Anders als die Andern

A frank story of homosexual love and tragedy made 85 years ago, featuring such amazing things as a same-sex dance hall and a drag ball as background to dramatic scenes. It still packs a wallop, thanks to its purpose as an impassioned plea for justice and a wonderful central performance by the Conrad Veidt. Kino has just released this reconstructed version of about 50 minutes, based in large part on a print discovered in Moscow, with intertitles and a few stills telling the rest. It's a an effective drama and a fascinating history lesson. A good bit is still missing, but the most amazing things turn up, so maybe more of Anders als die Andern will as well. To have this much is wonderful.

It's a shame that about half of this film is lost, deliberately destroyed by the Nazis. What is odd is that probably the tamest portions of the film are missing - the parts with Paul Körner (Conrad Veidt) and his family, and the parts in which Paul interacts with Else, the girl who loves him. The parts that are missing though are masterfully replaced by still shots and enough inter-titles that you get a pretty good idea of how Paul gets along with his family.

The film was made after World War I during a brief time of relative tolerance for homosexuality in Germany, and rather than try to be titillating, the film tries to teach of the problems with the German law that made it a crime to be homosexual. Paul Körner is a famous violin virtuoso who harbors a terrible secret - he's gay and constantly in fear of being discovered and prosecuted under the law. As a result, you realize that Paul is a rather sad and lonely man despite his professional success, unable to openly express himself and look for a life-partner out in the open. Things change when Paul takes on a pupil, Kurt Sivers, a young man who idolizes Paul. Paul seems to really fall for Kurt, but you can tell that Kurt is still somewhat unsure of what to make of his own feelings at this point. Unfortunately, Kurt's sister Else loves Paul too, not knowing that Paul is unable to return the sentiment.

Paul is also being hounded by a blackmailer who first met him in a gay dance hall. When Paul mistook the blackmailer's advances as romantic, he took him back to his home and there the man spurned Paul and demanded money. You get the impression he's been hounding him ever since that time. What is odd is that the gay dance hall where he and Paul first met almost seems to be the blackmailer's second home, so I have to wonder why the blackmailer isn't afraid of being blackmailed himself.

There's a well done set of scenes with Paul looking back on his life - his adolescence at boarding school specifically - and the trouble he had there on account of his orientation. There's even a scene with a sexologist lecturing on homosexuality - oddly enough, this is how Paul explains to Else the truth of who he is and that his rejection of her is not personal.

Highly recommended as a good reconstruction of a lost silent film.

This film deals with a prosperous man who encounters a sleazy blackmailer who discovers that he is gay. (This silent rarity is a good reason for film preservation!)

A much later film "Victim", deals with a similar subject.

Two male musicians fall in love, but blackmail and scandal makes the affair take a tragic turn.

Director Richard Oswald was bold in making this film and pushing the message that homosexuality was not a crime but a failure of society to be accepting. Especially at the time when homosexuality was blatantly illegal in Germany. Not surprisingly, the film was soon banned and almost completely destroyed.

Conrad Veidt was also bold for starring in it, even if he had not yet been made into a star for "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" the following year. This was at least Veidt's second time working with Oswald, having just finished up "Uncanny Stories".

The plot is interesting in making the presentation that homosexuality is normal (definitely a minority view at the time) and the real crime was extortion from those who would blackmail closeted men. Although neither Oswald nor Veidt were gay, they clearly had sympathy for their brethren (Veidt was later better known for standing up for the Jewish community).

This film stars Conrad Veidt and came "out" on the heels of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari's success (1919). It was banned after a short run in Germany where theater goers were harassed at showings. It seems very brave of Conrad Veidt and the makers of the film to make a sympathetic, sexually charged film about homosexuals in 1919. The story is about a man who is blackmailed after making advances on a stranger he meets at a men only dance. Found in the 1970's, the remaining footage is a testament to the great forward thinking German Expressionist film makers. Available on video from Facets, this film will appeal to film historians, Conrad Viedt fans, and gay groups.