporary issues.
ceiiSorsbijJ and ,-iots in 1be streels. American director Lewi s Milestone's film version
These were frequently accompanied by
of Erich Maria Remarque's anti-war novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" had irs premiere in the Mozartsaal theater at Nollendorfplarz in December 1930. As part of their "street politics", Nazi storm troops terrorized the screenings until after only a few days the film was temporarily banned. Another film accompanied by riots from the political right as well as censorship was Sergei Eisenstein's masterpiece llRO NENOSEC POTEMKIN. The film, made in 1925 in memory of
the suppressed Soviet revolution i n 1905, became the object
Berlin cmtral film board which accused it of agitation against the Reil'hswebr, the navy, the of a long struggle against the
police and civil servants. [n short, it agitated against the "nat ural pillars" of the stare and so was initially banned. Bur the controversy caused by irs censorship made the film so well known that it soon gathered a momentum of irs own and was screened in large cities across the Republic. National Socialist unrest led to a second ban, bur after a storm of protest the film passed the board, albeit in a version that was several hundred meters shorter. The success of BRONENOSEC POTEMKIN paved the way for the proletarian film in Germany: additi onal so-called Russian films were imported, and similar films were produced at home roo. MUTTER KRAUSENS FAHRT INS GLUCK, directed by Phil Jurzi in 1929, was promoted by irs production company Prometheus on the
jJremie1·e fJOster as a great document of pop
ular life in the style of Berlin's character artist Heinrich Zille. And indeed, aside from a few professional actors in the lead ing roles, only "originals" from Berlin's working-class district of Wedding were cast. The film cells the story of a working class family and how social hardships drive the mother to rake her life. Her daughter Erna, portrayed in the f i lm by rtse Traurschold, escapes this joyless existence by finding happi-
26
S.O.S. EISBERG Arnold Fonck Germany 1 932 Leni Rielenstohl
The W e i m a r Repub l i c
MUITER KRAUSENS FAHRT INS GLU CK Phil Jutzi Germany 1 929 lise Troutschold, Alexondro Schmitt Gerhord Bienert, Vera Sochorowa, Alexondro Schmitt, lise Troutschold, Fee Wachsmuth Premiere poster Artwork: Otto Nagel
n e s s i n solidarity w i t h the p roletariat. I n t h e e n d s h e j o i n s the ran ks of demonstrating workers, her steps becom i ng - as she overcomes her i n itial i nsecur i t y - ever bolder and more meas u red . B o t h the artistic qual ity of the fi l m and the naturalistic depiction of worki ng-class m isery were praised by the critics, although on the Kur fi.irstendam m , where M U TTER KRAUSENS FAHRT INS G L U C K prem iered , such a plight seemed more
exotic than rousi ng. The invitation to tbe pmniere was designed by artist Kathe Kol lwitz, who had also been a freq uent visitor to the set d u r i ng shooting.
27
The W e i m a r Repub l i c
Along w i t h t h e various genres, i nd ividual d i rectors a n d the i r stars determ i ned c i nema i n the Wei mar Republ i c . O n e o f these was Friedrich Wilhelm M urnan. A l t h o ug h h i s early work i s largely considered los t , M urnau i s s t i l l seen roday as one of the most s i g n i ficant d i rectors of German fi l m . H i s productions, i n which s e t desig n , l ig h t i ng, camera m ove m e n t a n d performance play a cen tral role, emphas ize the artistic standards of German fi l m of the t i m e . I t was the ability to use these aspects artistically to convey fear, the u n can ny, d ream s , horror, d i sease a n d death t h a t made a fi l m l i ke NOSFE R AT U . E I N E SYMPHO N I E D E S GRAU E N S (1922) a clas s i c . I n the 1924
fi lm D E R LETZTE MAN N , it is primarily the " u nshackled " , mobile camera that tran s m i ts Murnau's high a r c . Cente r i ng around an agi ng hotel porter played by E m i l Jann i ngs, D E R LE1"ZTE MAN N depicts t h e degradation a n d r u i n of a lower
midd le-class man and the replacement of the old syste m , which i s symbolized b y the porter's Kaiser Wilhelm beard and h i s u n i form . Deprived of h i s post i n a l ux u ry hotel and his porter'.r mziform, the old man loses his identity. For a w h i le he tries to conceal h i s sense of shame from spi teful friends and relation s , bur then his secret i s d iscovered and his l i fe destroye d . Almost polem ically the fi l m contrasts the broken man spoo n i ng down his soup at his post "at the very b o t tom " in che men's toi ler with the upper classes s l u rp i ng oysters i n a light-flooded restaurant . A n d t h ro ughout t h e fi l m che oppressive and dark, rear-entrance m i l ie u of the p roletariat i s s e t agai nst the atm osphere of the elegant l uxury hotel w i t h i t s perpetually revolvi n g door. The only i n tertirle i n the whole fi lm appears at the end, in view of the old porter's approach i ng dearh: i t states that the fi l m should end there, because i n real l i fe the u nhappy old man would have n o t h i n g m o re ro expect, only death . But s i n c e the scriptwrite r fel t sorry for h i m , he provided an almost u n real epi logue. The new e nd i ng shows the old porter suddenly a rich man after an eccentric American m u l ti - m i l l ionai re leaves him a fortune. Surro u nded by zealous waiters, he t h rows his m oney arou n d and so recov ers his self-esteem . With chis sarcastic and exaggerated end i ng, Mu rnau reveals the secret year n i ngs of the age , when many of the poor d ream t of money and l uxury i n exces s . Another s i g n i ficant d i rector w a s Josef v o n Sternberg. H i s fi lms were l e s s concerned with the s o c i a l problems of the age
28
DER LElZTE MANN F.W. Murnou Germany 1924 Lithographs from a porriolio presented to guests by Ufo on the occosion of the film's premiere Artwork: Jheo Motejko
The W e i m a r Re pu b l i c
than with the new i mage of wome n . forced i nto an i ndepen d e n ce from m e n by the rece nt war, wo men i n the 1 9 20s also emanci pated themselves p ro fessionally and sexually. In the films of the period, this development found expression in characters l i ke the vamp or the glamorous dame . The vamp gained myth ical sraws w ith Sternberg ' s film D E I\ ll LA U E E N C ; E L ( 1 9 .) 0 ) a n d with - Marlen e D i etrich r Sternberg later
wrme that although Marle n e D i e u ich m ight have been a myth f(Jr others, s h e was n o r for h i m . The real myth, he said, was h e h i m self b e h i n d the camera, and how he created what p e o ple called the Marlen e myth . Yer with songs such as " lch b i n vom Kopf b i s fuss auf Liebe e i ngestellt" and " Ich bin d i e fesche Lola", Marlen e became i m m o rtal, so t o speak . Props from the film late r ci rculated like d evotional objects . The 1/ clllgbty
DER BlAUE ENGEl Josef von Sternberg Germany 1 930 Naughty lolo lolo cord Prop
Lola Lola (ctrcl was particularly popular: i n the film
r h e sch o olboys puff at its attached s k i rr
w
steal f(Jrbi dden
gli m pses. D E I\ B LA U E E N G I'L i s based on Heinr ich Man n ' s n ovel " Professor U n rat" and tells the story of a school teacher, aga i n d e p icted by E m il Jan n i ngs, who falls in love with a cab aret s i nger, Lola Lola. Aband o n i ng h i s principles of Prussian ord e r and d i sc i pl i n e, h e succumbs
ro
sexuality and voyeurism,
for fe i t i n g his bourgeois exi stence and dying wretchedly. U nl i ke H e i n rich M a n n ' s novel, rhe film concentrates less on the social asp ects of his decl i n e and m ore on the wiles of rhe vamp . In her auwbiography, Marlene Dietrich percepti vely state s : "At r i m e s I th oug ht rhe film we were making was truly vulgar. I still t h i n k t h i s is so. Every scene was shot with four cam e ras run n i ng s i m ultan eously and I knew that they were usually all leveled at my t h i g h s . W h enever I was filmed, I was ordered w l i ft a leg, left or right, it d i d n 't matter w h i ch . " But Marle n e D i etrich still cons iders this film the bas i s of her lasti ng succes s . The origi nal black doll from D E R B L A U E E N G E L beca m e h e r m ascm and could b e s e e n later in
films such as MO ROCCO ( 1 9 .'\ 0 ) and lJ ISHONOR E D ( 1 9 .'\ l ) . Georg Wilhelm Pabst, another s i g n i ficant d i recwr of the p e r iod, also add ressed the dazzl i n g role of wom en in the l )l 2 0 s . In the fil m D I E BUC H S E D E I\ PANDORA ( 1 ') 2 9), based on fra n k Wed e k i n d ' s play "L11I11 " , he depicts a young g i rl w h ose seducr ivc: i n n ocen c e d r ives m e n
to
ru i n and n l so u l t i
mately leads to h e r d eath . I n the e n d she f;11ls viccim to the: gli nti ng k n i fe of a psych otic mur d e rer.
29
The W e i m a r Repub l i c
Pabs t ' s next fi l m , TA(i E I I U C H E I N E H V E H LO H E N E N ( 1 9 2 9 ) featu res another female character who i s sexually unaware a n d i n n ocent . Thy m i a n , a y o u n g g i r l , is seduced and ends u p i n a brothel . Nevertheless, she feels q u i te happy there and even marries one of her older ad m i rers. Showing a brothel as a reformatory was both a provocation and an at tack on the double standards of conventional m idd le-class soc i e ty. The lead i ng actress i n both fi l m s was Lo u i s e B rooks, w h o was also her d i rector's d i scovery and ' c reation ' . Actual ly, Marlene Dietrich was to have been cast as Lulu b u t Pabst fo u n d her too fr ivolo us and knowing for such i n nocence. So for months he searched for another actress and eventually struck gold with the yo ung, j u s t 2 2 -year-old Lo u i se B rooks. Prior to her arrival i n B e rl i n , B rooks had sent Pabst a series of ph otos i n w h i c h she h a d a l s o appeared withom her trad e m ark pageboy. Later with this haircut and her androgynous fo r m , Lo u i s e B rooks embodied another facet of the new sexual i ty, a facet that had become the subject of n u m e rous fi l m s : metamorphos i s . F i l m s s uch a s D E H K N A B E I N II L A U ( 1 9 1 9 ) b y Fr i e d r i c h Wilhelm Murnau, D E I! FU HST V O N PA P P E N H E I M ( 1 9 2 7 ) by R i chard E i chberg, LI E II E S KOM M A N DO 0 9 3 1 ) by Geza von Bolvary and of course, V I KTOH U N D V I KT O H I A 0 9 3 0 ) by Reinhold Schli n zel present metamorphoses, the d i s i n tegra tion of gender roles , the confusion caused by man as woman and woman as man. Marlene Dietrich also played this game in real l i fe : not j ust with her fam o u s " Marlene trousers " , w h i c h she wore a l m ost dai ly, but s p e c i fically whenever s h e h a d the opportu n i ty to d e l i b e rately d i sg uise hersel[ For a fan c y d ress ball in 1 9 2 R , for example, she wore the so-ca l led Bl11e Boy
w.r-
11111/e, adapted from a picture from an l R t h centu ry p a i n t i n g
b y the En g l i s h portra i t pai n ter W i l l i a m Gainsboro u g h . G . W Pabst took fu l l advantage of the modern appearance of his star, Lo uise B rooks. As a rule, m o d e r n i t y and reality were major elemems i n h i s fi l m s . And he has gone down in fi l m h i s tory as a d i recror of the Nem St�cb/irbkeil m ove m e n t , which had i r s roots i n pai n t i n g a n d consciously tu rned irs back on express ionism . In fi l m s such as D I E FI! E U DI.OS E (iASSE ( 1 9 2 5 ) , Pabst desi red as rea l i s t i c a depiction of a m i l i e u
a s poss i ble: archetypal p u b l i c spaces, s u c h as streets and brothels, conti n ued to play a role in both the soc ially c r i tical fi l m s of the late 1 9 20s and the street fi l m s of the perio d .
30
The W e i m a r Re pub l i c
From the s c a r e , the c i t y was the natural backdrop for fi l m . T h e very fi rst shoes fi lmed s i mply showed crowds m i l l i ng on B e rl i n streets, fol lowed by hoc p ursuits through an urban j u ngle, w h i le fi l m s such as D R . M A B U S E , DER S P I E L E R ( 1 9 2 2 ) and M - E I N E STA DT S U C H T E I N E N M O R D E R ( 1 9 .'\ 1 ) provided g l i mpses i n to the underworld . Fritz Lang, the d i rector of boch these fi l m s , was a master of the dark side of the ci ty. Crime was h i s obses s i o n . i n h i s two-part fi l m D R . M A ll U S E , D E R S P I EL E R , Lang t d l s the s tory of a m a s t e r c r i m i nal w h o s e power extends t o p u b l i c places i n the m o d ern city - from the stock exchange co amusemen t arcades and from night clubs ro the poor dis t ric t s . He terrorizes h i s victims with deception , hypnosis and violence. Not u n l i ke D r. Cal igar i , he m urders si mply for
OER F U RST VON PAPPENHEIM Richord Eichberg Germony 1 927 Curt Bois, Dino Gro ll o
the pleasure of ic and ends up i nsane. In i n d ivid ual episodes, Fritz Lang consciously played on real events i n Germany and abroad , such as the m urder of fore ign m i n ister Walter Rachenau. Critics raved about how his fi lm captured che " s p i r i t of the age " . D R . M A B U S !' , DER S P I E L E R was a huge success. A good ten years later, in 1 932/33, Fritz Lang tried co b u i l d on his success, reviving the m u rderer i n DAS TESTA M E N T DES DR. M A B U S E . The d i rector dec lared later that he
had wanted to c reate a metaphor for the ' hypnotist' Adolf H i tler and his methods of terro r i zatio n , but the political effe c t of the fi l m was e c l i psed by t h r i l ler elements, such as s h oot-outs on the streets, and by che ever-fasc i nating dark s i d e of the c i t y. Fritz Lang researched the material for �� in police reports, prompted by the erial aga i n s t the serial k i l ler Haarm ann and the ' Demon of D tisseldorf, Peter Ktirce n . This gave rise ro the s ro ry of the schizophre n i c child-murderer. Superbly played by Peter Lorre, he is chased by boch the police and the
DIE B U CHSE DER PANDORA G.W. Pobst Germony 1 929 louise Brooks
underworl d . Just as he is about co be lynched by beggars, he is " rescue d " by the police who are hot on his trail thanks co the latest detective methods. He is turned over co the courts of j ustice. The fi l m c reates an i mage of che city terrorized by fear and u n certain ty, chat vol untarily bows co coral contro l , or
louise Brooks Stor photo, oround 1 929
even exerts c h i s con trol itsel f - lack i ng confidence i n the state
louise Brooks orrives in Berlin louise Brooks, G . W. Pobst
c laustrophobic and tota l i tarian . I t vividly portrays a moral
co m a i n t a i n p u b l i c order i tself - suspicious, self-doubti ng, c r i s i s of the t i m e .
