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Cinéma & Cie. Film and Media Studies Journal
MLVs in a Changing Political Climate. Ufa's "National Film" Die Insel (1934): A Case Study
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Anne Jäckel
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MLVs in a Changing Political Climate. Ufa's "National Film" Die Insel (1934): A Case Study
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5
     MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE
     UFA'S "NATIONAL FILM" DIE INSEL (1934): A CASE STUDY
     Horst Claus, Anne Jäckel, University of the West of England, Bristol




       Over the last twenty-five years, the formulation of a European film policy and a
     reassessment of the concept of identity? have generated intense political and academic
  debates on national cinemas and film policies. "What the national means changes
 according to social, economic and political mutations and pressures" as well as to the
 historical context in which national - and by implication, non-national - films are
 envisaged. Interchanges between Germany and France during the 19305 raise impor
 tant "questions about the supposed specificity of national production systems."
 Making national films, like defining "the national," implies the enunciation of two fun-
 damental concepts: identity and difference. In this respect, making national films with
 world-wide appeal seems a contradiction in terms. Yet, this is exactly what Ufa's direc-
 tors set out to do, when, in early 1934, they agreed to make a "national film" of the play
 Die Insel (The Island). Their decision to produce it in a French and German version may
be traced back to one of their annual surveys enquiring about audience preferences for
 the coming season, that (amongst others) had resulted in their distributors and cinema
 owners at home and abroad asking specifically for "at least one big national film [.] that
should present the national element in a way that will fill national sections of the pop
 ulations of all countries with enthusiasm."4
   Having previously examined Ufa's policy towards popular multi-language film ver
 sions for the international market with reference to the hit film operetta Congress
 Dances, we shall concentrate this time on its managers' attempts to make their high-
 ly controversial and widely criticised nationale Filme (films deliberately made to
 boost a nation's morale from a conservative perspective) palatable for international
audiences. In the process we shall try to define their understanding of "the national,"
examine their production policy within the context of the changing political climate
in Germany of I933/34, investigate the ideological position of the individuals respon-
sible for the production programme, look at the experience of the French artists work-
ing in Babelsberg at the time and present the film's production history together with
a brief comparative analysis of the original play and the film. Bearing in mind the set
of questions and problems raised by Pierre Sorlin and other contributors to the first
Gradisca International Film Studies Spring School® - notably that versions are
hypotheses that can always be disconfirmed and that comparisons may falsify the
actual reception experience - we examine, in the second part, the similarities and dif
ferences between the German (Die Insel) and French (Vers l'abime) versions of the
film. To what extent do they confirm findings on MLVs so far? What does a close exam-
ination of the two versions reveal as far as national issues are concerned? What are the
values that Ufa's directorate expected to appeal to "national audiences" in France and

48                                                               CINEMA & Cie, no. 7, Fall 2005
                                                      MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE



Germany? Do these coincide in both versions? Do they reflect
towards foreigners? To what extent do they tentatively touc
issues of the time?


Ufa's "National Film"

    Ever since the media mogul and chairman of the ultra rightwing Deutschnationale
Volkspartei Alfred Hugenberg took over Universum Film AG in spring 1927, its Board
of Directors under the stewardship of the company's general manager Ludwig Klitzsch
 aimed to produce at least one nationalen or vaterländischen film a year, i.e. feature
 films, which would stand for and advance conservative "National" values that were
 deeply rooted in the thoughts, attitudes, and values of the forty odd years preceding
 World War I. Though the Board never seems to have attempted a definition of the
genre's characteristics, minutes of its debates about possible subject matters to be
 filmed give an indication of what type of protagonist and human behaviour qualified
 for inclusion and what did not. A four-page note headed "Betrifft: nationalen Film"
 ("Concerning: National Film") offers an insight into the thinking and political stance
 of the men in charge of Europe's foremost film production company.? It was written
  three days after the elections to the Reichstag of March 5, 1933, that had resulted in
  Hitler needing the support of the German Nationalist People's Party to continue his
  chancellorship. Its contents suggest that, with Hugenberg in the position of Minister
  for Agriculture and Industry, Ufa's managers expected the government to pursue a
   "National" (not National Socialist!) agenda in tune with their own ideological convic-
 tions. Looking for film topics to support it, they took four subjects from German
 History into consideration. Three centred on well-known historic personalities, Otto
 von Bismarck (1815-1898), Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1772-1806), and Prince
 Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736). The fourth, with the general label Kolonialfilm, aimed to
 propagate the legitimacy of claims to the colonies Germany had been forced to sur-
 render under the Treaty of Versailles. The reasons given for rejecting and accepting
 these topics reveal an intricate balancing act between political beliefs and commercial
 expediency.
  Though the idea of making a film about Bismarck as the founder of the modern
 German Reich must have been extremely appealing, it was swiftly rejected on the
 grounds that the topic was too close to their own times. Too many people still alive
 would have personally known the "Iron Chancellor" and other well-known personali-
  ties of the period. Interestingly, concern that the Franco-German War of 1870/71 (which
  led to the proclamation in the Palace of Versailles of the King of Prussia as Kaiser of a
  unified Germany) might hinder the film's distribution in France, was not considered to
  be an obstacle. More revealing details about the managers' ideological thinking emerge
  from their discussions about the suitability of Frederick the Great's nephew Louis
  Ferdinand (I772-1806), whose dashing personality and heroics against the French dur-
  ing the late 18th and early Igth century had been used to spur on the fighting spirit of
  young volunteers eager to force France into submission during World War I. Fifteen
  years later, Ufa's directors - all of whom but one had been officers during that war - no
  longer considered him suitable for a role model. His love affairs - above all one with the
  estranged wife of a high ranking official within the Prussian military establishment -
                                                                                         49
 HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL


