Der Untertan

"Der Untertan" (1951), directed by star-director Wolfgang Staudte, is based on a novel by Heinrich Mann (1871-1950) as "Der Blaue Engel" (1930), directed by Josef Von Sternberg, is. While in "Der Blaue Engel", the protagonist is a person who cannot adapt to the world around him, and when he tries, shamefully stumbles and at the end pays his attempts with his life, the main figure in "Der Untertan" is so-to-say the complimentary character: Although born in an aristocratic, high-class family, surrounded by the world-literature and regular house-concerts and thus widely detached from bourgeoisie, he finds out that he may make carrier by breaking out of this status-group isolation in trying to meddle with politics. He also finds out that for him, the best way is to put hand over hand along the rope that leads upwards while kicking the ones who are coming below him. The result is, however, that he blunders not only in public but often also in his private life. The film has an interesting, yet totalitarian and typical GDR-end which kind of disturbs the otherwise excellently crafted master-piece for which Werner Peters in the role of Dr. Hessling and the director of the film got the Great GDR-State Price.

This movie and an extremely impressive list of some hundreds of titles more, meanwhile practically the collected works of the DEFA, the state film company of the former GDR or DDR, we owe to the Department of German Studies of the University of Massachusets at Amherst that has obviously taken over the legacy to maintain and foster the gigantic film work of the "other" Germany which has ceased to exist in 1990.

To fully understand "The Kaiser's Lackey" (of "Man of Straw"), you need to understand who made the film and the purpose of it. This is an East German film and in the view of the German Democratic Republic (the Soviet-controlled East Germans), the enemies of the State are the upper and middle classes--particularly those who control the means of production (this is from Socialism 101 as taught by Professor Marx). So, the film looks at the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II as a struggle between the workers and these ultra-nationalists--in a single representative town and featuring a particularly nasty and soul-less man (Diederich Heßling). The film follows Heßling from his childhood to adulthood--during which he used his position and privilege to exploit or ignore those beneath him, while sucking up to all those above him in the social system.

While not obviously funny when you watch it today, the film is social satire. Naturally, the film was the party line in East Germany and was embraced. However, its reinterpretation of history (which ignored liberal reforms and blamed the Prussian middle-class and militarism on the Nazis) did not sit well in the West--especially since West Germany was being rebuilt and molded by the middle and upper classes. Because of this, the film was at first suppressed and only allowed to be released with a few judicious edits---most of which seem very harmless today but which were fuel for the Cold War at the time. Much of this analysis is NOT because I am some sort of a genius--the special features on the DVD featured a professor from UMass-Amhearst that analyzed and explained the film--something that you should definitely see.

Well acted and thought-provoking. While its history lesson is a bit simplistic, it is well made and quite compelling.

Like Der blaue Engel from 1930, Der Untertan is made after a famous novel by Heinrich Mann, the elder and politically more interested of the two German writer brothers. Here as there, the film is about the criticism for a social characteristic which is regarded as typical for the German background: the Philistine who is fixated on authority and blindly tumbles into war and downfall.

The film tells in episodes about the life story of Diederich Heßling (Werner Peters), youth and university days of the son of a factory owner and his gradual rise into better circles of the Prussian small town Netzig in the 80s of the 19th century; Germany is already an empire with Wilhelm II. being in power. During his studies and his time in the military service, Heßling learns how to be subject to superiors, to endure humiliation, to denounce and to enjoy the power over inferiors to the full. He takes over the father's factory, joins the conservative-nationalist party and a war club and marries a rich heiress. The height of his career is the opening of a warrior monument in Netzig; he appears as the official speaker and baths in the patriotic phrases of national authorities when a thunderstorm interrupts the ceremony and clears the whole place.