31
The W e i m a r Repu b l i c
DAS TESTAMENT D E S D R . MABUSE Frilz long Germany 1 933 Premiere poster for Austria Artwork: R. Vogl OR. MABUSE, OER SPIElER Fritz long Germany 1 92 2 Premiere poster Artwork: Theo Molejko Ntve rrheless. i r i s n o r so m uc h r h t fi l m ' s con rtm as i r s
limn c h a r g ives i r mean i ng . The a r r i s r i c use of l ig h t a n d s o u n d is p a r t i c u l a r l y i m press i v e . I n h i s fi rst s o u n d fi l m , f r i t z Lang ra i sed chis tech n i c a l i n novation
w
a d e fi n i ng d ra m a t u rg i ca l
e k m e m . W h e n r h e m u rd e re r i s fe rreted o u r i n h i s h i d eaway, i r i s h i s brea c h i ng and rhe n o i s e of r h e kty t u rn i ng in r h e l o c k w h i c h altrt r h e searc h e r s , c reat i ng r h e sce n e ' s r e a l te n s i o n . N o one w h o has htard r h e u n m d o d i c w h i s t l i ng of r h e c h i l d m u r derer, c h a r word less e x p ress i o n of h i s u rges , w i l l t(,rger i r . I n �1 .
sound fi l m reac hed i r s fi r s t . t:u1 tas r i c c l i m a x .
32
The We i m a r R e p u b l i c
lA Fritz Long Germany 1 93 1 Premiere poster Arh•tork: Unknown
Tal k ies b e c a m e poss i b le rhanks
co
a p rocess developed by
three German e n g i n ee r s : Josef E ngd, Joseph Massol le and Hans Vogt . They developed very early a system with which sound waves could be p h otog raphed and chen p r i nted as an optica l track alongs i d e the picrure on rhe fi lm. I nitially there was a lack of interest in this p rocess in the inventors · narive country and i r was nor until r h e A m e r icans began producing tal kies wirh g reat success ar rhe end of the 1 ':) 2 0s that produc tion companies and c i nemas i n Germ any were equipped ac cord i ng ly. The U f>l built Euro p e ' s m ost modern sound fil m
33
The W e i m a r Re pub l i c
srudio i n Neubabelsberg, a n d i t w a s h e r e i n 1930 t h a t a fi l m was made which focused on sound fi l m a s a fi l m with i n a fi l m . One scene from DER SCHUSS IM TONFILMATELIER (Alfred Zei sler) has been recons tructed h ere in a model and shows the sound engineer at work . And although in 1929 the ratio of sound fi lms co silent fi lms was only 8 co 1 7 5 , just three years later no s i lent fi l m s were being made at a l l . Sound or n o t , t h e decisive subject of fi l m i n the Wei m a r Republic w a s the birth of a new epoch and the p l a c e of irs man i festation: the c ity. Alongside Fritz Lang 's evocations of crime, fi lms such as ASPHALT ( 1929, Joe May ) , AUTOBUS NR.
2
( 1929, Max Mack) and DIE NACHT GEHORT UNS ( 1929,
Carl Froelich) em braced big city traffic as the expression o f technological progress a n d moderni ty. Agai n a n d agai n , motif, we re found i n B e r l i n and often a t Potsdamer Platz, which coday i s red iscovering the very vi tal i ty that made it legendary i n the 1920s. I n all, fi l m d u r i ng the Weimar Republic was defined by both technological and formal progress and an explosive weal th of styles, subjects, s tars and ideas. Seldom before had those i nvolved i n fi l m m a k i ng e n j oyed such freedo m , and it would be rare in the furure roo.
34
ASPHALT Joe Moy Germany 1 929 Crossing Set design Artwork: Robert Herlth
Room 5
Metro p olis
35
Metropol i s
Tower of Sobel Design for special effects Artwork: Erich Kettelhut Aerial view with the Tower of Babel Set design Artwork: Erich Kettelhut
The "big city" was repeatedly a major ropic i n t h e fi lms of the Wei mar Rep ublic and reached irs b r i l l iant peak i n Fritz Lang's fi l m , premiered i n 1 9 2 7 : M E TROPOL I S . Ufa planned a gigantic movie beside which the wonders of Ameri can c i nema were to pale. And METROPOLIS turned our to be a gigan tic movie indeed . 36,000 extras , enormous studio sets with almost 600 skyscrapers - whose futuristic archirccrurc is impressively con veyed by Erich Ker rel hm's m i nurely derailed .rketdm - and a shooting rime of one and a half years with 6 2 0 , 0 0 0 m eters of fi l m , all caused the original two m i l l ion marks for production costs to soar to a fi nal sum of almost s i x m i l l ion. Fritz Lang had spared no techn i cal effort. The figu res "Detttb tmd tbe Seven
Deadly Si11s " made by Walter Schulze- M i r rendorf in 1 9 2 6 are one example of the i m mensity of the production process. These figures decorate the gothic cathed ral i n rhe fi l m and represent a medieval counter-world . Moreover, Fritz Lang used a Stm-bo!l ' wmera for the fi rst rime, a new mobile camera char could even be mounted on a swi ng, mak i ng enti rely new shots possi ble. Ufa advertised METROPOLIS as the world 's most expens ive and biggest movie . The "u·orfd premiere "
-
a term
coi ned for the occasion - rook place on January, 10, 1 9 2 7 i n Berl i n ' s Ufa-Palasr a m Zoo. Eve n i ng o r formal d ress were requested. After the presentation , which lasted several hours, reactions were reserved. Although there were enthusiastic
36
.,. METROPOLIS fritz long Germany 1 927 City with the Tower. 2nd droit Set design Artwork: Erich Kettelhut
Metropo l i s
City. 1 st droit Set design Artwork: Erich Kettelhut Doybreok Design for spedol effects Artwork: Erich Kettelhut
voices praising the fi l m ' s techn i cal perfection, overall opinion ran along l i nes such as voiced by a " B erliner Tageblan" jour nal i s t : "an affected , cold-hearted , m iserable concoction with exqu i s i te photography, hypocri tical ethics and unprecedented technolog y ; a sentimental, meani ngless piece of kitsch , using old and new tricks, poor act i ng and excruciating texts, with hollow symbols and empty prattle, with both distorted real ism a n d d i s torted romantic i s m , with untruths in t h e material and appropriations from well-known l i terature " . METROPOLIS was a fi nancial d isaster. Even after several
years , barely a seventh of the production costs had been recouped. Ufa fi red producer E rich Pom mer. METROPOLIS wenr on to become a class ic, imprinting icself
on our collective visual memory. But why) Certainly not due to the script, which was written by Fritz Lang 's wife Thea von Harbou, who had also authored the script for DIE N lll E LUN GEN (1924, Fritz Lang).
I n a futuristic city called Metropolis, workers live in the subterranean city and the rulers above earth i n the light. In t h i s upper city, skyscrapers tower against the sky, connected by roads and ramps , with ai rplanes c i rc l i ng between them . The rulers' sons amuse themselves with games and sports in the " E ternal Gardens" with young girls ready to entertai n them . One day, one of the sons, Feeder Fredersen, gets lost in the sub-
37
Metropolis
terranean city where the workers scrape a bare living on enor mous machines in ten-hour shifts. Freder is shocked by the workers' slave existence, particularly when he sees a machine explode and claim the lives of several workers. Freder meets an innocent Christian girl, Maria. The workers flock ro her because she promises them better days and heralds the coming of a mediator. Freder decides to be this mediator and rerurns to the light of the upper city to persuade his father, a ruler of Metropolis, that the workers deserve a better lot. Bur Joh Fre dersen, his father, simply reaffirms that the workers are exact ly there where they belong. And so Freder rerurns to the sub terranean city. Meanwhile, his father seeks out the alchemist Rotwang with the aim of recruiting him for his plans to sub jugate the workers. Rotwang shows him his latest invention: an artificial being, a robot - born in rings of electric light. Joh Fredersen orders the alchemist to give the robot Maria's appearance so that he can influence the workers through a false Maria. Rotwang does as he is ordered, kidnapping the real Maria to this end. Maria - the Robot - then goes to the workers and incites them to revolt. In the commotion, the workers cause the machines to explode and then storm the upper city. Their mindless actions lead to the lower city drowning in a violent flood - with the workers' children caught in it. Meanwhile, the real Maria, who has been able to escape from Rotwang's house, rushes to their rescue. However, because the workers believe their children have drowned, they chase (the false) Maria, blaming her for everything. Joh Feeder sen also believes he has lost his son in the flood. When the workers burn the false Maria at the stake, it becomes evident that she is a robot. The real Maria then appears with Freder and the rescued children, and urges the workers and rulers to reconciliation. At the end she says: "There can be no under standing between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator." Although
METROPOLIS
uses its story to raise the topical
question of the consequences of blind technological progress and cold rationalism, even Fritz Lang admitted shortly later that it was not possible ro make a socially-conscious film by claiming that the mediaror between the brain and hands is the heart - for that was, in his opinion, sheer fairy tale. He did, however, have a very special interest in machines.
38
Metropo l i s
Poster for the Kristoii·Palast theater, Berlin-Wedding Artwork: Werner Groul
iltl'i•faii·Palal• Prlnzen Allee 1-6
iJ.b 9. SepfeDJbcr.
Indeed , it is rhe cool meral sheen of the machines , the "beaury of technolog y " and the transfigured vision of the furure that give the fi l m irs appeal . And the images Fritz Lang c reate d : alongside the futuristic architecture of the sky scrapers, he c reated "a human architecture " . Lang arranged scenes of c rowds in geometric forms, usually in pyramids. Even when the workers are fleeing the flood , he has grouped them in separate formations, creating a harmonious pattern . The bold visual form in which Fritz Lang captured the modern age and its perception as both magic and menace,
39
Metropolis
make METROPOLIS the most internationally influential film of the Weimar Republic. Even classics of recent years , such as
(1982, Ridley Scott) and THE FIFTH ELE(1997, Luc Besson) , return to the fumristic city ravines
BLADE RUNNE R 11-IENT
and robots of
METROPOLIS.
Films like
THE
BODYGUARD
(1992, Mick Jackson) or videos such as EXPRESS YOURSELF by Madonna (1989, David Fincher) and RADIO GA GA by Queen (1984, David Mallet) also allude to the film's figures and the city's fascination. METROPOLIS is etched indelibly on our visual m=ory.
40
Room 6
Transatlantic
41
Tra nsatla n tic
Just as the fasci nation of the m odern age m a n i fested itself for ci nema in the image of the metropo l i s , i n the 1 9 2 0s America became the symbol of the furure. Early o n , a l ively exchange had developed between fi l m people from America and Ger
..,. Arrival in Hollywood, 1 930 William Diete�e. Suzy Vernon, Anton Pointner. Oaniel Mendoille (top, from left to right), Jeanne Helbling, Carlo Bortheel, Lissi Arna, n. u. (bonom, from left to right)
many. The Germans stood in awe of Hollywo o d , the worl d ' s movie metropol i s , w h i le the Americans were i n terested i n major German fi lm talents. Consequently it w a s not long before E m i l Jan n i ngs, Ernst Lubitsch, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau - and rhe Austrian Erich von Stroheim - could be found i n studios before and behind an American Bell and
Holl 'ell.
Erich von Stroheim Born i n Vienna, the son of a straw hat ter, E r i ch von Stro h e i m fi rst worked i n fi l m i n the USA. I n 1 9 1 0 , after an u n s uccess ful career i n the Austrian army, twenty-year-old Strohe i m em igrated r o America where he i n i tially scraped b y a s a bal loon vendor, a deputy sheriff and a s tableman. B y chance, he got work i n the m ovies. I n h i s very fi rst act i ng role he devel oped the type of character he would soon be identified with : that of the brutal Pruss ian officer, a u n i formed member of the rul i ng class. Erich von Stroheim was soon b i l led i n studio advertisements as : "The Man You Love ro Hate " . With sup port from the fi l m producer Carl Laem mle, w h o was of Ger man origin himself and the founder of U n iversal , Erich von Stroheim made his d i recting debut: B L I N D H US B A N DS ( 1 9 1 9 ) . H e s o o n became as famous for h i s i n n ovative v i s u a l language and his futuristic stagings as he was nororious for his costly perfection i s m . For THE WEDD I N G MA R C H ( 1 9 2 8 ) , a m ovie ded icated ro all " true lovers of the world " , Strohcim had the far,;ade of the S t . Stephen's Cathed ral i n Vienna rep l icated full-size, p u rchased the Emperor's origi nal cerem onial car riage and for the actors play i ng soldiers in an Austrian regi ment had s i l k underwear made e mbroidered with the imper ial coat of arm s . The early 1 9 3 0 s were the starr of a d i ffi c u l t period for Strohe i m , b o t h artistically a n d fi nancially; he had to return to work ing mainly as an acror.
42
THE WEDDING MARCH Erich von Stroheim USA 1 928 Shooting break Valerie ond Erich von Stroheim with their son Erich jr.
Tra n s a t l a n t i c
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau I n con r rasr w E rich von S r ro heim, fried rich \XIilhelm M u r nau was al ready wel l-known as a direcwr bef(Jre he left Bre m e n f(Jr New Y<Jrk in 1 9 2 6 . He had become known f(Jr his fil m D E R L E TZTE M A N N ( 1 9 2 4 ) , shown in the USA as T H F L A S T L A U C ; H . I n Hol lywood, M u rnau directed am ong other
fil m s S U N IUSE ( 1 9 2 7 ) and FOU R D E V I LS ( l 9 2 H ) . The origin,d direcwr's Jl'rijlt of the larrer - with s ketches of rhe sce nes - has s u rvived, as well as a qm.rtio1111aire which Fox handed our
SUNRISE - A SONG OF TWO HUMANS F. W. Murnou USA 1 9 27 Shooting break Margaret Livingston, George O'Brien, F. W. Murnou, Janet Gaynor
w
rest viewers. However, Murnau was n o r g ranted m uch rime f(Jr a career in A m e rica . O n March 1 1 , 1 9 ) I , shor t ly after fin ishing his Somh Seas m ovie TA B U , he was killed in a car crash in Sanra Barbara. His body was brought back
to
Germany and
b u ried in Srah nsdorf near Potsda m . His deariJ mask was t(Jr a long rime in r h e possessio n of G reta Garbo.
Ernst Lubirsch O n e of the first German directors w go w America was E rn st Lu bitsch. On the reco m m e n d ation of the business man Sam Rach m a n n and his E u ropiiische Fil m - A l lian< (Ef;t), Lu birsch arrived in Hollywood in 1 9 2 2 . He was al ready known there f(Jr his p e riod fil m M A D A M E D U B A R RY ( 1 9 1 9) which, rc titled
ROSITA Ernst Lubitsch USA 1 923 Shooting break Mory Pickford, Ernst Lubitsch
43
Tra n satlantic PASSION, was rhe fi rst German fi l m ro be shown i n r h e USA
and ran with great success i n New York m ovie r hearers. And although Lubitsch worked with American acrors and col leagues on h i s fi rst Hollywood production, ROSITA ( 1 9 2 3 ) , h e a l s o h i red German c rews for h i s l a t e r fi l m s . He worked rogerher i n tens ively with scri ptwriter Hans Kraly, and shot fi lms such as THE M A R R I AGE C I RCLE ( 1 9 2 4 ) , FO R B I DDEN PARADISE ( 1 9 2 4 ) , THE STU D E N T P R I N C E I N OLD H E I D E L B E RG
( 1 9 2 7 ) and THE PATJ\IOT ( l 9 2 S ) . I n FO R B I DDEN PAR ADISE, rhe German fi l m star Pula Negri was Lubirsc h ' s lead i ng lady. UFA advertised rhe fi l m with a campaign bursting w i t h self confidence: "Can you do s u m s 1 As plain as I + I = 2 , Pola Negri + Ernst Lubirsch
=
box office h i t " . For OLD H E I DEL
BERG, Lubirsch had Ali Hubert brough t over w design rhe
sers and costumes. I n THE PAT R IOT, he p ur rhe most suc cessful German acwr in rhe USA before rhe camera: E m i l Jan n i ngs.