 and his close association with the renowned literary circle of the Salon run in Berlin by
 the intellectually brilliant Jewish authoress Rahel Levin now meant that the Prince had
 led a wasted life. Furthermore, in light of the virulent anti-Semitism in Germany, his
 links with Rahel Levin were felt to "contain dangers and risks for the film which, in
  view of the large financial investments, have to be avoided." For Louis Ferdinand to set
  an example for contemporary audiences, the film script, in their opinion, would have
  to deviate from historical facts that were all too well known. From a prosaic business
 point of view the topic was thrown out because audiences in Southern Germany and
 abroad would be opposed to a distinctly Prussian hero. Furthermore, a recent survey
 amongst cinema owners had revealed that spectators rejected films with characters
 wearing costumes of the first decade of the igth century.
    In contrast to Louis Ferdinand, no affairs with married women or female Jewish intel
 lectuals are known about Eugene of Savoy. The Board therefore emphasised to have
 qualified writers develop a script for a National Film that would celebrate the Prince's
 historic importance by presenting him "as the embodiment of the idea of the Führer
 whose crowning achievement was the liberation of Europe from the threat of a Muslim
 conquest. Thus two parallels with the present times offer themselves: the idea of the
 Führer and the repulsion of the danger of Bolshevism." As the Prince was small, a crip-
 ple and his outer appearance unattractive, it was agreed that, instead of making him the
 central hero, the film would focus on one of his officers, whose life and fate would be
 shown within a broad, colourful panorama imbued with Eugene's spirit and actions.
Though clearly a National Film, the topic would be of international appeal and would
be made in two versions. As it would not necessarily have to be produced during the
coming season (probably because of the scale of the undertaking), the Board, in the end,
settled for the Kolonialfilm. Set in the years prior to World War I, it would demonstrate
the extend to which the Lebensraum of their home country had become restricted and
oppressive for young Germans, making them eager to seek their fortunes abroad with
the ultimate aim to create a German homeland far from home and develop new links
for the benefit of their fatherland's trade and industry. Intent to strengthen their
Wehrwillen (readiness to defend and fight for themselves), the film would demonstrate
how, "with the support of 500.000 bayonets and a strong navy, young Germans created
new opportunities and Lebensraum for themselves." Apart from its topicality for
younger generations of many other nations, the subject would present opportunities
for exciting images of foreign countries. Board members regarded the film's topic to be
particularly significant as it deliberately advanced what to them was a "pioneering and
forward-looking idea." Their fervour of propagating nationalist convictions along party
political lines of the German Nationalist People's Party found its expression on March
22, I933, when they decided to make a documentary about the Nationale Bewegung (i.e.
the "national" not "national socialist" movement). Compiled from actuality footage
shot between January 31 and March 2I, 1933, this would be a "historic document"
shown as support programme and on special occasions. The film was never made by
Ufa - possibly because the company's directors realised that their understanding of
nationalism was not entirely in tune with that of Hitler and his party. This becomes par-
ticularly apparent in the Board's decisions concerning Ufa's business interests in France
during the first half of 1933.
   As committed nationalists and World War I veterans, Ufa's directors never had any
qualms about expressing their strong anti-French feelings in their minutes. Such
50
                                                      MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE



emotions, however, did not affect their business decisions. By 1933 it was clear to them
that it would be impossible for their productions to break into the North American
distribution network. As the English cinema circuits were generally regarded as the
 "least important in Europe" for the German film industry, Ufa, by the end of 1932, had
given up making English versions altogether. Concentrating entirely on French ver-
sons instead, France and the French-speaking world had become the company's most
important export-market. Though initially clearly delighted about possible influences
and advantages to be gained from Hugenberg's position within the government, Ufa's
managers soon shared the uncertainty of the rest of the industry over National
Socialist attitudes and policies, which, by spring 1933, brought German film produc-
tion to a virtual standstill. As for their business relations with France, they apparently
were concerned that, following Hitler's re-election as Chancellor, the new government
not only shared their anti-French feelings, but would be prepared to translate these
into political decisions and actions that would be detrimental to their business inter-
ests. Their Franco-phobia is reflected in the erratic way in which they handled their
film-adaptation of the French boulevard comedy Le Chien qui rapporte. By the time
they acquired the rights in 1932, the play had been a theatre hit throughout Germany
for a number of years. Preparations for production began on January 1, 1933. The film's
budget was given its final approval during the week before the elections of March 5,
with an immediate start of location work in Switzerland. Given the play's popularity,
it was to be released under the same title as the stage-version Der kleine Kuppler (The
Little Matchmaker). Five days after the election, Ufa's directors held the first of sever-
al discussions that dragged on until a month before the film's release in June trying to
find a new title.10 The reason for the difficulties they had in reaching a decision is
revealed in a minute of April II, which states that all references to the French source
should be dropped from the film's credits.I On another occasion they considered it
necessary to justify the purchase of a machine for copying 35mm to 16 mm film stock
by recording: "The meeting unanimously agreed that there were no objections to
ordering the machine in France from the French company Debrie as this is the only
company that makes such a machine."I2


The French Experience at Babelsberg

  The anti-French attitudes reflected in the minutes of the board meetings stand in
stark contrast to the way working conditions were perceived by the large number of
French artists employed at Ufa's Babelsberg Studios. Ufa's foreign language productions
had a reputation for quality, as the company used established actors and apparently lis-
 tened to advice and opinions of the French directors who assisted their German col
 leagues. Serge de Poligny, who, amongst others, worked on Karl Hartl's film Gold (I934-
 35), recalled that, within every shot, he was allowed a certain degree of freedom as long
 as its beginning and end corresponded to that of the original. 13 From March 1933
 onwards, Ufa's French versions were supervised by Raoul Ploquin, who previously had
 been Head of Publicity of the Paris-based L'Alliance Cinématographique Européenne
 (ACE), an Ufa-subsidiary originally founded in 1926 in collaboration with Svenska and
 the support of French money for the purpose of making French-German-Swedish co-
 productions. Shortly after Ufa's managers authorised his appointment on January 10,

                                                                                       51
     HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL


 1933 for 18.000 Francs per month, 14 Marcel Colin-Reval, in Cinématographie français
 welcomed his move to Berlin. Congratulating him in the most complimentary terms,
  Colin-Reval's article indicates that Ploquin was not appointed for artistic reasons alone.

      Not only hardworking, (Raoul Ploquin] also has an in-depth knowledge of fil
      duction. (.) M. Ploquin knows how much income a film can generate in a particu
     lar region. He has a perfect knowledge of the French market's capacity.
      Furthermore, he knows the taste of French audiences. For years, he has followed
     career of many films and, by just observing and analysing without criticising, he
      has reached his own conclusions and used them to advance his career. He knows
      film as an industry, a trade and an art.

