Carl Peters | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Directed by | Herbert Selpin |
Written by |
|
Produced by | C.W. Tetting |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Franz Koch |
Edited by | Friedel Buckow |
Music by | Franz Doelle |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Bavaria Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
Country | Nazi Germany |
Language | German |
Carl Peters is a 1941 German historical drama film directed by Herbert Selpin and starring Hans Albers, Karl Dannemann, and Fritz Odemar. It was produced as an anti-British propaganda film during the Second World War.
Albers portrays the titular German colonial leader. [1] Bayume Mohamed Husen plays his native guide.
The art director Fritz Maurischat worked on the film's sets. It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich and the Barrandov Studios in Prague.
The film is a biopic of Carl Peters, one of the founders of German East Africa, and takes place while he is under investigation by the Reichstag for unnecessary brutality. Instead, Peters openly calls for a global policy of colonialism and conquest, which he says will require issuing carte blanche to hard-hearted men like himself. [2] He defends his policy of using execution without trial to prevent a native uprising, which, he insists, the parliamentarians could not have prevented. [3] The parliamentarians, who are all depicted as Jews, [4] refuse to accept this explanation, demonstrating the alleged dangers of democracy, constitutional monarchy, and all other political systems in which the Fuhrer principle is ignored. [5]
This film is intended to provoke renewed anger over the Versailles Treaty: as the Kaiser's German colonial empire, the third largest in existence at the time, had been divided up between the victorious Allies after World War I. [6] The film's somewhat crude attack on the British Empire is typical of later films, such as Ohm Krüger , which were made after Hitler came to the conclusion that no separate peace with Britain was possible. Ironically, though, the British colonial officials are depicted far more sympathetically than the civil service and elected politicians of the German Empire, who fired Carl Peters. [7]
The story begins in London in 1892. Members of the British civil service in a club discuss Carl Peters, who has just crossed the English Channel with intelligence officers, wondering whether to stop Peters before he tries to achieve his objective and consolidate the position of the German Empire in East Africa.
Carl Peters returns to Germany to garner support, but his exploration projects are met with little response. He left on his own for Africa; arrived in Zanzibar, where he tries to convince the German consulate to support his effort. He intends to establish a colony and make it a protectorate of the imperial government. Peters concludes commercial treaties with local tribal leaders, before the British or the Belgians manage to do so.
Carl Peters then survives a tropical disease and an attempted poisoning from the Intelligence Service. He finally receives a letter from Kaiser Wilhelm I assuring protection for his colony.
Carl Peters returns to Africa and suffers through various trials, not only from the British, but also from the director of the Colonial Department of the German Foreign Office, who happens to be Jewish. Carl Peters escapes danger, but his friend Karl Ludwig Jühlke is a victim. While Peters leads his expedition to an end, bad news reaches Berlin. Chancellor Bismarck must resign, but Peters is appointed Reichskommissar (Commissioner of Colonies). Back in Berlin, however, Peters must answer to the German people's elected representatives in the Reichstag and to respond to accusations of brutality by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Despite the support of a witness in his favour, who is none other than a black Anglican Bishop, and despite the heated rhetoric that Peters uses, he is forced to resign.
Carl Peters was a German explorer and colonial administrator. He was a major promoter of the establishment of the German colony of East Africa and one of the founders of the German East Africa Company. He was a controversial figure in Germany for his views and his brutal treatment of native Africans, which ultimately led to his dismissal from government service in 1897.
The Society for German Colonization was founded on 28 March 1884 in Berlin by Carl Peters. Its goal was to accumulate capital for the acquisition of German colonial territories in overseas countries.
Refugees is the 1933 German drama film, directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Hans Albers, Käthe von Nagy, and Eugen Klöpfer. It depicts Volga German refugees persecuted by the Bolsheviks on the Sino-Russian border in Manchuria in 1928.