Emil Jannings Param o u n t had had an eye on Jan n i ngs ever s i n c e 1 9 2 2 . They wanted both ro profit from the acror's popularity and ro
weaken the competition from rhe German fi l m i nd u s try. And Jan n i ngs was - even though rhe word d i d n ' t exist back then a megastar. Jan n i ngs made Hollywood beg, constantly t h i n k ing up n e w conditions, before he fi nally s i g n e d a th ree-year con trac t in 1 9 2 6 . Ar home in B e rl i n , Gustav Stresem a n n , German foreign m i n i ster a r rhe r i m e , bade Jan n i ngs farewel l . H i s arrival i n r h e USA rurned i n to a tri umphal p rocess ion : local press cameras flashed in greeting at every big station , and in Los A ngeles half of Hollywood turned out ro pay h i m tribute . Together w i t h h i s wife Gussy Hol l , E m i l Jan n i ngs rented a Hollywood Bou levard villa with 2 0 roo m s , s i x bath rooms, an exotic gard e n , a greenhouse, ten n i s court and swi m m i ng pool . The g reat names of society were their fre quent guests: not only Charles Chap l i n and the couple Doug las Fai rbanks and Mary Pickford , but Egon E r w i n Kisch, and Klaus and E r i k a Man n . Emil Janni ngs was paid berween $ 4 , 0 0 0 and $ 6 , 0 0 0 a week, and fi lmed T H E WAY O F A L L FLESH ( 1 9 2 8 ) , T H E S T R E E T O F S I N ( 1 9 2 8 ) , T H E L A S T C O M -
44
Emil Jonnings ond his wife Gussy Holl on their orrivol in the USA New York, O
Tra nsatlantic MAND 0 9 28; usi ng a
Bell aiJ(I Hrna/1 £"(1/1/era, which appears in
one scene of the fi l m ) , THE PAT R IOT ( 1 9 28) , S I N S
O F THE
FAT H E R S ( 1 9 2S ) and B E T RAYA L ( 1 9 29). His greatest success
was when he received an A c"'le!lt)' A w ard for his d ramatic p e r formances, the very fi rst Oscar ever presented ro an acror by the newly fo unded Academy of Motion Pi ctures Arts and Sciences. Yer , by the r i m e rhe official presentation ceremony was h e l d , Jan n i ngs was al ready back in B e rl i n . It was rhe rime of rhe transition from silent fi l m s
to
the tal kies: Jan n i ngs had
seen no future for h i mself in speak i ng on the screen in rhe USA i n a foreign lang uage, and so he had packed his bags and lefr .
Talkies Oddly eno ug h , r h o u g h , ar rhe start of the 1 930s ir was pre c i sely rhe tal k i es which brough t ever more German actors ro Hollywo o d . W h e reas s i l e n t fi l m s had been understandable all over the worl d , sound fi l m s were largely dependent on lan guage . S i nce rhe tech n i cal development of dubbing had sri II not reached matu r i t y, the decision was q u ickly made ro i mport acrors from major fi l m markets ro Hol lywood and produce copies i n r h e i r own lang uage on the same sees j usr used for rhe scenes in the American movie . Films produced in chis way were called "vers i o n s " . The German series made i n Hollywo o d , rota l i ng around a dozen titles, m e t w i t h srrong reservations from both the c r i t i cs and rhe public i n Germany. Nonetheless , rhey helped a number of German acrors and
OER IANZ GEHT WEllER Wilhelm Dieterle USA 1 930 On set Corio Bortheel, Wilhelm Dieterle
d i rectors fi nd employ m e n t and earn a l i v i ng. They sailed ove r r h e ' herring p o n d ' fu l l of hopes and joyful expecrations. If you rake a look t h rough rhe porthole in rhe d i splay, you wi l l see c h e arrival of s i le n t a n d s o u n d fi l m actors : Con rad Ve idr and his w i fe , Luis Tren ker, W i l l iam (Wilhelm) Di eterle, A n ton Poi n t ner, Olga Tschechowa, Cam i l la Horn, Lya de P u t t i and many others. Mosr of rhem srayed only briefly ; r h c i r con trac ts were l i m i r e d t o r h ree or four m o n t h s , or rwo o r r h ree fi l m s . S o m e s tayed longer and seized whatever opportu n i ties arose. W i l l iam D i ererle fi rst made five "versions " , i n c l u d i ng D E R TA N Z GEHT W E lT E R ( 1 9 ) 0; THOSE WHO D A N C E ) - che d i rector's copy of the
.rcript has survived . He was
45
Transatlantic
chen offered work as the director of American productions, such as
THE LAWYER .MAN
(1932). Dieterle was so successful
in Hollywood, first as an actor and later as a director, that he could repay the huge debts which had made leaving Germany so easy for him. He remained in the USA during the Second World War, although it was now as an exile, and only rerurned to Germany at the end of the 1940s. It's hard to imagine that someone like Luis Trenker might have made his way to America. An actor, director and produ
cer specializing in regionally-flavored Heimat and mountain films, he arrived in New York in 1932. With the aid of Paul Kohner, his production manager, Trenker made a number of . films for the German branch of Universal, including his most . ; successful film
(1934). It cells the
DER VERLORENE SOHN
scary of a Tyrolean farmer's son who, stifled by the familiar mountain world around him, decides to try his luck in the "land of unlimited possibilities". Initially he finds work as a construction worker, bur is soon faced with poverty, that other side of American realiry. After losing his job, he scarves, begs and steals. He grabs the chance of making his way as a boxer and is, in fact, quite successful. But his longing for his native soil is stronger than success. He rerurns home and arrives just in time to prevent the fiancee he left behind from marrying someone else. Above all, Luis Trenker's movie excels as a documentation of the dark side of American metropolitan life at a time of hunger and depression, masterfully blending visions of the future and the modern city. 1930 was the year when yet another German star packed her trunks to travel to America: Marlene Dietrich. Paramount had already put her under contract on February 20, 1 9 3 0 . A little later, on the opening night of
DER
BLAUE
ENGEL,
Marlene Dietrich left B erlin. An unparalleled career was awaiting her: the rise to world stardom.
46
Room 7
Marlene Dietrich
47
Marlene D i etrich
When Marlene Dietrich d i ed on May 6, 1 9 9 2 , her daughter Maria R iva presented her estate co B e rl i n and che Scifcung Deutsche Ki nemachek. l c i n c l udes not only 1 5 ,0 0 0 photos and 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 sheets of paper - lec cers and documents - buc also over .'3 , 0 0 0 coscumes and items from her p rivate ward robe, such as hats and shoes, hand bags and gloves. These articles bear eloquent test i m ony co che language of clot h i ng which, with glamour and luxury, beauty and power, Marlene Dietrich used i n estab l i s h i ng her m y c h .
T h e myth Along
with
Mar ilyn Mon ro e , G reta Garbo,
H u m p h rey
Bogart and Charles Chapl i n , Marlene Dietrich was one of che few world s cars whose fame reached mythic heights. She embodied what her audiences des i re d : happi ness and p e r fec tion, splendor and success. A c che same t i m e she emanated an aura of ambigui ty, of che i ntangible and vague, and her cross i ng between the genders made her at tractive for boch men and women. Marlene Dietrich, who could manipulate che media l i ke almost no ocher star, was not the fi rst woman to appear i n men's attire . Yet u n c i ! s h e d i d , c ross-dres s i ng i n fi l m had served primarily the hum orous enactment of d i sguise, en abling a woman co d isappear amongst men or to take on ' male jobs ' . Marlene Dietrich, i n contrast , wore tails or a suit j us t as natural ly as she did an eve n i ng gown or feather coat. When she appeared ac che opening night of THE S I G N Or THE CROSS
( 1 9 3 2 , Cec i l B. DeMille) i n an elegant men's suit, i t caused quite a s t i r. From here on, she d ressed chiefly in m e n ' s cloth i ng at social affairs and so set a new trend. I t was also a mat ter of course for her to use c ross-d ressing frequently i n her fi l m s : i n MO ROCCO ( 1 9 3 0 , Josef von Sternberg) and PA R A M O U N T O N PA R A D E ( 1 9 3 0 ) , she cues a splendid figure i n an
elegant tailcoat, i n SEVEN S I N N E RS ( 1 94 0 , Tay Garnett) she appears as B ijou B lanche i n a navy uniform and captain '.r cap. By d ress i ng herself i n this manner, Marlene Dietrich became che prototype of a bisexua l , androgynous being. She was beyond gender roles, beyond norm s , and this heightened her mysterious and unapproachable appeal .
48
..,. SHANGHAI EXPRESS Josef von Sternberg USA 1 93 1 Photo: D o n English This photo wos mode under the artistic supervision of Josef von Sternberg.
Marlene D i etrich
Berlin - Hollywood " Marlene, r har ' s m e " , Josef von Stern berg once sai d , and no m a t te r h ow presumptuous rhis remark sounds, he was not wrong. In DER B l.A U E ENGEL ( 1 9 3 0 ) , he was rhe one who casr rhe l irrle- k n ow n Marlene Dietrich as Lola Lola alongside rhe renowned acror E m i l Jan n i ng s . Up rill rhen, Marlene Diet rich had only made a few rather med iocre fi lms. She was con s i de red fi rsr choice for second-rare fi l m s , for roles as fl i rra rious or d ramatically i n consolable and rormenred women. " Nor ar a l l bad from rhe rear, bur do we nor also need a face' " Sternberg 's assi sranr is said ro have commenred ro rhe d i recror
PARAMOUNT ON PARADE Dorothy Arzner/Otto Brower USA 1 930 SEVEN SINNERS Toy Gornett USA 1 940 locket design: I rene Trouser design: Eddie Schmidt
who was exam i n i ng a phoro of D i err ich. Yer Sternberg turned Marlene D i etrich i nro a srar - and DER !1 LAUE ENGEL was rhe srarr of a private and arrisric love affair, in which for a n u m b e r of years rhe one was n or h i ng wirhour rhe orher. " Whar am I really wirhour yo u ' " Sternberg wrore on a photo r h ar s h ows h i m wirh tousled hai r, glow i ng eyes and a cigarerre in h i s hand . She signed one ded ication ro h i m , "To my c rearor, from h i s creation . " Sternberg lavished presenrs on Marlene
DER BlAUE ENGEL Josef von Sternberg Germony 1 930 Mo�ene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron
49
Ma r l e n e Dietrich
Dietrich: for i nstance, rhe fa m o u s leather-covered t.'tlllity w.re, an absolute l u x u ry irem ar rhe r i m e . And Marlene Dietrich herself said years after thei r separatio n : " H e was m y m aster, my trai ner, he had me on a leash. " Josef von Sternberg and Marlene D i etrich made seven fi l m s together between 1 9 ) 0 a n d 1 9 .'\ 5 . W i r h
M O ROCCO
she was
i nrcrnarionally s uccessful for rhe fi rst r i m e , wirh T H E D E V I L I S A WO MAN
their col laboration c a m e m an e n d . Yet ir was i n
these seven fi l m s rhar Sternberg c reared rhc fig ure from which all later fi l m s and appearances of rhe star evolve d . And w h i le rhe i l l u m i nation of her face i n
M O ROCCO
m erely m ad e
i r look flat a n d pla i n , Marlene D i e t r i c h became ever m ore enigmatic as her work with Sternberg progressed . H i d d e n beneath h a t s , b e h i n d ve i l s , fans a n d m a s k s , she was trans formed - in a play of l ighr and s hadow - i n to a being wirh an obscure past and identi ty. Soon no photo of her was released wirhour .Josef von Sternberg giving his approval fi rsr . As a rule her f;Ke was now sculpted by a l i g h t i n stalled d i rectly above her head and shadows were used to p e r fect rhe effe c t . H e r poses were arranged b u r nor affected . She signal i zed the srre ngrh and dom i nance of a m odern, mysterious wom a n . T h i s stag i ng of l i g h t a n d pose - "von Sternberg l i g h t i n g " was used ro m ake Marlene D i etrich an i n ternational and glamorous srar, and her larer d i rectors and p hotog raphers had l i t tle choice hut ro adopt ir roo. Marlene Dietrich was j ust as u napproachable and dazz l i ng in her pr ivate l i fe as she was on scree n . A large n u m be r of
ji!Jotn.r. !etter.r and gift.r tell of her friends and lovers - both m e n and wom e n . Am ongst t h e m are names l i ke Joh n Way ne and .Jean Gabi n , whom she long saw as rhe love of her l i fe, and Erich Maria Rem arq ue. Marlene desc ribed r h e latrer as a shy and unselfish m a n , as a g reat fr iend and "com rade i n arms " . Her fe male lovers i n c l uded E l i sabeth B erg ner and Mercedes de Acosta as well as Jo Carsra i r s , hei ress of m i l l io n s . O n her fi rst cros s i ng
ro
America she is said ro have remarked ro B udd
Sch u l berg : " I n E u ro p e it does n ' t m arrer i f yo u ' re a m a n or a wom a n . We make love ro anybody we fi nd arrracrive. " T h i s sraremenr is m osr l i kely an expression of rhe s e x u a l p e r m i s si veness she experienced wirh bohemians i n B e r l i n and Vien na i n rhe 1920s. Nevertheless, she also led an offi c i a l , respeer able l i fe . I n 1 9 2 3 , ar the age of 22, she married R udolf Sieber,
50
Marlene Dietrich Dedication: 'To my neolor, hom his motion . May 1 93 1 . Modene" Josef von Stemberg New Ymk 1 932 Photo: Blakeman & Shuter Dedication: 'for Marlene - Whot om / really with· out you? Jo (after 'Shanghai Express'} "
Marlene D i etrich
(horm Thi1ties Gold A gilt hom Douglas F a ilbanks k with miniatUfe photogmphs of MorI ene Dietfich and Douglas Foi1bonks l1. G1eetings COfd from E IIC. h Morio Remorque to Morlene Dietnch Beve!ly Hills, undated Ogore�e case Thi1hes Gold, lopis lozult,. mo lachite diamonds . A gift hom Josef von Stem belg . Engmved w1th: "Morlene D 18. t11·ch/womon, mothel ond oclfess os neve1 befme/Josef von Stem b e 1g" . . G!eetings cord hom J eon Gobin to Morlene Dietnch Forhes
\) . --- -------
---·-
--
:S l
Marlene Dietrich product ion managu and fathe r of the i r daughtu Maria. Her arrachmem to her husband lasted her enrire l i fe .