      Today, M. Ploquin is perfectly equipped and worthy of the difficult task ahe
      him. It will not be easy to ensure that French preferences penetrate every detail of a
      film. But M. Ploquin will succeed. He has a healthy understanding of film, a rich
     cultural background, and a huge amount of experience. He is not a youngster to be
      taken on for a period of probation. M. Ploquin will make an impact, and in this will
     have the support of all his friends.15

   Not everybody shared Marcel Colin-Reval's enthusiasm and confidence about
 Ploquin and other French artists working in Germany. Some, like the author of the
 propaganda pamphlet Les Dessous du cinéma allemand written in 1934, suspected
 German film industrialists of having the same sinister intentions as their American col
 leagues. Writing from the imagined perspective of a German producer, he stated:

     France will never make fine films. The French government doesn't support it in
     any way. They don't have any idea of the effect a film can have abroad, or the influ-
     ence it can exercise. So it's up to the Germans to make the French people's films for
     them. They will serve two ends: (1) counter French influence abroad, (2) replace it
     little by little by ours. [..] These great films will serve our propaganda and spread
     our ideas around the world... With our (limitless) money, we will seduce and keep
     in Germany all the good French film personnel, Boyer, Garat, Lemonier,
     Blanchar, Murat, Gabin, Rosine, Deran, Ferny, Françoise Rosay and others whom
     we'll pay highly. And the French producers, deprived of stars, will have to make do
     with the meagre residue we leave them until their industry packs up and French
     culture dies out. I6

   Ufa's managers certainly were interested in spreading their ideological beliefs as
 long as this did not interfere with their main business of making money. However, the
 record of their discussions reveals that, when it came to salaries, they definitely did
not voluntarily squander their financial resources and would have been delighted had
they been able to get away with employing fewer people for shorter periods of time. It
was the demand for French performers in their native country that forced them to
take entire ensembles under contract, as a minute of September 26, 1933, reveals: "In
view of the difficulties experienced when it comes to signing up French performers
for our films, due to the high demand for them on the French market and their con-
tractual ties with French theatres and film producers, the Board agrees in principle to
52
                                                      MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


 take a number of male and female French actors under contract for 16 to 20 weeks per
year with an option for renewal for a second year; salaries and other conditions to be
negotiated."
   The presence of a hard-working French community of actors, directors, script-writ-
ers and language coaches in Babelsberg is widely acknowledged. On the other hand,
film historians have noted that the least documented aspect of international
exchanges in the 19305 is the French presence in Berlin. As Colin Crisp points oute
 "French filmmaking personnel, retrospectively self-conscious about their contribu-
tions to the enemy's economy, were understandably reluctant in later years to elabo-
rate on their work there."17
  No records seem to have survived about the experiences of French actors or co-direc-
tor Serge Veber who worked on the French version of Die Insel in Babelsberg. However,
André Beucler, who directed a number of films produced under the supervision of
Raoul Ploquin at about the same time, gave a rare detailed account of working condi-
tions in Berlin a few months after the completion of the film. Referring to his account
published in La Revue de Paris in 1935, Colin Crisp notes that Beucler "underlines the
technical sophistication of the German industry, which impressed French workers"
and quotes him as saying: "The Berlin workshops do things well: the photography is
clever and precise, the sound excellent, the editing sophisticated... In all technical mat-
ters, our neighbours make no compromises; near enough is not good enough. It's sub.
stance that's most lacking in their work." Furthermore, Beucler "contrasts the amicable
internationalism of the film personnel with the potentially intrusive nationalism
pressing upon it:"

  You hear the German language marry with the French, which shocks no one, since
  (UFA] is still the centre of Franco-German collaboration where a bilingual murmur
  is part of the house style... The atmosphere of camaraderie that reigns in this world
  of cousins germains is undeniable. It is based on a thousand little details of shared
  professional understanding; international - an understanding that allows a Danish
  actor to feel at ease with a Portuguese director, but which unquestionably creates
  deep bonds each year between 400 French and 400 Germans - sincere bonds, broken
  of course with the rapidity of cinematic images, but which recall wartime friend-
  ships and University relationships. To become a close friend, with the Germans -
  whether they're secret liberals, Hitlerians, monarchists, or militants - all you have
  to do is confine yourself to a fictional world and not take too close an interest in the
  Third Reich... If as a Frenchmen you commit the heresy of noticing what's happen-
  ing not in the studio but in the nearby arsenals or military camps... you immediate.
   ly become an enemy of art, of the cinema and of Germany...

   Crisp continues: "Describing the cinema as a sort of no-man's land not altogether
assimilated as yet to the Hitlerian ethic, (Beucler] speaks of listening to Hitler's
broadcasts alongside German personnel - themselves Nazi - who nevertheless
observed quietly at the end, 'that too is just cinema'"18 The word "international"
(underlined in the quotation of Beucler's experiences) along with his description of
 the Babelsberg working environment as a sort of "no-man's land" and his allusion to
  "wartime friendships" are interesting with regard to the plot and setting of our case
 study, Die Insel.

                                                                                         53
HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL


Ufa's "National Film" in Light of Hitler's Ascent to Power

 Though they apparently tried to igmore it, none of those working
French or German - could have missed what was happening around
28, 1933, in a well-known speech to the heads of the German film industry in the
Berlin hotel Kaiserhof, Goebbels had tried to regain the confidence of these key peo.
ple and rekindle production activities. I9 Assuring them that the Hitler government
had no intention of interfering with their activities he insisted that film production
had to be solidly rooted in the spirit of the times, i.e. in national socialist ideology. At
the same time, he declared that Jewish directors were incapable of understanding
 German audiences. Accusing film managers of ignoring the problems and difficult
 times experienced throughout the country, he called for the production of films that
would reflect the fate and drama of the German people. Ufa's directorate lost no time
to fall in line. The following day, "in light of the drastically changed conditions," its
members revamped their plans for 1933/34 by starting off with the production of two
films of "an entirely German character" and deferred films with French versions to the
end of the season. Using Goebbels' anti-Semitic remarks as a convenient excuse they
also severed their links with employees and artists of Jewish descent - particularly
those with expensive contracts.20 As Goebbels worked at seizing control of the film
industry Ufa's general manager, Ludwig Klitzsch revealed himself as a clever tactician
who - in contrast to its owner Alfred Hugenberg and its artistic director Ernst-Hugo
Correll - soon made himself indispensable to the new rulers while his company care.
fully tried to tread the thin line between its German-National orientation and
National Socialism.
  The vocabulary of the cautiously phrased speech with which Klitzsch had wel
comed the Propaganda Minister in the Kaiserhof was that of the Hugenberg-Party.
Blaming opportunists and rumour-mongers he never referred to, let alone criticised
the National Socialists for being responsible for the current crisis within the German
Film Industry. Outlining his vision of the film of the future, he insisted (in the lan-
guage of German conservatives) that the industry was prepared "dem Vaterland zu
geben, was des Vaterlandes ist" ("to give to the fatherland that what belongs to the
fatherland").21 On May Day I933, which Goebbels' propaganda machinery turned into
a demonstration of unrelenting National Socialist strength and solidarity, Ufa dis-
played the Imperial black-white-and-red flag of the pre-World War I era with equal
prominence as the new Swastika flag. In his official address as representative of the
Board of Directors, Alexander Grau praised Uta's National Films, the Hugenberg.
Group's contributions and successes, and the national (not "national socialist")
achievements made by Germany. In contrast to the NSDAP-representative who fin-
ished his speech with a triple "Sieg-Heil" to Adolf Hitler, Grau ended his with a triple
 "Heil" to the Fatherland, the Reich's President, and the Reich's Chancellor.22 A few
weeks later, Klitzsch, in his function as Chairman of the Association of German Film
Producers, bridged the ideological differences in a meeting with Joseph Goebbels dur
ing which both agreed on the founding of a "Film Bank" for the sole purpose of financ-
ing film projects.
  The political climate of 1933 suggests that Ufa hired producer Karl Ritter because
his long-standing connections with the NSDAP, however, timing and the way he was
brought into the company indicate that his professionalism and experience in the
54
                                                       MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


