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The Great King (German: Der große König) is a 1942 German drama film directed by Veit Harlan and starring Otto Gebühr. It depicts the life of Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786. It received the rare "Film of the Nation" distinction. It was part of a popular cycle of "Prussian films". The film is a depiction of the Führerprinzip, with the analogy to Hitler being so clear that Hitler sent a print to Mussolini, and Goebbels warning against the drawing of the comparison in print, in particular because the pessimistic mood that opens the film. After a sergeant gives an unauthorized order, the king orders him promoted and punished; his decision to desert after this results in his death, because no disobedience is justified. Goebbels declared that the parallels were not a matter of propaganda but an obvious result of the parallels of history. Goebbels also regarded as it instructing that their current sufferings would strengthen them. Goebbels had some difficulty with the Army High Command over this film, because it depicted the king left in a lurch by his general, and complained that the army felt that any depiction, however historical, reflected badly on them.
Original Release
03/03/1942
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Otto Gebühr | King Frederick II |
Kristina Söderbaum | Luise Treskow |
Gustav Fröhlich | Sgt. Treskow |
Hans Nielsen | Niehoff |
Hilde Körber | Elisabeth |
Paul Wegener | Gen. Czernitscheff |
Otto Wernicke | Oberst Rochow |
Harry Hardt | Adjutant von Dessau |
Hans Hermann Schaufuß | Gen. Zieten |
Claus Clausen | Prince Heinrich (older) |
Directors
Writers
Veit Harlan, Gerhard Menzel, Hans Rehberg
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Otto Gebühr | King Frederick II |
Kristina Söderbaum | Luise Treskow |
Gustav Fröhlich | Sgt. Treskow |
Hans Nielsen | Niehoff |
Hilde Körber | Elisabeth |
Paul Wegener | Gen. Czernitscheff |
Otto Wernicke | Oberst Rochow |
Harry Hardt | Adjutant von Dessau |
Hans Hermann Schaufuß | Gen. Zieten |
Claus Clausen | Prince Heinrich (older) |
Klaus Detlef Sierck | Prince Heinrich (younger) |
Paul Henckels | Grenadier Spiller |
Elisabeth Flickenschildt | Spiller's Wife |
Franz Schafheitlin | Col. Bernburg |
Kurt Meisel | Alfons |
Karl Günther | Graf Kaunitz |
Otto Graf | Gen. Seydlitz |
Hans Stiebner | Koch Fourmentier |
Walter Franck | Gen. Laudon |
Knut Hartwig | Preußischer Offizier |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Veit Harlan | Executive Producer |