� fQR£\GII mMR Billy Wilder USA 1 948
Marlene, a foreign affair In the spring of 1 9 3 3 , Marlene Dietrich was d e term i ned to return to Germany. She had received an offer from U fa for a new fi l m based on a script by Carl Zuckmayer. B ur then every t h i ng Marlene Dietrich heard from fr iends and col leag ues w h o had fled Germany abour the terrible eve n t s and Nazi harassment of Jews made her recon s i d e r. She v i s i ted Paris, rraveled for a few years between A m e r i ca and Europe, and then returned on August 22, 1939 ro the USA for goo d , about a week before Germany i nvaded Poland. I n the same year she became an American c i t i z e n . B egi n n i ng i n 1 94 2 , she gave conclus i ve p r o o f of w h i c h s i d e o f t h e w a r she was on between Germany and the USA: s h e toured all over the U n i ted States , s i ng i ng and campaig n i ng for war bond s . She broug h t i n more money for the U n i ted Scates Treasury than any other s h ow s tar. Her tour d ates were planned with prec i s i o n , day for day, and she fu l fi l led her o b l i gations with the s a m e Prussian love and s e n s e of d u t y w h i c h had d riven her r o work toward h e r career a s a s tar. Marlene Dietrich gave her fi rst guest p e r formances for A m e r i can rroops i n North Africa and I taly i n the s p r i ng of 1 9 4 4 . She gave 68 performances and sang to 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 sold iers in Africa alone. When she played the JillJ!,illJ!, Jclll', w h i c h had q u ickly become her trademark on war tours, the Gls went w i l d .
A FOREIGN AFFAIR Billy Wilder USA 1 948 On set
Her second tou r i n 1 944 and 1 9 4 5 rook Marlene D i etrich to England , France and fi nally - after the war ended - to Ger
·. ·a-.� �
many. For the fi rst t i m e she p e r formed in Berlin aga i n , un noticed by the Germans but celebrated by the Americans. For this rour, she had a new gou ·11 made: h ig h - necked , but accen tuati ng h e r body, a n d w i t h h u n d reds of seq u i n s that sparkled when the l ights hit them . Th ree years later she wore this d ress when s i ng i ng " R u i n s of B e rl i n " in B i l ly Wi lder's comedy A FOR E I G N A I'FA I I\ ( l 94il), fi lmed i n the destroyed c i ty.
After the war, Marlene Dietrich's com m i tm e n t
m
the USA
led ro i n n u merable arracks and vicious slander from Germany, espec ially in 1 960 when she returned to her former home
52
�·
l'r�
_' · · · ·at · ·- � " ,.
\
i
.·· · .
K
:
.
.. . _·.. -. ..· ·- ··.··-·•· · _- ••
. ..._· .
- '
.· ••��--=i.:._ ., ,_
·
'
�
�·
M a r l e n e D i etrich
53
Marlene Dietrich
while on tour. It was not until the end of the 1980s, long after she had withdrawn from the public into her Paris apartment, that her stance during the Second World War was reevalu ated. Today she is held in high esteem and considered a repre sentative of the other - b etter - Germany. At the heart of ne:w B erlin, a plaza has now been named in her honor. When Marlene Dietrich died in Paris in 1992, she
was
buried, as she had requested, near her mother at the cemetery
in Friedenau, B erlin. A line from a p o em by Theodor Korner
adorns her gravestone: "Here I stand at the marks of my days."
54
Room S
Olymp ia
55
Olympia
Ir was the fifth time that B erlin had applied to host the Sum mer Olympic Game s, chis time for the year 1 9 3 6 . In 1 9 1 2 , when the city's bid for the 6th Olympic Game s had been accepted, the First World War had prevented its realization. In 1920 and 1924, Germany was not even allowed to partici� pace in the Game s for political reasons. In 1 9 3 0 , at the time of application, it prevailed over eleven other candidate s. But once again the Olympics almost did not take place in B erlin: the economic cri si s in the Weimar Republic weighed heavily, and wor se still was the disapproving seance of Germany's political parties. The .K.PD dismis sed the Olympic Games as an event celebrating a very bourgeois national pride and
in stead propagated holding internationalist worker s' game s. And it found backing in the opposing camp: the NSDAP rejected the Garne s as "unracial" and saw them as an expre s sion of an individuali st-democratic concept of sport. But soon after the National Socialist s seized power in 1 9 3 3 , they recog nized the opportunity for self-promotion which the Olympic Games could provide. SoJoseph Goebbel s commissioned Leni Riefen stahl to enact the great event for the screen. Leni Riefenstahl had managed to establish herself al so as a director and producer just a few year s after her discovery by Arnold Fanck, who had ca st her as Diotima in DER HEILIGE BERG (1926). Her succes s and her enthusiasm for Adolf Hitler had already qualified her to make the film on the 1934 Reich Party Convention in Nuremberg (TRIUMPH DES WILLENS, 1935). The "colossal painting" (Arnold Fanck) OLYMPIA was created in two parts: FEST DER VOLKER and FEST DER SCHONHEIT (both 1 9 3 8).
The cult of sacrifice
The model of the Olympic Stadium shows track and field di sci pline s such as high jump, pole vaulting and the 100 meters, as well as the positions of the film cameras in the arena. Simultaneously it gives an overall impression of the architec ture of thi s monumental structure erected specially for the Olympic Game s. The east-we st axis stretching from the Olympic Gate, the main entrance of the stadium, to the Marathon Gate, leads to
56
..,. OLYMPIA
leni Rie!enstahl Germany 1 938
Dunng production Wolter Frentz (ot tlie com em), leni Rie!enstohl
Olym p i a
OLYMPIA Leni Riefenstohl Germony 1 938
the Olympic Flame w h ose base i s modeled after the three legged sac r i ficial bowls of ancient Greece. The gaze is then d rawn past it, t h rough the o n ly o p e n i ng in the stands, to the bell rower which resem bles a church rower. It was erected on the Langemarckhalle in mem ory of the countless young sol d i ers who d i ed at the Bartle of Langemarck i n the First World War. B o t h rhe Olympic bell which hangs in rhe rower and rhe bowl with the Olympic Flame bear the inscription "Sacrificed for the Peopl e " , thus equating athletic competition to the s truggles of war and the death of sold iers. The sacred quota tion implies, so to speak, that both ath letes and soldiers fi nd i m m ortal ity. Leni R iefensrahl repeatedly used both the sacri
OLYMPIA Leni Riefenstohl Germony 1 938 Shooting breok Wolter Frentz (lying down), Leni Riefenstohl
ficial bowl and the bell rower as backd rops i n her fi l m . Aga i n and aga i n t h e pole vaul ters propel themselves i nto the air, w i t h the i m age of the Olympic Flame beh i nd them.
Neti'Spaper artides u nderscore the deliberate parallels drawn between combat, sport and fi l m : they report on the new m o b i le Askania sboulder camera employed by Leni R iefenstahl with the s logan " Ever ready to shoot" or they present a wrica ture of Len i R iefensrahl showing her on the w i n ners' rostrum figh t i ng fi l m material. Shooting a m ovie i s celebrated as an athletic feat that deserves an Olympic medal . Another h istoric piece of camera equipment employed by Len i R iefensrahl i n OLY M P I A is the Debri Pan•o L. Hans
57
Olympia
Schneeberger had used ir to shoot Riefensrahl's film BLAUE LICHT
( 1 9 3 2);
QUAX, DER BRUCHPILOT
DAS
(194 1 , Kurt
Hoffmann) with Heinz Riilunann was also made with it; as was DEFA's newsreel "Der Augenzeuge" and many more of irs films. Even today certain shots are still made with a
Debri
Parvo L.
The "FUhrer" principle
The orientation to the "Fiihrer" inherent in totalitarian Nazi ideology was also integrated into the architectural design of the Olympic Stadium. The "FUhrer's box" was located at the middle-line of the field, along the north-south axis which extended on far beyond the stadium. It was built out on a platform, protruding from the masses in the stands. Leni Rie fensrahl, who has admitted having been enthralled by Hider's personality, portrays the Fiihrer as an "Ubermensch" . She con stantly filmed him from below, which contrasted with the interspersed top-view shots of the athletes and unmistakably brought out the hierarchy.
Exclusion
During rhe Olympic Games the Nazi regime tried to conceal the true terror of exclusion and persecution b ehind a fa�ade of normality. In order to deflect the threatened boycott by the USA, Jewish athletes were invited to participate on the Ger man team for appearances' sake. These included
Helene jHaye�·,
a German fencer well-known in the USA. Although she won the silver medal - and all other winners, especially the Ger mans, were given particular prominence - Leni Riefenstahl completely omitted her. The German record holder in high jump,
Gretl Bergmann,
was also invited to the Games. But as
soon as the American ream set sail for Germany, the invitation was retracted. Most of the participating Jewish athletes did not p erform to their best because they had long since been banned from training and sports events. Leni Riefenstahl stages an idealization of athletic b o dies, as can be seen on the slide projections here. The athletes are shown
58
OLYMPIA leni Rielenstahl Germany 1 938
Production s1ills Photos: Walter Frentz
Olym pia
59
Olympia against the s!...-y, fihned from below, from camera pits. They are seldom seen touching the ground, taking off or landing. They become fascinating weightless dream creations, losing their individuality and conforming to a uniformity that Leni Riefenstahl had already brought into play in WILLENS.
Together with the film score
TRIUMPH DES
"Marathon/auf"
com
posed by Herbert Windt, this uniformity was intended to evoke an emotional sense of unity. Frenzied applause and thousands of arms raised in the Hitler salute suggest the nation's unanimous will to follow the Fiihrer and National Socialist ideology. Fitted out with embrasures like a fortress, the architecture of the Olympic Stadium works in with Riefenstahl's direction. Its future as a bunker and anti-aircraft site had already been taken into account during its construe cion.
60
Room 9
National Socialism
6l
N a t i o n a l Socia l i s m
When t h e National Socialists sei led power German fi l m makers lost t h e i r freedom . Joseph Goebbel s , Reidm!lini.rterfiir
Volk.ralljkliinmg tmd Propaganda (Reich M i n i s ter for Pop u lar E n l ightenment and Propaganda) was put i n charge of fi l m , a medium which could be used and m i s used i n various ways .
_,. D�R H�RRSCH�R Veil Ho�on Germany 1 937 Shooting breok Veil Horlon, loseph Goebbels, n.u., lmil lonnings, Adolf Hitler
To start w i t h , Goebbels forced those work ing for the fi l m i n d ustry t o j o i n t h e /�eidJJji/mkcll//11/tr ( Re i ch f i l m Chamber), which promprlr excl uded ,,J l
' n o n - A ryan · a r r i s t s . A
more
res tric tive version of the Reich fi l m code came i nt o effe c t ,
which prescribed examination of a\1 screenplay projects and authorized the Reich fi l m censors to forbid material as wel l as completed fi lms " r u n n i n g counter to the s p i r i t of the t i m es " . "Art i s fre e " , Goebbels a nno u nced i n 1 9 3 3 a t t h e Hotel Kaiserhof i n his fi rst .rjJeecb add ressed to fi l m artists, " though i t will have to get used to certa i n n o rm s " . On the other hand, fi lms conform i ng ro the state's i deology were awarded the raring of "arrist ically e sp ecia l l y valuable"
or even " nationally
and politically valuable" . Goebbels fo unded the Fi//1/krec/it
bmtk wh i ch by ! 93 7 was al ready provid i ng advance fi n a n c i n g for half of all fearure fi l m s . B y ! 94 1 , the enti re fi l m i n d u s try was national i zed under the umbrella of Ufa- F i l m G m b H (UFI ) . Under these c i rcumstances, w h a t k i nd of fi l m s c o u l d be mad e ) W h a t happened t o t h o s e a r t i s t s for whom there was no place w i t h i n the National Soc i a l i s t world view ) Seen i n respect t o these questions , the exh i b i t s i n t h i s room can be grouped i nto three themes : propaganda, dai ly fare, and vic tims of the T h i rd Reich .
Propaganda Hons Bertram, obout l 94D Hans Bertram is one of those anises who al lowed their ser vices to be e n l i sted by the Nal i reg i m e . As a wel l-k no wn pilot, best-sel l i ng author ( " f l ug i n d i e H o l l e " , 1 9 .'\ 3 /" F l ig h t t o Hel l " , 1 9 3 6 ) a n d former consultant for the Chi nese avi ation authorities , he was of g reat i n terest t o those i n power: Bertram became a tech n i cal advisor for Naz i a i r battle fi l m s . H i s fi rst work was
F l' U E HTAUI'E
( 1 940), a virulent m o n tage of
documentary material . I n i t , he p u r together footage on German air raids on Poland , creating a choreography of triumph, hailed by the " F i l m -Kurier" as " the starr of a new
62
N a t i o n a l Socia l i s m
form of German w a r h i storiog raphy " . Adolf H i tler hi mself sene him a telegram: " I have j ust seen the fi l m F E U E RTA U F E . I congrawlace you on the prod union of this excel lent fi l m . " B e r tram received ano rh e r congratlllatol)' telegrrtlll from a top ran k i ng official for h i s d i recting debut, KAMPFG E SCHWA D E R L U TZOW ( 1 94 1 ) , a fu rther glorification of the campaign
agai nst Poland . This time i t was l?eidmllrtrscha/1 Hermann Goring who praised the fi l m as "a ge n u i nely great artistic ach i evement " . Another writer and d i rector who uncritically submitted
to
the demands of the era was Hans H . Zerlet t . During the Wei mar Republic he had been a respected lyricisr, work i ng wirh such c r i t i cal fig u res as Kurt Tucholsky and the composer Frie d r i c h Hollaender. But the fi rst reproof in an official Nazi fi l m review suffi ced ro make h i m c o m e round r o rhe desired l i ne . H i s comedy V E N U S VOR GE R ! C H T ( 1 94 1 ) cel ls t h e srory o f a young sculptor and h i s s truggle for recog n i tion in the art world of rhe Wei mar Rep u b l i c . Wirh its main characrer Perer B rake, the fi l m makes a conscious reference to Arno B reker,
VENUS VOR GERICH! Hons H . Zerleij Germony 19 4 1 Shooting breok Hons H. Zerleij
H i tler's favor i te sculptor. V E N U S VOR G E R I C H T is d i rectly relared ro the to u r i ng exh i b irion " E n tartete Kunst" (Degener ate Art, 1 9 3 7 ) , used by the Narional Soc ialists to defame works by expressionists and other avant-garde artists. In a
letter to the Reithskllltllnmlter (Guard ian of Reich Culture), Zerle t t requested the loan of several originals from the exhib ition for a scene at a Jewish art dealer's. After all, it was " m ost d e s i rable ( . . . ) that in t h i s art dealer's shop those ki nds of . originals be shown which i ndeed unequ ivocally convey the
HITLERJUNGE QUEX Hons Steinhoff Germony 1 933 Shooting breok Heinrich George
rot te n ness of such works " . However, Zerlet t ' s rather modest career in rhe T h i rd Reich had faral consequences: he was arrested in 1 94 6 and d i e d t h ree years later in Buchenwald camp, which was run by the Soviets at the time. The l i fe of h i s considerably more prom i nent col league H e i n r i c h George ends s i m i l arly. The g rear acror, who began h i s career as an outstand i ng character acror in expression ist theater, wen t over ro National Soc ialism al ready i n 1 9 3 3 . The change in H e i n rich George 's personal poli tical attitude cor responded to the role he played in the propaganda fi l m H ITLERJ U N G E Q U E X ( 1 9 3 3 , Hans Ste i n h off). Here he portrays
the father of a boy who starts off amongst com m u n i sts only
w
succumb to the fasci nation of the H i der Yo uth movement; in
63
National Soc i a l i s m
r h e fi l m , r h e farher i s convinced of rhe n e w order's superior ity. The world premiere of rhe movie rook place with lead i ng National Socialist figures presen r as guests of honor. L i ke Zerlerr, George was arrested afrer the war. He d i ed i n 1 94 6 i n Sachsenhausen i n ternment camp under circumstan ces never clarified. E m i l Jan n i ngs was n o r only successful i n the Weimar
R e p u bl i c bur was a major star in rhe USA too. In see k i ng fam e a nd glory, Jan n i ngs accepted parts in fi lms s uch as DER HER RSCHE R ( 1 9 .'1 7 ) , in which d i rector Vei t Harlan portrayed an i n d u s t r i a l rycoon nor u n l i ke rhe s reel baron A l fred Krupp.