industry were the deciding factors, his right-wing political views a mere bonus. A career
officer and soldier "by inner conviction," Ritter attributed his successful rise in the film
industry to his military training that "had taught him organisational skills, disciplined
thinking, and to be creatively active." It also led him to make some of the most virulent
militaristic films in cinema history. Throughout his life Ritter maintained that "He
who wants to be leader first has to learn to obey, and subsequently has had to be led by
others for years."23 Under the strong influence of his father-in-law, a "passionate
National Socialist and fanatic anti-Semite,"24 he had joined the Nazi-Party as early as
1925. A talented and effective organiser, from I926 onwards, he worked his way up
from publicity manager in the Berlin office of the Munich-based Südfilm distribution
company to producer-in-chief of the Reichsliga-Film GmbH, gaining practical experi-
ence as scriptwriter, production assistant, director and producer en route. His first
involvement with feature film production came in 1928 as co-author of a silent military
comedy, Das Spreewaldmädel (The Girl from the Forrest Along the River Spree). The
film's director was Hans Steinhoff, a specialist for so-called Mittelfilme, i.e. films of any
genre with medium-size budgets that represented the staple of popular entertainment,
which kept German cinemas in business during the second half of the 1920s and early
1930S. A professional to the bone Steinhoff's ability to deliver solidly made features
with limited financial resources within a specified time had turned him into one of the
busiest men of his trade. Following this, their first joint venture, they had made plans
for further collaboration, which came to nothing as the production company, which
had announced the picture, went bankrupt.
   At the time they joined Ufa independently from each other before the elections of
March 5, 1933, Ritter and Steinhoff were given one-off contracts. Thus, it is unlikely
that either of them was hired for political reasons. Indeed, it was not until they col-
laborated on Hitler Youth Quex that Steinhoff became involved in the production of
films that subsequently established him as a leading propagandist of Third Reich
Cinema. No hints, activities, or documents exist linking him with any political per-
suasion prior to the production of Que during the summer of 1933. The reasons for
their employment with Ufa were clearly their professional skills and, given the com-
pany's money-saving efforts, the low salaries they commanded in comparison with
producers and directors working under contract or regularly used by Ufa. At 1.500
Marks for one month and pro rata payments should the production last longer,
Ritter's remuneration was half that of the 3.000 Marks received for the same period of
time by Max Pfeiffer, Ufa's lowest paid salaried producer, while Bruno Duday, the
company's main producer of the kind of inexpensive Mittelfilm initially assigned to
Ritter got 3.500 RM. Similarly, Steinhoff's fee of 15.000 Marks as director amounted to
half that given to established Ufa-directors like Karl Hartl or Reinhold Schünzel, not
to mention star directors such as Ludwig Berger or Luis Trenker who could command
sums in excess of 50.000 RM per film.25 The budgets for the three films made by
Steinhoff and Ritter between April 1933 and April 1934 all kept within the 250.000
mark-bracket allowed by Ufa for its Mittelfilm-productions (usually destined for the
German-speaking market only). When, in late spring 1934, they eventually were
assigned to the production of Die Insel as the first of two films belonging to the com-
pany's Superfilm-category, the budget at their disposal was fixed below the target of
600.000 marks allowed for pictures in this class and usually made in two language
versions.

                                                                                          55
HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL


Production Context


 The film is based on a play of the same title, which opene
Schauspielhaus in the North German city of Bremen. It was probably discove
specialist unit set up within Ufa's script department towards the end of I93
cific brief of scouring literary works and plays for their suitability as film subjects,26 On
January 30, Uta's managers authorised payment of I.500 marks in Austrian Shillings for
a treatment to be written by the play's author Harald Brat with a further 13.500 marks
to be paid should they subsequently acquire the rights.27 The decision was taken at
short notice, as the topic does not appear amongst eight titles discussed on January
1934, as potential subject for the next National Film. Following Correll's presentation of
the project, it was approved on February 23 and finally given the go-ahead on M
after the script had been scrutinised by the pre-censorship office of the
Reichsfilmdramaturg (which had no objections). As both, the Export Department and
Ufa's supervisor for French language versions Raoul Ploquin,28 were optimistic about
the topic's audience appeal in France, the meeting also agreed to make a German and a
French version.
   Ploquin's and the Export Department's opinions were of particular importance as a
few months earlier Serge de Poligny, while working as author and director on the
French version of Karl Hart's Gold, had seriously questioned that, in its present form,
the project he had been assigned to would appeal to French audiences. In line with Ufa's
German-National orientation and its directors' decision to concentrate for the first part
of the 1933-34 season on films with a distinctly German character, Gold had originally
been conceived as a National Film set in a German environment with a German hero.
In a strongly phrased letter Poligny now pointed out to Correll that, for the film to be
financially successful in France, it would have to be set in France with a French protag.
onist. His observations presented Ernst-Hugo Correll with a number of problems. If
Poligny's recommendations were accepted, the script would have to be re-written as the
plot (about the artificial creation of gold) relied on conditions that were typical for
Germany, but did not apply to France. The film's raison d'être was Germany's lack of
gold. France on the other hand had plenty of reserves of the precious metal. Production
cost would increase, as location shots would have to be made in Germany as well as in
France. Sets would have to be adapted to the different environments or be so neutral in
appearance that the film's specifically German character would be lost. Above all,
Correll was concerned that Ufa might be accused of having transferred the ethos of the
new Germany as represented in the film to a French environment for purely economic
and financial reasons. To him, in light of the political developments of 1933, this raised
two fundamental questions affecting the production of language versions in general:
Should Ufa continue to produce French versions of films with a "specifically national
ethos?" and: Can French versions set in a German environment and reflecting a specifi
cally German mentality still be exhibited in France without risk to their (financial) suc-
cess?29 In the case of Gold, the Board of Directors had decided to ignore Poligny's reser
vations and retain the film's German characters and settings in both versions:30
However, upon receiving the preliminary budget for the production a week later, they
seem to have changed their minds. Costed at almost I.1 million marks, the film's budg
et exceeded its original allocation by 400.000 marks, a figure far too high to be put at
risk. So, instead of advancing the German ethos of I933, Gold became a utopian adven-