The alarming final shot of the monumental emperor, Wilhelm II., is a direct reference to the nation's dark future, WWI and WWII which both - from the perspective of the film - arose from the Prussian way of ruling and the servile attitude of the subjects, the German people. The incidental music to this last take is a repulsive potpourri of "Die Wacht am Rhein", an anti-French national song, the "Horst-Wessel-Song", a martyr anthem of the Nazis and the fanfares which introduced "Die Wochenschau", a weekly propagandistic newsreel that was shown in the cinemas of the Third Reich.

Without reservation, this film can be accepted as a work of art about a weighty epoch in German history, the Wilhelminian era. The characters precisely personify the important and guiding institutions like school, university, military and government. The film succeeds in picturing the fatal relation between philistinism and war enthusiasm, whereas the camera excellently describes the subject's point of view and position: Heßling looks bottom-up to the authority. Next to the acting brilliance of Werner Peters, it's those camera looks which outfits the film with an outstandingly analytical and aesthetic quality.

"Der Untertan" is adapted from a novel by Heinrich Mann. As a novelist Heinrich may be overshadowed by his younger brother Thomas Mann but his novels gave rise to some excellent movies. Apart from "Der Untertan" his novel "Professor Unrat" was adapted in "The blue angel" (1930, Josef von Sternberg).

Director Wolfgang Staudte was a prominent German director after the Second World War. His film "Die Mörder sind unter uns" (1946) was one of the first German movies about this war.

"Der Untertan" portrays the period in Germany sometimes called "Wilhelminism". These period lasted from about 1890 - 1914, the beginning of the First World War, and was characterized by a militaristic society as symbolized in the person of emperor Wilhelm II.

Within this society main character Diederich Hessling (Werner Peters) plays a character who is hypocritical to the extreme. He obeys his superiors unconditionally and treats his inferiors as dirt. He is very nationalistic with his mouth but avoids military services with the help of acquaintances from his student corps.

All in all, the name Hessling can be understood to mean "hässlich" (nasty).

In portraying the character of Hessling lead actor Werner Peters is delivering a great performance. Peters is not very well known. The biggest chance of knowing him is maybe from "Nachts wenn der Teufel kam" (1957, Robert Siodmak).

At the time of release "Der Untertan" was not well received. Produced in the Soviet zone of occupied Berlin it was thought to be a piece of Communist propaganda. Now that we can look at the period in question from a greater distance in time the film turns out to be a rather accurate description of the "Wilhelminism".

To understand the reception in the '50s it maybe helpful to watch films such as "Labyrinth of lies" ( 2014, Giulio Ricciarelli) or "Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer" (2015, Lars Kraume). These films illustrate the great aversion against looking back in the Germany of the fifties.

To end with some cinematographic details that may be details but certainly enhanced the appreciation of the film by me.

Especially the earlier scenes relating to the student corps episode are shot with innovative camera angles. For example a drinking bout is shot through the bottle of the beer glasses.

In some scenes Hessling is wearing a very strange sort of mask. Only gradually it dawned on me that the function of this mask was to keep the ends of his mustache pointing upwards, just like his big idol emperor Wilhelm II.

In various scenes the rooms are decorated with paintings showing provocative nude women. In my opinion another hint at the hypocrisy of the main character, who was of course very prudish with his mouth.

Certainly not a detail is the brilliant ending. Hessling makes a very patriotic speech at the event of the unveiling of a statue for Wilhelm II in his hometown. The speech is interrupted by heavy thunder and lightning. In the last images of the film we see the statue again, surrounded by the rubble caused by war.

This is a must see movie. Werner Peters and all the other cast members deliver superb performances. It has got an ensemble of top german character actors playing together on the same high level as we are used to get from the best of Preston Sturges' movies.

The photography of Robert Baberske is a sheer delight, both lighting and framing are masterly done.

If you have enjoyed Fritz Lang's "M" than you certainly will enjoy this one. The appeal of the story and characters may a bit more specific german, but the moral and "message" is timeless and is true to all western societies.

Comedic film jewels like this are not made anymore - this makes it even less understandable that there is no DVD version around yet. (I know for certain that a top notch flawless negative for a digital transfer exists !!!)