In his diary, propaganda m i n ister Joseph Goebbels called the fi lm " modern and national social i s t i c " . Jan n i ngs won rhe Coppa Volpi at the Venice F i l m Festival for h i s lead ing role in
the Film. One of the m o s t t reacherous a n d i n famous of all Nat ional
Socialist propaganda films was Jl.:D sCss ( 1 940). It was based on rhe hisrorical novel by Lion Feuchrwanger about rhe fare of rhe banker Joseph SUss Oppenheimer, who was condemned ro death in Wlirttemberg in the 1 8 t h cenrury for fi nancing a duke in rhe region and so supporting the suppression of the bourgeoisie. I n Harlan 's fi l m , SUss, and with h i m all i m m igranrs of " o t h e r races" , a r e blamed p e r se for every m i s for tune the German p eople ever suffered. SUss i s also accused of raping a German Christian girl, who rhen commits suicide. Ar rhe end of rhe fi l m , a j udge reads rhe verd i c t : a decree ordering all Jews ro leave the counrry and cal l i ng foc a l l Ger man descendanrs ro enforce this law with an i ron hand . I t was because of this message that the SS and police chief, Reiths kommissar Heinrich H i m m ler, ordered on September 3 0 , 1 9 4 0 " rhar rhe enrire SS a n d police ( . . . ) see rhe fi l m 'J ud SUss " ' . T h e British version of the fi l m , JEW
suss,
m a d e some years
earl ier with Conrad Vei d t in the lead role , had wanred ro warn of rhe dangers of anri -Sem i t i s m and had - as also Lion Feucht wanger i n h i s novel - a humanistic message. Harlan's versi o n , on r h e o r h e r hand , w a s a counrer p ro j e c t aimed ar defamation .
64
JUD soss Veil Harlan Germany 1 940 Program
National Socialism
Daily fare Along with those films clearly designed
as
propaganda for the
Third Reich, there were a large number of light entertaining films. Between 1 9 3 3 and 1945 approximately 1 , 0 0 0 feature
films were made in all. Revue and dance films as well as melo dramas were the daily fare of those working for the film in dustry under National Socialism. To create an impression of culmral diversiry, not only were innocuous films imported from Hollywoo d to Germany but major works of the Ameri can entertainmem industry were also taken as models for numerous German productions. In the film DIE
FRAU
MEI
NER TRAUivlE (1944, Georg Jacoby), for example, Marika
Rokk and Wolfgang Lukschy dance in much the same way as Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Paul Martin's comedy GLUCKSKINDER (1936, Paul Martin) turned out to be an open declaration of love for the USA.
Clearly inspired by Frank Capra's IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
(1934), Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch play the roles per
formed by Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable in the original. The film was received with enthusiasm by German film critics: "B ravo ! Bravo! What the Americans can do, we can do to o!" cheered Giimer Schwark in the "Film-Kurier". Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch and Marika Rokk are only three well known names standing for German star cinema under the Nazis. The Swedish actress Zarah Leander was srylized into the diva of German film. Her resemblance to Greta Garbo, her magnificent gowns and, last but not least, her wistful songs like "Ich steh im Regen
. . .
", all combined to make her the
public's darling. Heinz Riihmann was a star of quite a different stamp. He embodied the epitome of the average German, playing, for example in the school comedy DIE FEUERZANGENBOWLE ( 1944, Helmut Weiss), a cheeky young man who poked fun
at his superiors without acmally questioning their authority. The film gave such impressive proof of Riihmann's comic abilities that even today it is one of the best-known films of its genre. After 194 5 , Heinz Riihmann came in for criticism for having worked continuously as both actor and director under the Nazis. Objections were also raised due to informa tion Riihmann had given the Reichsfachschaft Film (Reich Film
65
National Soc i a l i s m
DIE FRAU MEINER TRAUME Georg locoby Germony 1 944 Finol scene Stoge design: Erich Kettelhut
Division) i n a q uestionna i re dared 1 9 3 3 , s u c h a s h a d ro b e fi l led our by all those work i ng for the fi l m i ndustry d u r i ng the Th i rd Reich. In the q11e.rti01mttire, R lihmann had wri t ten that he was a member of the
Kampflmnd fiir dmtscbe Kultm·
(Combat League for German Culture). However�these doubts were later d ispelled, s i nce he could convi n c i ngly expla i n why he had made this clai m : he bel i eved he would nor be accepted by the Reichsfm·hschaft " i f he were not a member of some National Social i s t OQ!an ization. especially i n view of the fact that h i s w i fe was a fu l l Jew ''. The fi lm M U N C H H A U S E N ( ! 9 4 3 , Josef von Baky) represents a h ighlight i n National Social i s t c i nema. Hans Al bers gave an outstand ing performance i n the ride role as the braggart Baron Mlinchhausen . S i nce the fi l m was made for the 2 5 th ann iversary of Ufa, it was produced i rrespective of the costs for sets, extras or on location shooting i n Vienna. Hans A l bers fl ies ro the moon on a cannonball and conquers the heart of Catherine, Empress of Russia, and a l l i n color. The screenplay, fu ll of _!! a_gs . was w r i t ten by the a n t i - fasc i s t w r i ter E r i ch Kiisrner, under the pseudonym Berthold B U rger - a paradox j u s t parr of daily fare in the Th i rd Reich .
66
Notional Soc i a l i s m
M U NCHHAUSEN Josef von Boky Germany 1 943 Hons Albers (in the middle) M U NCH HAUSEN Josef von Baky Germany 1 943 Premiere poster Artwork: Kenan
Victims T h e Naz i s h ad o n l y two goals i n p e rsec u t i ng acto r s , scr ip t w r i ters a n d d i re c to rs wh o were e ithe r Jew i s h f(J r m to t h e syste m : ex p u l s io n
or
or
did nor co n
deat h . E ven t h ose w h o
m anaged to e s c a p e to e x i l e , l i ke t h e p r o d u c e r . J o e (.Josep h ) Pas ternak a n d r h e d i rector H e r m a n n Kosrerl i r z ( k nown i n rhe
USA as H e n r y Koster), c o n t i n ued to be p u rsued w i r h hacred and c o n t e m p t from G e r m a ny. In l ') .H > , r h e v i r u l e n t magaz i ne ··Oer Stlir111er ·· p u b l i s h e d a p h o tog raph showi ng Pas ternak and Koster, both s tu n n i ng l y s u ccessfu l in the USA, with t h e i r
67
National Soc i a l i s m
new yourhful scar, Deanna Durb i n . " D e r Sclirmer" i n s i n uated they had both com m i t ted a sexual offense with the g i r l , a "crime against blood " , and demanded the "death penalty for all Rassensd;aizder" , for anyone ' d i sg rac ing the race' . What happened c o the Jewi s h actor Kurt Gerron shows how perfid ious Nazi persecucion could be. He had been a scar even before playing the magician i n DER B LA U E ENGEL ( 1 9 3 0 , Josef von Sternberg) w i t h Marlene Dietrich. Gerron fi rst fled co Hol land , where he was i n terned i n 1 94 3 . I n Tbere.rienstadt, he was then forced to make a propaganda fi l m about the ghetto camp, designed to deceive chose abroad abour what was really happ e n i ng i n Nazi concentration camps . The fi l m simu lates cultural and social l i fe i n an apparently i d y l l i c location. T h e J e w s h e l d imprisoned i n Thercs iens tad c a n d work i ng on the fi l m i ronically c a l l e d the fi l m .. Der Fuhrer schenkt den Juden e i ne Stad t " (The Fuhrer Donates a Tow n to the Jews). The visual log of scenes was d rawn by the Durch painter Jo Spier, also imprisoned there. Kurt Gerron d i d not
live ro see the fil m completed. He was deported to A uschwitz in October 1 944 and was murdered there only months before
the exte r m i nation camp was l i be rate d . The fi rst issue of t h e "German Theater Annuals" after c h e war i n 1 9 4 5 contai ned a plate honoring t h e v i c t i m s of Nation
al Soc ial i s m . Th� lise of names covers rhree payes . The last wal l of this room d isplays - i n the name of all those who died - photographs of Hans Meyer-Hanna, O t to Wal l b u rg, Eugen Burg, Max Eh rl ich .
Marhilde Sussi n . Joachim Gottschalk,
Maria Forescu, Paul Morgan and Fritz Grlinbau m .
Ono Wallburg Star postcord Died in Auschwitz in 1 944 Mox Ehrlich Star postcard Died in Auschwitz in 1 944
68
Room 1 0
Exile
69
Exil e
During the Third Reich, the persecuted who managed to evade arrest and murder at the hands of the National Social ists sought refuge in exile. Initially many working in the film industry went to Austria or Holland, where language was not a problem. Hungary, France and England also offered them a refuge in the first few years. However, once the war began, the situation in Europ e grew increasingly difficult and the United States became the promised land. The name "Holly wood" had a magic appeal for Germans involved in film. In the 1920s and early 193 0s, there had already been a lively exchange between the two film industries. Many German stars and filmmakers had been contracted for the USA, and so American methods were known in Germany. Moreover, since Hollywood films were produced for the world market, the exiles' knowledge of languages and cultures proved useful. But a large number of bureaucratic obstacles had to be over come before one could enter the promised land. In his novel on exile, "The Night in Lisbon", Erich Maria Remarque aptly states: "The individual human being had ceased to exist; only one thing counted: a valid passport."
Flight and refuge
Yet a valid passport alone did not suffice for admission into the USA. To be granted an immigration visa, one needed either a US work permit or contract, and an affidavit. This guarantee was a pledge by the person signing it to provide financial support for the emigrant or - as in Paul Kohner's
affidavit for Hugo Sinaiberger - a confirmation of the exiles' political and moral integrity. Here Paul Kohner confirms that he has known the editor of the "Internationale Filmschau" magazine since 1 9 19 and certifies that Sinai berger is a man of good character, and politically reliable. Towards the end of the affidavit, he emphasizes that Sinaiberger would certainly become an "excellent and patriotic citizen" of the United States of America. Such so-called affidavits of moral could only be written by American citizens and therefore were almost unobtainable for anyone seeking refuge in America without the necessary contacts. Those in a position to help even got letters from
70
...,. Noturolizotion ceremony of Elisabeth ond Szoke Szokoll Los Angeles, December 1 3, 1 946
Exile
strangers - as, for example, d i recror Fritz Lang, who received a
letter from
ct
)'OIIIIg A 11Jtria n gi rl Moreover, wel l-known Ger .
man em igran t s , l i ke Thomas Mann, srood up for rhe exiles' i n terests i n rhe USA.
Welcome
. . .
: emigration
Many w h o succeeded i n em ig rati ng wanted ro become Amer ican c i t i zens . American c i t i zens h i p meant safety when, afrer rhe USA en tered rhe Second World War, exi les were offi c ially declared "enemy aliens " ; i r also s i g n i fied a pol itical affi rma tion of democracy and anti-roralirarian beliefs. Austrian d i re c tor Hanns Schwarz proudly sent our a card announc i ng h i s newly obtained American c i t i zenship - he had even changed h i s name ro Howard W Shel ton . The playwright and screen actor Szoke Szaka l l , originally from Hungary and known ru many as rhe headwaiter Carl in Michael Curriz' CASABLANCA ( 1 9 4 2 ) , and his w i fe look rad iant as rhey raise
t h e i r hands to rake their oarh of al legiance ro rhe American flag. And rhe pin-up girls on rhe wal l of rhe j udge's office s m i le down on rhem opt i m i s tical ly. In rhe end, more rhan 5 0 0 German-speak ing em igrants from rhe fi lm world were l i v i ng in Hollywo o d . Pau l Kohner summed ir up when he wrote in
ct
letter to Erich Mt�ritl Remt1rq11e: "Some rime ago ( . . . )
I read you'd received rhe great honor of having your citizen
Poul Kohner, oround 1 9 4 9
ship a n n u l led by rhe presen t German government. ( . . . ) Once aga i n , rhe name of a prom i ne n t public figure has been added ro r h i s roll of honor and , as you are sure ro real ize, you are now i n the best of company. " Paul Kohner is a central figu re in rhe h i s rory of German exile i n America. Born i n 1902 i n Teplirz Schiinau , Czechos lovak ia, he was i n America by 1 9 2 1 , learn i ng rhe fi l m busi ness from rhe bor rom u p . From 1 9 .o 0
ro
1 9 3 3 , h e l ived in Berl i n as h ead of production for rhe German branch of Un iversa l . After rhe Naz i s came i nt o power, he returned ro rhe USA. I n 1 9 3 8 , he opened a fi lm agency in Hollywood rhar became p ivotal for exiles.
71
Exile
Splendor and misery: the European Film Fund Pau l Kohner was co-founder of the E uropean Film Fund (EFF), an aid organ i zation primarily a i m i ng to offer fi nancial support
ro
exiles. Eve n i ngs of card games were turned i n to
charity events, and those work ing in fi l m and solve n t donated up
to
ten percent of their i n come weekly. So for years the fu nd
was able
to
support more than 2 5 0 u n employed col leagues by
provid i ng them with relatively small sums. Lists of donations and al lowances were recorded meticulous ly.
Rise and fall What all exi les desired was to fi nd work in the USA so as to get by. The American fi l m i n d ustry was certai n l y well d i s posed toward them, y e t d ue t o i r s size and centra l i zed organ ization competition was extremely fi erce . Some, l i ke t h e actress Luise Rainer, were successfu l i n mak i ng t h e trans ition to the screen i n the USA. She was referred to as " a refreshing import from Vienna" and received Oscars for her roles in TH E G R E AT Z I E G F E I.D ( 1 9 ) 6 ) and T H E G O O D E A R T H ( 1 9 3 7 ) .