56
                                                      MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


ture film - and a hit for Ufa. It allowed Germans to take pride in the defeat of a power
crazy industrialist with the English name of John Wills at the hands of Werner Holk,
Assistent to physicist Professor Achenbach, while French audiences cheered for
François Berthier, assistant to professeur Lefevre.
  The change of character of Gold probably contributed to the speedy acceptance and
production of Die Insel as Ufa's "National Film for national audiences of all countries"
asked for by the respondents to the survey mentioned above: "Under no circumstances
should such a film be simply heroic or tragic, as otherwise it would not be of anymore
value outside Germany than an ordinary Mittelfilm. On the contrary, it should present
the national element in such a way that it can excite nationally orientated classes of all
countries. It should also contain a plot of general human interest heavily interspersed
with humorous moments."31 Except possibly for the requirement of having to be
"heavily interspersed with humorous moments," the play seemed to contain all the
characteristics asked for by the respondents. Indeed, one critic reviewing the play for a
number of provincial German newspapers expressed the opinion that its success would
not be limited to Germany: "Already accepted by theatres in London and New York it
will possibly leave an even stronger impression in English-speaking countries."32
Though there is no evidence that the play was ever produced outside German-speaking
countries, it certainly contains most of the characteristics important to Ufa's managers
in their considerations of topics for their National Film. From a practical point of view
of the designer and the financial perspective of Ufa's accountants, all action takes place
inside an Embassy in a foreign country and thus requires comparatively few sets. These
are visually impressive and at the same time conveniently neutral so that they could be
found in any country worldwide. The people inside are elegant, attractive, and imbued
with authority. Their lives and actions are governed by a hierarchical structure and by
strict codes of behaviour that allocate to everybody around a specific place in a mini
society which adheres to pre-World War I social structures. It is a world of order domi
nated by traditional concepts of honour that are rooted in values derived from an aris-
tocratic and military elite.


The Play

  The play's title Die Insel refers to the Embassy in a foreign country. Representing an
isolated piece of homeland, it is a refuge for its closed community whose members per-
ceive it as a small island, surrounded by a strange and threatening environment. The
two main characters are the military attaché Captain Rist and the Embassy's
Legationssekretär (official representative for matters of trade) Raaz. Their everyday
behaviour and attitude to life and work reflect the changes that have taken place in the
diplomatic service as well as in society in general in the aftermath of the World War I.
Once the privilege of the aristocracy represented by Rist and the senior diplomats of the
Embassy, it is now "infiltrated" by educated and clever high flyers from the middle
classes like Raaz, who are looked down upon by their traditionally orientated col
 leagues because, as hard working specialists, they are interested in trade figures for the
 good of their country rather than in lavish displays of grandeur. While Rist and Raaz are
 friends, the others are envious of the young upstart whose dedication to his job has just
 led to an important trade agreement. Furthermore, his wealthy family background
                                                                                         57
 HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL


 makes it easy for him to subsidise the comparatively low income of diplomats who tra.
 ditionally are expected to finance part of the expenses involved in representing their
 country from personal resources.
   As military attaché, Rist is a kind of officially accepted spy who frequently has to take
 on assignments the Ambassador, for reasons of diplomacy, is not allowed to be aware of.
 While trying to make contact with potential informers in a notorious bar owned by the
 seductive, but shady Silvia, Rist has fallen victim to impostors who turned out to be
 clever gamblers and have relieved him of $ 6.000. Unable to settle the debt because he
 comes from an impoverished family, he had to accept Silvia's offer to lend him the
 money in exchange for an IOU. Under pressure not to reveal his true identity as military
 attaché and used to his friend helping him out in tight financial situations he has
 signed the document with Raaz's name. As the sum involved is substantial he cau-
 tiously asks Raaz how much money he could lend him. But this time it is too high even
 for Raaz, whose father's business is going through difficult times. When Silvia appears
 in the Embassy and learns that Rist has not been able to raise the money she threatens
to go to the press. As exposing him would involve the Embassy in a scandal, Rist forges
 a cheque signing it with Raaz's name.
    Informed by the director of his bank that a cheque has been presented which exceeds
 his financial resources, Raaz refuses to honour it. But Silvia insists on payment. As the
 signature, though easy to copy, appears to be that of Raaz, the director requests the
 Ambassador to act as mediator. The subsequent talk only reveals the rift that exists
 between the generations. In order to protect the reputation of the Embassy, its staff, and
 the country they represent, the Ambassador, though convinced that Raaz is innocent,
 demands that the cheque is accepted. Raaz, however, wants his name cleared and insists
 on justice. As neither side is prepared to give way, the Ambassador asks his niece Karin
 (with whom both, Rist and Raaz, are in love) to persuade Raaz to change his mind. In
 the course of their conversation Karin realises that Raaz is indeed innocent and encour
 ages him in his stance. But Raaz, out of love for her, changes his mind and agrees to pay,
 on condition that the culprit reveals himself. When the Ambassador calls for the guilty
 man to admit to the crime, all senior diplomats step forward in solidarity, each claim-
 ing he did it. Unable to live in an environment that protects criminals, Raaz resigns.
 Following his exit from the room, the Ambassador calls for the unknown culprit to
 "resign" from the Embassy in a way that would allow those staying behind to remem
ber him with honour. When Raaz learns of what is clearly a sentence of death for the
culprit, he and Karin desperately try to prevent it. In a final conversation with Raaz the
Ambassador expresses his opposition to a union between the young people. This makes
Karin even more determined to go back to her home country, together with Raaz.
When, to their horror, they realise that it was Rist who had forged the cheque, a shot
resounds from the room next door.
  Though the play seems to criticize the old order by showing two of the diplomats as
 arrogant cynics, Brat does not entirely support the position and attitudes of the
 younger generation either. Like many of his generation in the political climate of the
 time, he remains sitting on a fence. Indeed, what probably made the play attractive to
 Ufa's directors was the inner strength and seeming understanding displayed by the
Ambassador for the demands of the younger generation for change. A disciplined grand
seigneur with perfect manners he always appears in command. All his decisions are
 taken in a selfless attitude with the aim of maintaining the honour of his staff, his
58
                                                      MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


