Three Non-Coms

Drei Unteroffiziere (Three Sergeants) is a 1939 German film. Made soon before the outbreak of the Second World War, the film - as its name suggests - depicts the lives of three German army sergeants. While the plot concentrates on the soldier characters' complicated love affairs rather than their battlefield exploits, it does extol camaraderie among soldiers - a staple theme of Nazi propaganda. The film concludes with the protagonists overcoming amorous jealousies which threatened to divide them, and eagerly embarking on a dangerous military task. This theme is well reflected in the film's poster, in whose foreground the three in uniform face their commanding officer while on the background appears the actress Gerda for whose love they had competed with each other. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, Drei Unteroffiziere was included in the list of forbidden films, and nowadays its screening is only allowed for "special educational purposes".