Others, l i ke t h e d i rector Joe May, w h o had g reatly i n fl u e n ced the style of German s i le n t fi l m s and early ralkies, went u nder. In 1948, he wrote to Pau l Kohner, " Dear Pau l , I have sold my wife's last l i ttle r i ng for $ 60 to pay the ren t . I n the fu ture, i t w i l l be utterly i mposs ible for me to g e t h o l d of e v e n a s m a l l sum of money. ( . . . ) I d o n ' t k n ow what t o d o . I f you a r e at a l l interested i n s t i l l h e l p i n g m e , then do so n ow ( . . . ) . " B ut even Kohner's abi l i ty to help had l i m i t s . On a later, s i m i larly despa i r i ng letter from Joe Mt�y, Kohner briefly note d : "Sorry, noth ing I can do. "
Role and reality The chance for fore ign actors in Hollywood - and often also the tragedy - was that they had to be red i s covered . For actors in particular, whose profession is based on lang uage , this was especially d i ffi c u l t . The i r noticeable accents often predes ti ned them for one role only: Naz i thugs i n ami -Nazi fi l m s .
72
layout for o Paul Kohner Agency announcement for Alexander Gronoch
Exile A d rafc for a fiJ!bli<"ity CIIIII0/11/(elllellt for Alexander Granach was relaced to j us c such a fi l m : in .JOAN OF PA R I S ( 1 94 2 , Roberr S tevenson) Granach plays a Ges rapo age n c , with grim features and stocky b u i l d . And so the victims i n real l i fe were turned i n co the perpetrators on the sc reen . Even actor fel ix B ressarr , who asked whether he could be requi red to play i n an anci -Nazi fi l m e v e n though he s c i l l had relatives in Ger many, received from Paul Kohner the reply that this was i ndeed q u i re poss ible: for B ressarc could consider hi mself " fortunate" to have a seven-year contract with MGM .
Laughter and despair Those who had n o opportunity to work were less fortunate. Some took i t with i rony, bri l l i an tly formulati ng their appeals for help, knowing only too well that in their si tuation dignity had to rake second place. The Vien nese journalist fried rich Torberg, f(>r i n s tance, asked Paul Kohner f(>r an affidavit by w r i t i n g : "The text whose enchancing spell I am ask i ng you to cas t is one u s i ng the set formula for such occas ions, corres pond i ng almost completely to the trmh and harboring no ri sks worth mentioning. (As far as my ' h igh moral charac rer' i s concerned , you were j us c m i s rake n . )" Ochers, such as che Vien nese composer Ralph Benatzky, were dr iven to despai r by the e n forced i nac tivi ty. His self-righreous and unj ust letter to
Billy Wilder, Hollywood, 1 940s
Kohner i s an expression of his b i t terness .
On the bock of this photogroph for scriptwriter Mox Colpet, Billy Wilder odded the comment "Der lubitsch·Einfluss." ("The lubitsch touch ." ) .
Comedy and rragedy Ernst Lubirsch rook the rragicorn ical tlemenr which exi le had for many in rhe movie busi ness and developed ic i n co an aes thetic p rocess. In 1 9 4 2 , he masrerfu l ly d i rected che comedy TO BE O R NOT TO BE about a group of actors in Poland who
in o rder
co
survive have to play rheir roles nor only on rhe
stage bur also in real l i fe . The fi lm abounds wirh u n i f(>rmed fig u res, wirh real and false Ges tapo agents, deceivers and rhe deceived . U s i ng w i c , d isguise and coscumes, che group of actors defear rheir German adversaries. Yet TO B E OR NOT TO BE u n leashed a storm of protest.
73
Exile
I n v i e w of t h e N a z i c r i m e s com m i t ted i n Pol a n d m a n y i n
rlw a u d i e n c e , and n or o n l y i n Pol a n d , c o n s i d ered t h e c o m e d y i n h a d r a s t e . L u b i tsch h o m: v e r d e fe n d e d h i m s e l f by say i n g : .. \\! hat I made fu n of i n t h e fi l m are t h e Naz i s a n d t h e i r r i d i c u lo u s i d eology. ·· T h e t:m10 u s ' L u h i tsch r o u c h ' was e n o r m o u s l y s uccessfu l and se rved as a m o d e l l(>r B i l l y W i l d e r, w h o W
al ways a s k i n!' h i m s e l f:
..
Hou ll'lil!ld L11bit.� ,-b do it -" ''
Pol i t ics anJ arr I n fi l m and fi l m m a k i ng. pol i t i cs and art i n c reas i ng l y c o i n c i d ed . T h e fi rst a n t i - Na z i fi l m s we re p ro d uu:d as t h e t h reat to
A m e r i ca fro m National Soc i a l i s t m ac h i n a t i o n s began
to
become e v i d e n t . Fr i t z L a n g , lk rrol t B re c h t and E r i k a M a n n used fi l m a s a m ed i u m
to
ra i s e pol i t i c a l aw,tre n e s s . A m o ng
such fi l m s . Fritz Ltn,'" · s 1 ')-i .) I t was a reac t i o n
to
H ,\ :-J ( ; � I ! o r\ ,\ t .SO D I E
srands o u t .
t h e assas s i n a t i o n o f R e i n h a rd Heyd r i c h ,
Chinese god of good fortune with a poem by Bertoli Brecht A gilt from Brecht to Fritz long los Angeles, 1 94 1
74
Exile
Reichsprotektor in B ohemia, by Czechoslovakian resistance fighters and the Nazi annihilation of the town of Lubice in retaliation. The screenplay for the film was written by Bertolt Brecht, who owed his admission to the USA to Fritz Lang's support. � D ecember 194 1 , Brecht expressed his gratitude to Lang by giving him a Chinese god ofgoodfortune. Nevertheless, instead of acknowledgment, the political commitment of many film people in America led to sudden mistrust. Reactionary forces in the USA accused them of being communists. On October 3 0 , 1947, Bertolt Brecht was questioned, and on the same evening he left America. In 195 0 the American film directors' union issued Fritz Lang a polit ical surety, an Affi davit of Non-Communist Guild Member. Yet in 1 9 5 2 , he
was
blacklisted and consequently banned
from his profession.
Dream and nightmare
A large number of the German-speaking emigrants cried to come to terms not only with the political situation in their home country but also with contemporary America. The pic cute
they painted in their works
was
grim.
A 'film noir' series emerged that culminated in Robert Siodmak's
PHANTOM LADY
INDEMNITY
(1943), Billy Wilder's
(1944) and Fritz Lang's
DOUBLE
SCARLET STREET
(1945).
B etrayal, greed, cruelty and murder were filmed in a harsh photographic sty!e on the dark streets of a nocturnal metrop olis. The dismal present fueled both the desire for the past and for Europe. In 1938, for example, Robert Siodmak made efforts to initiate a remake of the Stefan Zweig novella "Bren nendes Geheimnis" (Burning Secret). The first version had been subjected to a tirade of Nazi abuse, slandered as "deca dent" and "sick" after its premiere in B erlin in March 193 3 . I n a letter t o the author Frederick Kohner, Stefan Zweig showed his appreciation of the film version, praising its
:·sensitivity".
Kohner, who had written the scenario for the
first version, proposed a remake in 1938. However, the pro ject, which had aspired to give a number of German refugees a chance to get back on their feet, came to nothing.
75
Exile
. . . and farewell: remigration Following years of uns uccessfully strugg l i ng for recog n i t i o n , sr i l l fee l i ng l i ke fore igners and d i sgusted b y rhe p o l i t i c a l e l i mare i n rhe U S A , m a n y e m igrants returned h o m e afrer 1 94 5 . Curr Bois wrote i n a feller to Pa11/ Kohner, r har h e was glad ro "be able ro rerum ro the 'old places of activity ' " . He fo u n d work a r Berrolr B rech t ' s new ly-established B e r l i ner E n s e m b l e rhearer. Yer i n r h i s n e w old Heiwat, major success w a s l o n g i n com i ng. I n rhe m id d le of rhc 1 9 H O s , W i m Wenders rem e m bered r h e great o l d acror a n d gave h i m rhe role of r h e narrator Homer i n his fi l m DER H I M M E L U B E R B E R L I N ( 1 98 7 ) . Like no orher, Curr Bois succeeds in convey i n g rhe quest for losr g randeur ar Porsdamer Plarz. Peter Lorre rerurned
m
Germa
ny too, even rho ugh he had been one of rhe few rruly success fu l em igran rs i n rhe USA . Bur his debur as d i recror and acr i ng comeback i n DER V E R I.OR E N E ( 1 9 5 1 ) , a fi l m abour guilr and aronemenr , was also a flo p. I n a Germany j usr begi n n i ng to prosper aga i n , nobody wanred to be confronred wirh rhc pasr . Those retu rn i ng home remai ned strangers in rheir own land . And i n the end Peter Lorre rerurned for good - ro rhe USA.
76
.,,
( .. . M ""' : Tl'._ I
I
w M
DER VERlORENE Peter lone Federol Republic of Germony 1 9 5 1 Peter lone
Room 1 1
From the p ostwar years to the p resent
77
from the postwa r years to the present
After the Second Wo rld War, the Germans faced the chal lenge of having co beg i n anew - and in fi l m , coo. The topic of c h i s room i s , however, not j ust the i m med iate postwar years , buc the h i story of German c i nema from the end of the war
co
the
-"� DIE MORDER SINO UNTER UNS Wolfgang Staudte Germony !Soviet occupation zone) 1 946 On set Hildegard Knef, Wolfgang Stoudte
d ivision of Germany and its reun i fication , up i n co the p rese n t . Te n outstan d i ng actors a n d actresses w i t h t h e i r k e y fi l m s have been chosen here co exempl i fy the spi r i t of t h e i r respective periods.
Hildegard Knef - guilt and sin H i ldegard Knef was noc q u i te twenty years old when she became a scar by play i n g che lead i n che very fi rst German fi lm after the war: DIE �IOI\ D E R SIND UNTER U N S ( 1 94 6 ) , a DEFA production d i rected by Wolfgang Scaudce. In ic she i s seen stand i n g forlornly a n d lose w i t h E r n s t W B orchert between the eerie ruins of a devastated world , and her austere beauty expresses past suffering and an uncertain fu ture, buc also a quiet self-confidence. DIE M O R D E R S I N D U N T E R U N S cel ls t h e scory of a w a r c r i m i nal who after the w a r w a n e s
co
hear nothing of g u i l e and sees out on h i s career; it cells of a si mple sold ier who had fai led ro p u c up resistance d u r i ng the war and so now feels he is co blame, coo; and of a young woman who has s u rvived a concen tration camp, and has a
DIE MOROER SINO UNTER UNS Wolfgong Stoudte Germony (Soviet occupation zone) 1 946 On set Wolfgang Stoudte, Hildegard Knef, Friedl Behn·Grund (ot the comero)
strong sense of right and wrong. A l m ost no ocher fi l m of the period dealt more seriously with the issue of g u i l t and of com ing
co
terms with the past. When the fi l m was pre m i e red
on October 1 5 , 1 94 6 i n the Ad m i rals' Palace (the b u i l d i ng which also housed the State Opera), it could hard l y be sur passed fc>r political relevance: i t was the day before the ver d i cts from the N u remberg Trials were implemented . In 1 9 5 1 , in D I E S U N D E R I N , H i ldegard Knef plays a p ros t i tute who i s i n love with a t>nally i l l and b l i nd pai n te r. I n a scene sty l i zed i n to one about red emption from suffe r i ng, she cakes h i s l i fe before volu ntari ly cak i ng her ow n . The issue of mercy k i l l i ng was one reason the fi l m turned out
co
be one of
che biggest scandals i n German fi l m h i s to ry ; the ocher was a scene las t i ng only a few seco n d s in w h i ch H i ldegard Knef was shown nake d . F i rst and fc>remost, the Catholic C h u rch cook action against the fi l m , acc u s i ng it of l1eing a "glorification of
78
DIE S U NDERIN Willi forst FRG 1 9 5 1 Hildegord Knef, Gustov Frohlich
From the postwa r years to the p resent
evi l " . For a r i m e , rhe scandal caused by DIE S U N D E R I N made H i ldegard Knef a ' p e rsona non grara' i n Germany. Jusr rhe same, she was able
ro
make a career fi>r herself in rhe USA:
she was even u l r i m arely i nvited
ro
leave a lasting impression
wirh her bm!(/prilll.r t�llt! Jootprillt.r in rhe sidewalk our s i de rhe G rau m a n ' s Chi nese Theater i n Hol lywood. Her aurobio graphy "Der gesche n kre G a u l " (The gifr horse) and her come back as si nger and songwriter bear resr i m ony
ro
rhe broad
range of her various rale n t s .
Gerr Friibe - hunger and affluence Like no ocher acror, Gerr Friibe e m bodied , through h i s phys iog n o m y alone, rhe econ o m i c development and rhe resulting social changes i n rhe fi rsr years afrer rhe war. I n 1941-l, in Robert A . Sre m m le ' s B E R LI N E R llALLA D E , he played a home com i ng sol d i e r named " Orro Normalverbraucher" ( l irerally: Orro Normal Cons um er), who exp eriences hom elessness , depress ion and h u nger. Down
w
1 2 8 pounds, rhe sc raw ny,
d i so r i e n ted pr ivate stum bles t h rough destroyed Berl i n . Te n years lare r, Friibe weighed a l m osr rwice as m uch. He was now ideal for rhe role of an affl uent cir i :.cen in rhe "econom ic wonderlan d " , and i n DAS M A DC H E N 1\0S E � I A I\ I E ( 1 9 5 9 , Rolf Thiele) portrayed rhe corpulent General Manager B rusrer,
BERLINER BALIADE Robert A. Stemmle Germany (American occupation zone) 1 948 Gert Frobe
wirh a far c igar, d i n n e r j acker and black Mercedes seda n .
DAS MADCHEN ROSEMARIE Rolf Thiele FRG 1 9 59 Gert Frobe
79
From the postwa r years to the present
On New Year's Eve 1946, Gerr Friibe wroce a letter to his mother about h i s denazificati o n , and expressed the hope that " the way was fi nally c lear for a prom i s i ng advanceme n t " . Only a few years later, h e enjoyed g reat pop ularity i n the Fed eral Rep ublic of Germany, and many recog n i zed themselves i n this actor w h o had m u ltiplied both h i s weight and wea l t h . I n international fi l m , on t h e other hand , Gerr Frobe played the Teuton ic villai n , the stout German who was at t i m es jovial , at ti mes bad-tempered, and at times plain d u m b . He celebrated his biggest i n ternational success with the 1 964 James Bond fi lm GOLD F I N G E R , as the power-hungry sco u n d rel opposite Sean Connery.