Embassy and, above all, his country. Always putting the interests of his nation first, he
is the perfect civil servant, a leader whom everybody can trust. As a character and in his
appearance, he dispels any call for the abolition and destruction of the encrusted, out-
moded, hierarchical structures of pre-World War I European societies with their ideals
of military order, in which a position in life usually depended on birthrights rather
than ability and work.
  While the Ambassador appears as an ideal representative of traditional values, it is
difficult to accept Rist as a tragic hero who falls victim to criminals while working in
the line of duty. The author provides no convincing justification why an experienced
diplomat in a key position like Rist first signs an IOU and then forges a cheque using
his friend's name. Furthermore, the circumstantial reasons offered as explanation for
his inability to raise the money are rather spurious. Thus, changes made to the play
when turning it into a film script probably started with the development of dra-
maturgical devices that would make his actions more plausible and honourable. In
this, Bratt was assisted by Emil Hesse Burri, a former participant in the short-lived pro-
gramme initiated by Ufa's Script Department in autumn 1932 for the development of
new scriptwriters. To make the military attache's action more convincing and let his
character appear in a more positive light, they introduced an acquaintance of Silvia's,
a sinister "Man Without a Name" ("Der Namenlose") who has seen better times. Once
one of Rist's friends, he now threatens him with extortion. Unless he immediately
receives $ 6.000 he will jeopardise the signing of Raaz's trade agreement by handing
over to the press plans of aggression against the country within which the Embassy is
located, which Rist had developed as part of an exercise during his officer training. To
add action and suspense to a play that relies mainly on dialogue, the Man Without a
Name is wanted by the Police. The man in charge of hunting him down is an officer
called Ascunto who in turn reports to the Minister responsible for signing the trade
treaty. Unlike the play in which the characters only talk about Silvia's Bar, the scene in
which Rist now is forced to lose money to make the handover appear legal is actually
shown, giving the film the opportunity to incorporate a chanson sung by a French star
and a dance routine presented by a girlie troupe. For relief from the mainly interior
scenes, shots of Karin and Raaz - whose name is changed into Raak - driving along
romantic coastlines in a sports car are interspersed, while Rist, in a dramatic climax,
commits suicide by driving his car over a spectacular cliff into the sea instead of shoot
ing himself with a gun.


Production History

  In April 1934, Karl Ritter travelled to Paris to recruit the ensemble for the film's
French version (which at this point was not yet called Vers I'abîme, but "Les isolés").
Amongst others, he signed up Françoise Rosay, who, aware of Ritter's reputation as an
anti-Semite, took him for their negotiations to a café well known as a popular meeting
place of Jewish émigrés and refugees. Sitting amongst German Jews she remarked: "I
thought I'd take you to a restaurant where you'd feel comfortable amongst your coun
trymen."33 Though Rosay is the biggest French star with whom Ritter returned to
Berlin, the others were no unknowns either - with the exception of Roger Duchesne
who made his first screen appearance in the part of Roll (Raak). The cast of the German

                                                                                        59
 HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL


 version is headed by two of Ufa's top stars, WIlli Fritsch and Brigitte Helm. According
  to publicity announcements both were looking forward to playing roles that would dit
  fer from the standard images that had made them favourites not just with German audi-
 ences. Because of their presence, the film's budget was supported with 64.000 RM from
 the "Star Reserve", a fund established to ensure that expensive performers under exclu-
 sive contract to Ufa did not remain unused because low cost productions avoided them
 for fear of exceeding their budgets. Otto Treßler, a distinguished member of the
 Burgtheater-Ensemble, had previously played the part of the Ambassador when the
 play received its Austrian première on March I, I934, in the Vienna Akademie Theater.
 An actor, who made his film debut in Die Insel and went on to rise to considerable
 prominence in German radio, theatre, film, and television is Günter Lüders.
   Set construction began shortly after the Board of Directors accepted the plans and
 authorised the film's budget of 565.000 RM on April 27. Shooting in the Babelsberg
 Studios started on May 7 and lasted until June 15. The next day, for the rest of the
 month, a small team went to Dalmatia carrying out location work near Split and
 Dubrovnik. Production reports appearing in the German trade press during this period
 were usually praising the impressive sets constructed for the film. Those that covered
 the picture's content reflected what right-wing ideologues were expecting of it.
 Seemingly trying to outdo each other in their praises of the ideological spirit of the cho-
 sen subject matter, their contributions exposed the closeness between the bombastic
 language of National Socialism and that of the similarly heavy patriotic fervour of the
 German Nationalists. In the trade paper Film-Kurier, one author enthused about
Goebbels as "carrier of light of the German film industry" and praised the "old fighter
for German film" Karl Ritter as being exactly the right man for this particular subject,
before coming to the conclusion that Die Insel reflected the

     civil fight for one's own nation - presented from the perspectives of both [the host
     country's and the Embassy's] sides, it is ethically rooted in a military understand.
     ing of manhood, honour, esprit de corps, highest discipline, strict service. (.] The
     national concept of honour in general is anchored in the heart chamber of this
      film subject.34

  In spirit and tone there is no difference between the hollowness of these overblown
statements and those that appeared in the Kinematograph, which belonged to the
Hugenberg concern and as such was close to Ufa:

     Like an island, the Embassy is surrounded by alien ideas, customs, different percep
     tions of race. [.] Sticking together is the highest duty of this Embassy. Personal
     experiences and feelings have to be subordinate to the thought and well-being of
     the nation, the state that is represented. No matter what conflicts arise amongst the
     Embassy personnel it is necessary to pull oneself together, the iron principle
     applies "Do nothing for yourself, everything for your country. " The dramatic events
     of the film are the result of the clash between personal desire, still dominated by
     egotistical ideas, and the all-embracing idea of the home country's well-being that
     demands big, inner sacrifices.35

  As Karl Ritter (who, in 1933, used to appear in SA uniform on the set) and designer

60
                                                       MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


Benno von Arent (who, two years later, was awarded the title Reichsbühnenbildner -
Set Designer of the Reich) were well-known, established members of the NSDAP, it is no
surprise to find amongst official visitors of the production Gruppenführer Sepp
Dietrich - the Commander of the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler responsible for Hitler's
personal protection.36
  The film's official opening took place on August 30, I934, at Ufa's most prestigious
cinema in Berlin, the Ufa-Palast am Zoo where it ran for sixteen days. The pompous
right-wing vocabulary cited above is totally absent from the dozen reviews available for
this analysis. With few exceptions, the critics praise the film but also note the implau-
sible elements found in the plot and the character of Rist (all of which they attribute to
the script and the original play). Several regard the dominance of the dialogue as an
innovation to be welcomed; others criticize it for not being filmic enough. While there
are mixed reactions to the two stars Brigitte Helm and Willi Fritsch, Otto Treßler and
Françoise Rosay are generally showered with praise. During opening night, one of
Rosay's scenes was spontaneously applauded. According to these reviews, the Berlin
premiere was a great success. The same was reported about the film's openings in Paris
("Großer Erfolg Die Insel' in Paris")37 and Vienna (*Die Insel' in Wien erfolgreich")38
where it ran in six cinemas simultaneously. On the other hand, the film's title does not
appear in an extended note about Ufa-successes, published in Lichtbild-Bühne on
September 26. A day prior to this announcement, Ufa's directors had accepted a sugges-
tion put forward by the Head of Distribution, to add a subtitle to the film's credits, "Der
Fall des Hauptmann Rist" ("The Case of Captain Rist*). The idea to highlight the crimi-
nal and judicial elements of the plot signals an attempt to attract a wider audience to a
film that had been deliberately marketed as a prestigious National Film, but as such was
apparently not doing too well at the box office.