The Fox of Glenarvon is a German propaganda film from the Nazi era portraying the years of the Irish fight for independence during World War I. It was produced in 1940 by Max W. Kimmich and starred Olga Chekhova, Karl Ludwig Diehl, Ferdinand Marian and others. The screenplay was written by Wolf Neumeister and Hans Bertram based on a novel of the same title by Nicola Rhon that had been published by the Ullstein publishing house in 1937. It was made at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin, with sets designed by the art directors Wilhelm Depenau and Otto Erdmann. The shoot lasted from December 1939 to February 1940. It passed censorship on 22 April 1940 and had its debut in Berlin's Ufa-Palast am Zoo two days later.
The Old and the Young King is a 1935 German historical drama film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Werner Hinz and Leopoldine Konstantin.
Bismarck is a 1940 German historical film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Paul Hartmann, Friedrich Kayßler, and Lil Dagover.
Peer Gynt is a 1934 German drama film directed by Fritz Wendhausen and starring Hans Albers, Lucie Höflich and Marieluise Claudius. It is based on the play Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen.
Water for Canitoga is a 1939 German western film directed by Herbert Selpin and starring Hans Albers, Charlotte Susa and Josef Sieber. The film is a "Northern", set in Canada in 1905 where an engineer is working to construct a new water supply system despite repeated attempts at sabotage. It is based on a play by Hans Rehfisch, Otto Eis and Egon Eis.
No Money Needed is a 1932 German comedy film directed by Carl Boese and starring Hedy Lamarr, Heinz Rühmann, and Hans Moser. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin with sets designed by the art director Julius von Borsody. It premiered on 5 February 1932. It was based on a play by Ferdinand Alternkirch and was shot during November 1931. A French remake and an Italian remake were made in 1933. Boese himself remade the story in 1953 under the title The Uncle from America.
1914 is a 1931 German drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Albert Bassermann, Hermann Wlach and Wolfgang von Schwindt. The film focuses on the leadership of the Great Powers of Europe in the days leading up to the outbreak of the First World War, culminating in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Princip. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and premiered in the city at the Tauentzien-Palast on 20 January 1931. At the request of the German Foreign Office an introduction by Eugen Fischer-Baling was filmed and presented at the start of the film. A special screening was held at the Reichstag on 3 March 1931.
The False Prince is a 1927 German silent film directed by Heinz Paul and starring Harry Domela, Ekkehard Arendt and John Mylong. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's art direction was by Karl Machus. The film was based on Domela's book recounting his own adventures in post-First World War Germany when he briefly masqueraded as Prince.
The Girl from Fano is a 1941 German drama film directed by Hans Schweikart and starring Brigitte Horney, Joachim Gottschalk and Gustav Knuth. The film is based on a novel by Günther Weisenborn and is set amongst the fishing community of the Danish island of Fanø.
The Young Count is a 1935 Czech-German comedy film directed by Carl Lamac and starring Anny Ondra, Hans Söhnker and Fritz Odemar. It is set around the circus, part of a subgenre of Circus films. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Wilhelm Depenau and Erich Zander.
Knockout is a 1935 German sports film directed by Carl Lamac and Hans H. Zerlett and starring Anny Ondra, Max Schmeling, and Hans Schönrath. After impressing a boxing trainer during a brawl over a woman, a young man is recruited and trained to be a boxer. He fights and defeats the British champion.
The Love Hotel is a 1933 German comedy film directed by Carl Lamac and starring Anny Ondra, Mathias Wieman and Peter Voß. It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Wilhelm Depenau and Erich Zander. A separate French-language version was also made.
Three Days of Love is a 1931 German drama film directed by Heinz Hilpert and starring Hans Albers, Käthe Dorsch, and Trude Berliner. It was made and distributed by the independent Felsom Film company. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art director Hans Jacoby.
My Wife Theresa is a 1942 German comedy film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Elfie Mayerhofer, Hans Söhnker, and Rolf Weih.
Miss Madame is a 1934 German comedy film directed by Carl Boese and starring Jenny Jugo, Paul Hörbiger, and Olga Limburg. The film's sets were designed by the art director Erich Czerwonski. It was based on play of the same title by Ludwig Fulda.
Crown Jewels is a 1950 West German crime film directed by Franz Cap and starring Sybille Schmitz, Hans Nielsen and Kurt Kreuger.