Romy Schneider - myth and salvation As the actress who portrayed the young Austrian Empress E l i sabeth - called Sissi for shorr - Romy Schneider artained early fam e . Her fil111
COJI/1/neJ,
made by the Viennese designers
Gerda Gottste i n and Leo Bei, and i mpress ive sets s h ow how she must have seemed l i ked a fai rymle pri ncess , especially to aud iences i n the Federal Rep u b l i c d ur i ng the oppressive post war years . Many young girls and women adored the young Austrian Romy Sch neider as S i s s i - for her beauty, but above all for the rebel lious, freedo m - lovi ng tempera m e n t of the Empress. Sissi advocates c o n c i l iation and i n ternational under stand i ng, and is a people-or iented modernizer. For aud i e n ces i n the Adenauer era, Romy Schneider in her role as Sissi became a fig ure of identificatio n . Yet i n the meantime, Romy Sch neider herself was look i ng for ways to develop herself fu r ther. She did nor wan t to be typecast to a role that had frozen into a cl iche. In a letter to Pa11l Kolmer, the American fi l m age n t , she ex pressed her annoyance at the idea of the three Sissi episodes being edited down to one fi l m for release i n the lJS A : " I d o n ' t want t o make my d e b u t i n A m erica i n t h i s role . I t ' s not me anymore ! " Romy Schneider m oved to Par i s where, among other fi l m s , she made C H R I STI N E ( 1 9 5 8 , Pierre Gaspard H u i t ) w i t h A l a i n Dclon . I n h e r work together with Luch i n o Visconti s h e was able
to
g e t away from h e r S i s s i i m age. Her
extremely versatile porrrayals of modern women won her
80
51551 Ernst Morischko Austria l 9SS Romy Schneider
F ro m the postwar yea rs to the present
m uch acclai m . The photos taken by Roger Fritz i n a bar in Par i s in 1 9 6 1 test i fy to the special i n tensity of her col labora tion w i t h Visco n t i . Treated d i sparagi ngly for her clearly demons trated i ndependence by d i sappo i n ted aud iences i n Germany, Romy Sch neider became a star o f French ci nema from the m i d - 1 960s o n .
Gunther S imon - propaganda a n d identity ERNST THALMANN - SOHN SEINER KLASSE KU!t Moetzig GDR 1 954 Giinther Simon
In the G D R of the fi fties, G linther S i m o n was a big star. He e m bo d i ed the German Com m u n i s t Parry leader who had been m urdered i n 1 944 by the Nazis i n a two parr fi lm b iog raphy: E R NST T H A L M A N N ( E R N ST THALMANN - SOHN S E I N E R KLAS S E , 1 9 5 4 ; E R NST THALMA N N - FU H R E R S E I N E R KLASS E , 1 9 5 5 ) . These fi l m s were the state-run DEFA's most
a m b i t ious proj ect s i nce irs fo und i ng, and nothi ng was left
to
chance, a fac t also reflected i n the lavishly demratire dom/1/en
tary pboto a/bu111 p u t o u t " i n commem oration or the Fes tival of German F i l m i n the Soviet U n i on " . SED leader Walter U l b r iclu i s said to have personally e d i ted the Jaipt. In Agb color
and
stereoph o n i c
sound,
Kurt
Maetzig's
E R NST
T H A L M A N N fi l m s blend the monumental movies of Holly
wood with rhe c i nema aesthetics of rhe Third Reich . The many mass scenes of s t r i kes, revolts and street battles are extremely powe r fu l . And with his remarkable screen pres ence, S i m o n i nfl uenced Thalman n ' s i m age in the GDR for years. He came ro epito m i ze the class-conscious worker, sai lor o r sold i e r, com m u n i s t models per se. Nevertheless, i n the fi l m SON N E N S U C H E R made in 1 9 5 7 / 5 8 by Kon rad Wol f� S i m o n ove rcame t h e s e stereotypes t o play an ambivalent char acter. And i t was Wolf, one of rhe GDR's most pro m i nent d i recrors, who spoke at Giinrher S i m o n ' s grave when he died i n 1 9 7 2 at the early age of 47.
Heinz Riihmann - authorities and losers In rhe role of rhe ' s m a l l m a n ' , as gasman, mailman, coach man or chauffeu r, shoemaker, tai lor and barber, wai ter, book keeper, reg i s t rar or bank clerk, Heinz Rlihmann was a figure
81
From the postwa r years to the present
on whom people p i n ned t h e i r hopes, w i t h whom they could identify. U n t i l h i s death i n 1 994 he was selened for twelve Ba111bi au ·cml.r, an expression of the constant h igh regard of a public that for decades never ti red of seeing h i m on the screen and on televi sion . O n the starometer res u l t i ng from a readers' poll conducted by "Starrevue" magaz i n e , h e ranked as the most popular actor for the fi rst r i m e i n 1 9 5 7. He had j ust fi n i s h e d work i ng on w h a t was certai nly h i s most s i g n i ficant role : shoemaker Voigt i n D E R H A U PT M A N N VON K O P E N I C K ( 1 9 5 6 , Hel mut Kaurner). And i t was h i s breakt h rough as a character actor. Heinz R u h m a n n ' s script has s u rvived and reveals how he prepared for the role w i t h u n usual i n te n s i ty. He delete d , marked and changed passages, passionately revis ing h i s d i alogues . Hel m m Kaurner staged the s tory of the poor dev i l who s l i ps i n to the u n i form of a captai n and so becomes an amhori tative figure, because, as Kamner h i mself pm i t , Germany's rearmament worried h i m . He wante d , h e said , t o " r idicule t h e Germans' idolization of u n i form s " . A t a rime when many strove to partake of a very m idd le-class hap pi ness , the m i l lions w h o v iewed the fi l m primarily noticed the humor to be fo und i n the tragicomic loser at the m o m e n t o f h i s s o c i a l dow n fa l l . B esides the fi l m ' s m o s t i mportant props, s uch as t h e Hauptmann v o n Kop e n i c k ' s uuijor111 , h i s saber and cap, Ruhmann's passjJOrt catches one's eye. It was issued i n 1 9 5 6 , the year t h e fi l m was made, a n d has a l arge n u m b e r o f e ntry stamps . Shoemaker Voigt d e s i res j ust such a pass for e n t ry i n to a humane, bourgeois existence.
Farewell and upheaval The wal l c m t i ng across this room a l l udes n o r only to Germany's d ivision erected in poured concrete in 1 96 1 , bm also to the general c l i mate of social upheaval i n the 1 960s. Students were rebel l i ng aga i n s t the restorative feamres of society i n the Federal Rep u b l i c of Germany and agai n s t a generation of parents that refused to deal w i t h the National Soc ialist pas t . Alexander K l uge's debm fearure fi l m A B SC H I E D VON GESTE R N ( 1 966), w i t h its i ntellectual , essay i s t i c
narrational s t y l e , brought the so-called Oberhausen Man i -
82
DER HAUPTMANN VON KiiPENICK Helmut Koutner FRG 1 9 56 Discussion of the script Helmut Koutner, Heinz Ruhmonn
From the postwar yea rs to the present
festo (" Dad ' s c i nema is dead " ) of 1962 ro the screen. Also in the G D R , the fi rst c r i t i cal voices could be heard . Serious fi l m - makers began rej e c t i ng previous, antiquated models. Frank B eyer's fi l m S P U R D E R STE I N E - with Manfred Krug i n the lead - also ran for a few days i n theaters in the G D R be fore i t was banned . Here, too, there were signs of upheaval.
A ngelica Domrose - s ubversiveness and happiness When E r i ch Honecker replaced Wal ter Ulbricht as state and party leader, c i nema in the GDR experienced a short period of open ness and toleran ce. Heiner Carow and his fi lm DIE L E G E N D E VON PA U L U N D PA U LA ( 1 97 3 ) profited from this
spirit of a new era. U l rich Plenzdorf, whose copy
of the screeu
play is exh i b i ted , wrote the fi l m rogether with Carow. DIE LEGENDE VON PAUL UNO PAUlA Heiner Carow GOR 1 973 Fred Delmore, Winfried Glotzeder, Angelica Oomrose
DIE
LEli E N D E VON PA U L UND PA U LA made Angelica Dom rose a
s car. With m o re than 1 . 8 m i l l ion viewers , this fi lm was the D E FA ' s g reatest box-office anrac rion i n the 1970s. In the fi l m , Angelica Domrose portrays the unsk i l led Pau la, a work i ng s i ngle mother w i t h two chi ldren from different fathers . Paula fal l s in love w i t h the unhapp i ly married Paul - a career o r i e n ted official in the GDR m i n is try of foreign trade. Pau la's d es i re for personal happi ness i n a state i n which the parry has the say proves q u i te unset t l i ng, as does Paul's abandonment of m i dd le-class existence to fol low her on her non-conformist path. Ye t rhis ard e n t wish for love and personal happi ness, voi d of all i n terest i n socie ty, came ro be viewed as subversive by those in power. R u m ors that the fi lm m ight be banned accelerated the fi l m ' s success. Angelica Dom riise had been a popular and celebrated actress before D I E L E G E N D E VON PA U L U N D PA U L A . Neverthe less, when she joi ned in to protest against si nger-songwriter Wol f B i erman n ' s expulsion from the country, offers for fi lm roles became rare . She m oved to the West and s uccessfully continued her career there, both i n fi l m and televi sion. Yet for her viewers from the G D R , Angel ica Dom rose w i l l always rem a i n Paula.
83
From the postw a r years to the p resent
Mario Adorf - good and bad If Angelica Dom rose embodies personal revol t , then Mario Adorf as Chief Inspector Beizmenne i n the screen adaptation of the Heinrich Biill novel DIE V E R L O R E N E E H R E DER KA TH A R I NA BLUM ( 1 97 5 ) stands for the struggle of the state
against pol itically motivated revolt in the federal Rep u b l i c of Germany. This fi l m , whose script was w r i t ten by Vol ker Schliindorff and Margarethe von Trntta, was the fi rst major realistic political fi l m i n the 1 9 7 0 s . I t tel ls the story of young Katharina B l u m , who thro ugh a brief acq uaintance with a terrorist becomes the helpless victim of the pol ice, courts and yellow press. The fi l m touches upon topics that had arisen in the 1970s as a res u l t of terrorism and the fig h t agai nst ir: how the authorities snooped and spied to uncover people's polit
DIE VERLORENE EHRE DER KATHARINA BLUM Volker Schliindorff FRG 1 97 5 Morio Adorl
ical convictions, and the slanderous tabloid press - clearly recog n i sable as the " B i l d " newspaper, yet for legal reasons bearing the title "Die Zei11111g ". I n o n e of t h e m o s t oppressive scenes i n the fi l m , Mario Ador f - as Lnthar Bei zmenne - and his sq uad , who are armed to the teeth, storm i n to Kathari n a B l u m ' s apartm e n t , a person's last sanctuary. As a conseq uence, Mario Adorf, who works for a democratic state and is - so ro speak - goo d , ends up bad . And this ambivalence between the bad i n what seems good as wel l as the good i n what seems bad can be fo und in many of Adorfs roles: for whether he plays a feeble-mi nded sex- k i l ler (a portrayal which won the 2 7-year-old the Ger/1/all
l'i/111 Prize au ·cml for best young talent) in Robert Siodmak's NACHTS, W E N N D E R T E U F E L KAM ( 1 9 5 7 ) , the v i l l a i n and
muscleman who kills the beau t i ful Nscho-tschi i n W I N N E TO U I ( 1 9 6 3 , Harald Rei n ! ) or t h e mafia godfather i n D i eter
Wedel's SCHATT E N I\! A N N ( 1 9 9 8 ) - beneath his roughness lurks a vul nerabi l i ty.
Hanna Schygulla - calculation and feeling In Rainer Werner Fassbi nder's fi l m s , personal and social revolt converge . Inspired by the spirit of the late 1960s, Pass binder was constantly expos i ng how oppressive relationships could be i n prac tice, w h i le also trac i ng their social and h i s tor-
84
DIE EHE DER MARIA BRAUN Roiner Werner Fossbinder FRG 1 979 On set Honno Schygullo, Roiner Werner Fossbinder
F ro m the postwa r yea rs to the p resent
ical prereq u i s i tes. And Hanna Schygulla was almost always h i s lead ing lady. In D I E E H E D E R M A R I A B R A U N ( 1 979), lor i n s tance, she portrayed a beautiful but ambitious and cold woman who ruth lessly succeeds i n advancing socially in che fi rst postwar years . She pucs off her d reams of love and mar riage for Iacer, bur chen never has a chance co real ize them . For Rainer Werner Fassbinder, i t was a fi l m about the early years of the Federal Rep u b l i c of Germany and its development into an egotistic, u ncompassionate society. The fi lm was Hanna Schyg u l la's i n ternational breakthroug h . For her performance, she was awarded the Silver Bear as best actress at the Inter nacionale F i l m fescspiele B e r l i n . I n a l l , H a n n a Schyg u l l a made 1 9 fi lms w i t h Rainer Werner Fassbi nder. These i n c l uded personal fi lms chat were formally red uced , such as KATZELMACH E R ( 1 969), and elaborate works
DIE EHE OER MARIA BRAUN Reiner Werner fossbinder FRG 1 979 Silver Berlin Beer / prize of the lnternotionole filmfestspiele Berlin in 1 979 for Honno Schygullo os best actress
that were orchestrated throughout, in their sets, costumes, l ig h t i ng and camerawork, such as
uu MARLEEN
( 1 980). After
Fassb i nder's death in J u ne 1 9 8 2 , Hanna Schygulla conti nued her career abroad , starri ng primarily in foreign productions.
Otto Sander - heaven and earth
The fears and worries, hopes and d reams moving people in d ivided Germany are shown by Wim Wenders ' fi lm HIM�!EL U B E R B E R L I N , made i n 1 986/87. I t also symbol i zes the search
for a lost identi ty. O t to Sander descends onto the golden w i ngs of the Victoria c row n i ng B e r l i n ' s Victory Column
IN WElTER FERNE, SO NAH ! Wim Wenders Germany 1 993 Otto Sander
where, as the angel Cass i e ! , he watches over the fare of those on ear t h . He fl ies t h ro ug h the city with u•bite tl'ings, entering apartments, driving along expressways , l i s tening to the t h o ughts and words of coundess passers-by. His friend, rhe angel Dam i e l , portrayed by Bruno Ganz, longs to become a human being h i m self; he wanes to feel borh the weight of the world and irs h i story. At tracted co a trapeze artist who soars t h rough the air wearing w i ngs l i ke his own, Damiel gives up h i s ' heavenly' existence. I n the sequel, I N W E l T E R FERNE, SO NAH 1 ( 1 993), Cassie! fol lows Damiel to eart h . He now moves about Berl i n , a city undergoing upheaval , as the gende avenger " Karl Engel " . Agai n he observes people, their stories and fares . Through
85
From the postwar yea rs to the p resent
what he experiences and whom he encounters - for i n s tance, former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev the picture of a reun i fied coun try crystal l i zes.