The Two Versions

  In many ways, similarities between Die Insel and Vers l'abîme confirm the findings
of other researchers who presented their findings on MLVs at the first Gradisca Film
School.39 The German and French versions have the same plot, same sets, same camera
placement and movement, and (with a few minor exceptions) the same scene dissec-
tion. The timing is roughly the same with the exception of exterior shots. Three major
parts are played by the same actors in the German and French versions. Brigitte Helm is
Karin/Karine, the Ambassador's niece, Françoise Rosay the night-club singer
Silvia/Sylvia, and Andrews Engelman a blackmailer, referred to in the script as "the
Man with no Name" ("Der Namenlose" in German, "L'Inconnu" in French). With the
exception of a card player in a smaller role, and a number of extras in walk-on parts, all
other actors are different in the German and French versions. Ufa certainly adhered to
its principle of trying to appeal to individual national tastes by casting well-known
stars as well as established character actors not just in their German version. At the time
they were signed up for Vers l'abime, Raymond Rouleau, Thommy Bourdelle, Pierre
Magnier and Henri Roussell were already well known theatre and/or film actors in
France and popular with their French audiences.
   However, the physical similarity between French and German actors in the same part
is not as prominent as it is commonly assumed in MLVs. For instance, the senior diplo

                                                                                        61
 HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL


 mat Squeelen (played by veteran French actor Pierre Magnier) presents an older and
 much wiser Counsel than his German counterpart played by the younger, arrogant
 Hubert von Meyerinck. On the other hand, there are no differences when it comes to
 the representation of the social position held by each character within the hierarchical
 structure of the diplomatic service. In their role of ambassador, both actors, Otto
 Treßler and Henri Roussel convey the idea of respectability. In their physical appear-
 ance as well as in their diction both are figures of authority. Heinz von Cleve and
 Raymond Rouleau play Captain Rist, the Military attache, in the same way in the
 German and French versions, but there are minor variations in the script that shed a dif
 ferent light on their individual characters. For instance, when Karine talks to the
 Captain during the reception in the Embassy and tries to boost his morale, Rist's over.
 emotional response in the French version, makes him a whimpering character feeling
 sorry for himself. He seems to seek both comfort and reassurance by appearing
 extremely bitter about his lack of fortune, and by telling Karine that he has lost his par
 ents (a line that is not in the German script) and does not have many friends. When
 Karine replies that, Roll in his shoes, would probably cheerfully say: "La fortune sourit
 aux audacieux" (Wealth comes to those who are bold), the morose Rist rather sullenly
 replies: "C'est ce que disent les gens qui on de la fortune" (That's what rich people say).
 In Vers l'abime, this rather cynical remarks about the rich and the weak are not the pre-
 rogative of the military attache. Commenting on Karine's attraction to Rist, Squeelen
 had said earlier: "Se pencher sur les faibles est un luxe que les forts aiment à s'offrir"
 (Devoting oneself to the weak is a luxury only the powerful can afford). This line does
 not appear in the German version.
   Interestingly, in the German version the remarks made by the Minister of the foreign
 country and the tone in which he addresses the police inspector Acunto are far less
 authoritarian than in French. The Ambassador of the former seeks advice from his
Embassy staff, and even offers the trade attaché money to cover the cheque, something
his French counterpart does not do. The German Bank Manager is also more under-
standing and far less sombre than his black-cladded French colleague. All this con-
tributes to the impression that the higher ranked people in the German version are
more likely to consult their subordinates when making decisions than those holding
power in the French version - an observation that goes against stereotype conceptions
of the "authoritarian German."
  Among the minor variations that may be attributed to national differences are the
physical postures adopted by a particular group of people. Recalling Congress Dances
and the contrast between the disciplined Germans in the servants' headquarters and
the more relaxed and motley group in that film's French version,40 the members of the
Embassy staff in Die Insel appear also to be far more disciplined in the German than in
the French version. The posture of the Germans is considerably stiffer, their attitude
more formal than that of the French staff. This is particularly evident in the scene in
which the Ambassador confronts his senior colleagues with the forged cheque. Even
though the French and German actors occupy exactly the same position as the group
enters the room, the body language is different. The French diplomats move their hands
and heads, and their Ambassador even folds his arms in the course of his stern address,
while the upright Germans remain almost motionless.
  French directors working in Berlin have played down their role in adapting German
versions, but a close examination of Die Insel and Vers l'abime reveals interesting vari-

