The Little Napoleon | |
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Directed by | Georg Jacoby |
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Production company | European Film Alliance |
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Country | Germany |
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The Little Napoleon (German : Der kleine Napoleon) is a 1923 German silent historical comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Egon von Hagen, Paul Heidemann and Harry Liedtke. It depicts the life and amorous adventures of Jérôme Bonaparte, the younger brother of Napoleon, who installed him as King of Westphalia.
The film is best known for the small role played by Marlene Dietrich as Kathrin, a lady's maid. Her brief appearance was filmed over several days during the summer of 1922. [1] It marked Dietrich's film debut, though she was later unhappy with her early silent films. [2] She was cast after impressing the director, Georg Jacoby, during a meeting arranged for them. Dietrich played gradually more substantial roles during the rest of the decade until her breakthrough film The Blue Angel (1930).
The film was made by the European Film Alliance (EFA), a failed attempt by the American firm Paramount to establish a production base in the lucrative German market. [3] The EFA was wound up shortly after the film's completion, which delayed its release. [4] It finally premièred on 29 November 1923 at the Marmorhaus in Berlin. [5]
The Little Napoleon is one of many works from 1923 that entered the public domain in the United States in 2019. [6]
Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte was the youngest brother of Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I, King of Westphalia, between 1807 and 1813. Historian Owen Connelly points to his financial, military, and administrative successes and concludes he was a loyal, useful, and soldierly asset to Napoleon. Others, including historian Helen Jean Burn, have demonstrated his military failures, including a dismal career in the French navy that nearly escalated into war with Britain over an incident in the West Indies and his selfish concerns that led to the deaths of tens of thousands during the Russian invasion when he failed to provide military support as Napoleon had counted upon for his campaign; further, his addiction to spending led to both personal and national financial disasters, with his large personal debts repeatedly paid by family members including Napoleon, his mother, and both of his first two fathers-in-law, and the treasury of Westphalia emptied. In general, most historians agree that he was the most selfish, self-absorbed, unsuccessful, and feckless of Napoleon's brothers.
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