Gotz George - rebel and deathmaker
The loutishly brutal, u n kempt TATO RT i nspector from the Ruhr Bas i n , Horst Sch i manski - as portrayed by Gotz George - i s a typical eighties' character. Yet he i s also a hold over from the spirit of the late sixties. With anger and resig nation he attempts to remedy what i s wrong in society and conquers women's hearts with macho charm . The scripts for the TATORT television series were tai lored to Giitz George. The episodes often had topical pol i t i cal themes or were socio critical, for i nstance, about the i l legal d u m p i ng of tox i c wastes or t h e steel workers' protest . And Sch imanski 's fans came from all walks of l i fe . For them , the character and the actor were one, and so the actor soon received let ters add ressed to "GiJ�z Scbimanski, Dui.rburg ". The passport made out to one Horst Sch imanski i s on the other hand a fi l m prop, and not a bureaucratic m i s take. Aside from his identity card , his trademark was a Scbimamki jacket. As the ' u n i form· of a generation of protest , it also stood for the march t h rough the i nstitutions, which i n such cases were normally only fam i l iar with i nspectors i n suits. With Z A H N U M ZAH N ( 1 9 8 5 , Hajo Gies) and ZABOU ( 1 987, Hajo Gies), TV character Sch i manski hit c i nema screens twice. B u t Giitz George also worked hard on other demand i ng roles . For h i s oursranding p e r formance as the serial k i l ler Fritz Haarmann i n DER TOTMAC H E R ( 1 9 9 5 , Romuald Karmakar), h e received the Si lver Lion at the Venice Film Festival . A figure that has already become a icon of 1990s German fi l m is Lola from Tom Tykwer's fi l m LOLA R E N N T ( 1 9 9 8 ) . T h e o r i g i n a l i t y of Franka Potente's portrayal gives the character powerfu l shape. " R u n Lola run" i nto the new m i l le n n i u m .
86
ZAHN UM ZAHN Hojo Gies FRG 1 985 Schimonski jacket Prop
Rooms 1 2 and 1 3
Artificial worlds
87
Artif i c i a l worlds
How was every t h i ng actually done ' After m a k i ng your way through the h i s rory of German fi l m with ics myths and scars, you have arrived at che end of che F i l m m useum B e rl i n : here you ' l l d iscover the techn i cal wonders of c i nema - animation,
..,. ClASH Of T H E TITANS Desmond Oovis Greot Britain 1 98 1 Meduso Artwork: Roy Horryhousen
fantasy and special effects. I n i c y-cold waters - where death i s imminent - c h e s h ipwrecked passengers a n d c rew from t h e TITA N I C ( 1 9 9 8 , James Cameron) fi nally catch s i g h t of the res
cue ship - the Capachia. However, what assumes the p rop er fantastic d i mensions for a happy ending i n one of the m o s t successfu l fi lms of recent years i s i n truth j ust a pai11ti11g i11 oils. Tricks of chis k i nd derive from very early ani mation tech niques. With cave pai n t i ngs and rock d rawi ngs, humans d u r i ng che Srone Age expressed their des i re ro make che repro d uced world appear plastic. They observed the effect of the m oving sun on shadows, and used protuberances and i nden tations in the rocks ro make cheir figures t h ree-d i mensional. Changes in l ight created the i mpression they were i n motion. I n ocher words, ani mation i s i ndependent from the m e d i u m of fi l m . Yec only through t h e fi l m maker's bag of cricks has ani mation become so deceptively rea l . Now 1 5 ,0 0 0 years Iacer, the m o n strous pri meval figures a n d fantastic heroes of the fi l m a n i maroc a r e w h a t s e t off viewers ' i magi nations.
Stop motion: Ray Harryhausen and h i s work
Ray Harryhausen was twelve years old in 1 9 3 3 when the giant gori lla K I N G KON G , d i rected by Merian C . Cooper and Ernest B . Schoedsack, imprinted itself on h i s mind. Harryhausen began experimenting with a 1 6 m m camera and b u i l t his fi rst srop-m ocion saurian . A few years late r, he actual ly m e t King Kong 's creator - W i l l i s O ' B r i e n . O ' B r i e n had fi rst done the ani mation for the Conan Doyle fi l m , T H E LOST WORLD ( 1 9 2 5 , Harry 0. Hoyt), which had a s i m i lar s tory l i n e to K I N G KONG: an expedi tion discovers preh i s to r i c l i fe on an almost i nacces si ble plateau deep in the rai n forests of rhe Amazo n . One of these primeval animals i s sene back to Londo n , where i t then escapes. In con rras r ro K i ng Kong, h owever, the troublemak er in THE LOST WORLD s urvives - fleeing down the Thames our i n ro the open sea. Ray Harryhausen became O ' B r i e n ' s
88
K1NG KONG Merion C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsock USA 1 933 Skull of King Kong Artwork: Willis O'Brien
Arti ficial worlds
assistant and soon afterwards ani mation d i rector of coun rless fan tasy fi l m s . The 111 odds exh i b i ted here are from his collec tion of works created in over forty years. The i magi nation of the model animator does not, though, in any way restrict itself to pri meval monsters. Harryhausen was j us t as taken by classical mythology as he was by look ing i n to the fuwre. F i l m s l i ke CLASH OF THE TITANS ( 1 98 1 , Desmond Davis), T H E 7TH VOYAGE O F SINBAD ( 1 9 5 8 , Nathan J u ran) or T H E GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD ( 1 97 3 , Gordon Hessler) carry us off t o a rime when animals and h umans s t i l l mated and bore aston ishing mixed beings: c loven-footed m u tants with bar wi ngs and the tai ls of repti les and horns l i ke the M i n o taur, or one-eyed centaurs . In maki ng h i s models, Harryhausen was often i nspired by Dame 's " I n ferno", the fi rst s i x songs of the "Divine Comedy " . Gus rave DonE 's visions can be related picture by picture to Harryhausen's vers ions of rhe myth of Perseus' victory over Medusa or Jason's search for the Golden Fleece. The i n terior of a G reek temple serves as the setting for the recons truction of scenes from the fi lm JASON AND THE ARGO N A UTS ( 1 9 6 3 , Don Chaffey). The fi lm tells the legend of
Jason, the rightfu l h e i r to the throne of Thessaly who, enslaved by his u s u rp er, must fi nd the Golden Fleece . Jason is put to the rest and has to s u rvive a number of adventures that are embellished by sensational ani mated sequences. He must conquer tbe sevm-beaded Hydra guard i ng the Fleece and the seven living skeletons g rowing from her teeth . How the stop motion models are brought i n to play i n the so-called Dyna-
11/ation set-11p is d i s played here . JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS Don Choffey Greot Britain 1 963 Skeleton Animation model Artwork: Roy Horryhousen THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD Gordon Hessler Greet Britain/USA 1 973 Goddess Koli Artwork: Roy Horryhousen
The fi rst step is to record the live actions of the real actors, which i n itself req u i res an exact choreography: each move and blow of the sword has to be perfectly timed , a movement sometimes arrested in mid-air at exactly the spot where later the m onster will deal its blow. The pre-recorded l ive-action rakes of the actor are then projected onto a plastic screen by a
rear projector. In fron t of t h i s screen , a model is set up: in this case the seven-beaded Hydra . Ray Harryhausen synchronized the m ovements of the m odel with rhe projected image of the actor, i .e . b r i nging irs actions manually into agreement with the actors' m ovements, then record i ng the ful l scene frame by frame with the ani mation camera. Harryhausen carried out
89
Artificial worlds
this process with n ever- en di ng patience and in great seclu sion. As he described it, it was horri b ly difficult to manage Hydra's seven heads. If the telephone rang, he would wonder
afterwards whether a certain button had to go up or down next. To animate the four-and-a-half-minute sequence fo.r
Jason's fight with the seven skeletons, Harryhausen had need ed almost five months.
Science Fiction A
gorilla warrior
from
PLANET .op THE APES
(1968 and later), Darth Vader from Lu cas ) and an
and its sequels
STAR WARS
alien (ALIENS, 1986,
( 1977, George
James Cameron) are the
mo st prominent protagonists of a film genre which, moving away from the heroes and monsters of the past, turns to the fantasies of techn ologi cal progress. A year prior to the moon landing, Stanley Kubrick's film
: w a r : A SPACE
ODYSSEY
( 1968) had already used technology borrowed from NASA promotional · films. As a genre, science fiction could be quite
militaristic. H. G. Wells' novel "The War of the Worlds" , adapted for radio b y Orson Welles in 193 8 , w as made into a film by Byron Haskin (director) and George Pal (producer) in
195 2/53 , during the Korean War. At the time, models of the
Martian fighting machines
still had to b e manipulate d with
more or less visible wires. For
STAR WARS ,
George Lucas and
his technicians at Industrial Light & .Magic drew inspiration
from films of World War II air battles and liberated the rather static model shots with their motion-control process, ;which
connected a tri ck camera to a computerized control unit.
Lucas was ofcen emulated: the exhibition's space
p anorama
also incLudes models from Roland Emmerich's films
MOON
44 (1990) and INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996). Steven Spielberg's work is less martial in character: in THE THIRD KIND
(1977),
peaceful mission land on Wyoming.
90
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF
wide-eyed
extra-terrestrials on a
D�il's Tower,
a table mo untain in
AU ENS Jomes Comeron USA 1 986 Alien
Arti f i c i a l worlds
91
Arti f i c i a l w o r l d s
92
Arti f i c i a l worlds
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND Steven Spielberg USA 1 977 Oevil's Tower Reconstruction using the original model
Digital animation: CGI In t h e early 1 990s, after a kw i n i t i a l exper i m enrs that had t;t i led
ro
a r r racr
s e q u e n ces s ra r re d
b road
arrenrion ,
compu ter-generated
to bsc i nate fi l m aud iences.
In Steven
S p i e l b e rg ' s J U RASSIC PA R K ( 1 99 .'1 ) , P h i l Ti p p e n ' s a n i mation t(>r a diuo.rtlltr model was s t i l l , a Ia Ray Harryhause n , done on an i m age- by- i m age bas i s . However, t h e a n i ma l ' s j o i n ts were a l ready l i n ke d to a com p u te r - t h e ditii!Jflttr injlttl dcl 'i<'c, w h i c h transferred t h e m ot i o n s of the a n i mator on the d i n osaur model i n to a fi n e ras ter then comple m e n ted by color and l ig h t effe c t s (ren d e r i ng ) . I n t h e fi l m , t h e d i n osaurs a r e then per c e i ved as p h otorea l i s t i c , t h ree-d i me n s i o n a l b e i n g s . for STAR S H I P T ROOI'EitS
( 1 997, Pau l Verhoeve n ) the m o d e l of a giant
JURASSIC PARK Steven Spielberg USA 1 993 Jeff Goldblum Computerilided compositing of o three-dimensional dinosour 'skeleton' and a live·artian take Completed sequence
93
Artificial worlds beetle was scanned and animated in tbe computer itsel£ In order to demonstrate the possibilities of CGI (computer-gen erated imagery), the "Artificial Worlds" exhibition includes two Silicon Graphics warkstations with Maya software_ of the type used in films such
as STUART LITTLE
(1999, Rob Mink�
off). Another metbod of animating "virtual beings" is the
1/lotion-capture technique: the motions of sp ecially trained per formers wearing sensor-equipped suits are transferred to a pre-produced computer model. More and more photorealistic protagonists, so-called synthespians, interact with flesh-and blood performers. However, these synthetic actors' faces still look very much as if made of plastic materials . . - The cinema of tbe future will be digital. In JURASSIC PARK there are only 52 digitally produced shots, in TITANIC (1998, Jarpes Cameron) 5 0 0 , and in
STAR WARS - EPISODE I: THE
PHANTOM MENACE (1999, George Lucas) nearly 2,0 0 0. New technical po-ssibilities are opening up the frontiers to other visual media, moving, so to speak, from tbe cinema screen to the home computer. What will remain unchanged will be the substance of-narrative cinema. This is one tbing computerization will not affect.
·
SPIONE Frltz long Germany 1 928
94
Rooms 1 - 1 3
Notes
95
Notes
Filmmuseum Berlin - Deutsche Kinemathek Potsdamer Strasse 2 D-107 8 5 Berlin Tel.: (030) 3 0 0 903-0
Fax: (03 0) 300 903-13
[email protected] www.filmmuseum-berlin.de Opening hours Tuesday and Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:0 0 p.m. Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday to Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 6 : 0 0 p.m. Closed on Monday
96
N otes The Filmmuseum B erlin's unique collections are displayed on three floors, over an area of more than 2,0 0 0 m2• The way
permanent exhibition leads from the 3"' to the 2"" temporary exhibitions are on the 1 floor. Here online-center: electronic catalogues of the collections
through the
floor; rooms for too is the
�
and the library as well as electronic bibliographical and film reference works can be accessed from computer terminals. On the 5 '" floor the film
librmy
offers interested visitors and re
searchers almost 7 0 , 0 0 0 items - reference works, books, cata logues, p eriodicals, filmscripts, microfilms - and an exten sive press archive. Users interested in film and media srudies will meet with competent assistance on the part of the specia
lized m·chivists. Anyone wanting a break after so much input Billy Wilder's Cafe Bistro Bar, or take a look through the large array of souvenirs in the M-Shop.
can relax in
In the Filmhaus the visitor will also find two art house cinemas (A1·senal I and 2) and the Deutsche Film ttnd Fernseh akademie Berlin (djfb) film school.
A I i.a s I wavefront
The Filmmuseum B erlin wishes to thank Alias/Wavefront GmbH, a division of silicon graphics (CGI-Workstations), for setting up the virrual component in exhibition area II,
no cnA
"Artificial worlds", and the noDNA agency for virrual models and actors (Motion Caprure).
97
Floor plans
yd floor E mrance I m ages P ioneers and d ivas Caligari The Wei mar Rep u b l i c Merropol i s
The Weimar lepubli< Images
•.
.
.
EntraiKt
98
Floor p i o n s z n d fl oor Merro p o l i s Transar l a n r i c Marlene Dierrich Olympia Narional Soc i a l i s m E x i le From rhe pos rwar years ro rhe presenr
Transatlantic
From the postwar years to the the preset�!
99
F loor p l a n s 2 n d fl oor A r r i fi c i a l worlds: Ray Harryhausen Science fi crion
1 00
Photog raphic ackr Unless noted otherwise, all illustrations are from graphic archives and collections of the Filmmuse1 Deutsche Kinemarhek, from the Marlene Diettic B erlin and the collections of Eva Diekmann, Ger Michael Pabst and Josef von Sttoheim. Phorogra1 exhibits: Michael Liider, Potsdam.
p. 7: © Tom Tykwer, X Filme, B erlin
p. 14, b ottom: from: The Focal Encyclopedia of : Television Techniques. Helmut Herbst, Offenbac
p. 2 5 : © Christian Unucka, Verlag fiir Filmschri Heberrshausen p. 3 9: © AUREUS lvf.AGNUS Werner Graul p. 44 : © Museum of Modern Art, New York pp. 47-54: with rhanks to Maria and Peter Riva
�
Frieder Rorh, Munich p. 5 5 : © Ullstein Bilderdienst, B erlin p. 5 7, bottom; p. 5 9 : © Zeitdokumentarisches F< Walter Frentz, B erlin p. 6 3: Archiv fiir Kunst und Geschichte - AKG, pp. 67, 77: Bundesarchiv/Filmarchiv Berlin p. 92: photo: Fotoagentur Kuhroeber, Potsdam
p. 9 3 : from: Mark Cotta/Patricia Rose Duignan: Light
+
Magic. Into the Digital Realm. New Y01
199 6 . pp. 96-98 floor plans: Satzinform, Berlin D espite intensive research it was not always possi the holders of copyrights on illustrations. legitir will of course be honored in compliance with rice.
cu