62
                                                       MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


ations showing that the work Serge Veber and his team did on the French version is far
from negligible. Extreme attention to the dialogues is not all that surprising consider-
ing that, in France, Thommy Bourdelle, Henri Roussel (alias Henry Roussell) and
Raymond Rouleau were not only famous actors in both, theatre and film, but also
enjoyed careers as film director and/or as stage director as well as scriptwriter. The use
of puns and play on words in the French dialogues of MLVs has often been commented
upon. Vers l'abime is no exception. In a scene reminiscent of the playful flirtation
between Christel, the glove-seller and Pepi, her admirer in Congress Dances, Roll (the
trade attaché) and Karine seem to be play-acting with each other through language. Roll
hopes that, by speaking in proverbs, he will successfully find his way to Karine's heart.
When she does not reply to his offer to go for a ride in his brand new car, he says: "Qui
ne dit mot consent." In their next scene together, he returns to the same linguistic
device, saying: "Un bonheur n'arrive jamais seul," to which she replies: "Encore un
proverbe!" (Another proverb!). Roll, happily continues with a third proverb: "Jamais
deux sans trois." His manner not only seems to have the desired effect on Karine but she
also begins to use proverbs when she talks to Rist a little later: "Vote ami Roll ne man-
querait pas de dire: 'La fortune sourit aux audacieux'."
  These verbal exchanges with their emphasis on puns and play on words demon-
strate the extent to which Vers l'abime makes use of and relies on characteristics of
the French language. This becomes particularly evident in the scenes featuring
Françoise Rosay. Whether in French, German or any other language, Rosay outclassed
the most beautiful actresses of her time with her wit. By recruiting her, Ritter could be
sure of a performance full of heart and wisecracks. The night-club hostess' part of
Silvia/Sylvia gives her a golden opportunity to display her full talent through her
skills in the use of language. The most striking example is the scene in which she
exercises her wit at the expense of the police inspector Ascunto. The film also gives
her the opportunity to show her talent as a singer.41 Curiously, the chansons she sings
in Die Insel and Vers l'abîme are different. In the French version, the lyrics give
 Françoise Rosay the opportunity to play - sensually - the part of the big hearted night-
 club hostess to the full, as she sings "Je donne tout ce que j'ai" (I give everything I've
 got).42 For love, the singer is prepared to give body, heart and soul. To the "gentlemen"
in the audience, she seductively sings "I'll give all my kisses for nothing." Even though
 the music is the same in the two versions, in German, the lyrics and the theme of the
song are different. While the French lyrics suggest promiscuity, the German song
 "Was weisst du von mir?" (What do you know about me?) focuses on a woman's pains
of being in love with someone unaware of her love. Yet, Rosay delivers them in the
same provocative manner.
   Whether in the German or French version there can be no doubt about the signifi-
 cance of Rosay's contribution to her part. Already in her forties, Rosay had the talent to
 impose herself as a humorous and seductive presence both on and off screen.43
 Arguably, her strength of character is more evident in the French than in the German
 version. This becomes apparent in her exchange with the Bank Manager when she
 insists that he honours the cheque for $6.000 and threatens to go to the press if she does
 not get what she wants. After answering the telephone call from the Embassy, the Bank
 Manager tells her that the Ambassador has asked to see her. She immediately turns all
 smiles (same response in the German version) but quickly changes her attitude again
 and says: "Si vous croyez qu'il me fait peur" (If you think I am scared of him...). The
                                                                                        63
HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL



added repartee (not found in the Germa
even
tainly inlouder
          a class ofthan  words. When it comes to body language and
                     her own.

While some performances and interactions between characters m
strong individuals, language characteristics and national temp
ed in the personality of the actors or actresse
can even be influenced by the costume they are wearing. As has
tioned, the Minister of the German version is not as arrogant a
1'abime when dealing with the police inspector (who incid
while his German colleague prefers cigars). He listens to him and even asks for h
advice. This understanding between them and reliance on each other, however, stands
 in sharp contrast to the physical appearance and the traits the actor brings to the char.
 acter. Played by Ernst Rotmund, the Minister in the German version looks like a Latin
American gangster boss. Dark, scheming, with a shifty look, he even goes so far as to
suggest that "the disreputable character who may be threatening the trade agreement
should be eliminated." No such a threats are made by Henri Bose who plays the
Minister in the French version. He may be more authoritative during his exchange with
the police inspector, but in all other scenes, he is much more relaxed than Rotmund. He
always smiles even in the most serious circumstances, when, for example, the relation-
ship between the two countries is threatened because circumstances may force him to
refuse to sign the trade agreement.
   Roger Duchesne and Willi Fritsch (who play the trade attaché under the name of Roll
in the French and Raak in the German version) may look alike but interact differently
with Brigitte Helm. Driving along a magnificent coastline in an open car Roll/Raak
interrupts the ride at a beauty spot where he intends to declare his love for
Karine/Karin. In this sequence (taken in one long panning shot) Brigitte Helm reveals a
slightly different attitude towards her two partners. At the opening of the French ver
sion, Duchese helps her to climb up and across a rock overlooking the sea, then fol
lows her to a spot where she leans against a rock face and they both talk about their rela
tionship. In the course of the conversation she moves towards an open space. When she
tells him that she does not love Rist, he passionately tries to embrace her, but, after a
 brief hesitation, she rejects him. Freeing herself she pushes him away and runs off
screen, leaving him standing isolated against the background of the sea. The German
 version uses exactly the same locations, but starts with a view of the open sea with
 Helm calling from off screen (from the spot by the rock face for Fritsch to join her. He
 enters the frame from the same direction from where Duchesne had helped her clim
 ing across the rock, stops, and - after a short pause and a verbal exchange - joins her
 where they have the same conversation she had with Duchesne. Learning that
Karin/Helm does not love Rist, Raak/Fritsch also moves forward to embrace
time the embrace appears to be more intimate and ends before she rejects him.
tine print analysed does not contain a splice between this and the next shot that migh
indicate that the cut at this point was not in the original release print. The personal rela
tionship between Brigitte Helm and her German and French partners seems to have
been similar to that between Lilian Harvey (as Christel) and Willi Fritsch and H
Garat (as Isar Alexander) in the German and French versions of Congr
both cases the leading lady seems to have had a stronger ra
her French colleague.

64
                                                   MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


                   Different interpretations of the roles
                                      Or

Variations in personal relationships between an actress and her part

                              I. Shot opening

           French version                         German version
   (Brigitte Helm & Roger Duchesne)        (Brigitte Helm & Willy Fritsch)




    treats
    Roll gives Karine a helping            The sea
    hand




    Karine & Roll heading for a            Raak follows Karin's call to
    serious talk                           join her




              2. Bodylanguage and Personal Relationships




                                                                                    65
     HORST CLAUS, ANNE JÄCKEL




                                3. End of shot




                CHES

                Resistance               Final frame: An embrace




66
                                                      MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE




             Karine turning and running         (Next shot: Bank Manager's
             away                               office)




              Final frame: Roll left alone


End or beginning of an intimate relationship between Karine/Karin and Roll/Raak?



  Ginette Vincendeau's assertion that "the ideal actor in MLVs [is] an unknown, some-
one who (can] be easily moulded"+4 does not apply to Roger Duschesne in this film.
Although the part of Roll represents Duchesne's screen debut and Pierre Cadars
describes him as "a dynamic young sporty actor in the Willi Fritsch tradition,"+5 his per.
formance is quite different from that of his more famous German alter-ego. His inter.
pretation of the character in the first part of the film (where he plays a seductive light-
hearted playboy) is quite at odds with the tragic persona he becomes after making his
decision to leave the Embassy. At first, his constant use of proverbs reinforces the
impression that the trade attache is a joyful and carefree character. Roll openly admits
to Karine that he is "léger," someone who does not take things seriously. That his rela-
tionship with Karine starts on such a light tone makes it particularly difficult to accept
his complete change of character by the end of the film.


Versions in the Political and Social Context of Their Time

  As far as national issues are concerned, both, the French and German versions, offer
the same general perspective and stand for the same moral and social values as the play,
despite slight differences in emphasis and presentation between the German and
French versions. Most prominent are the military standards and ideals of honour, self
sacrifice and solidarity as expressed by the Ambassador in his long address to his senior
staff (in which he asks the guilty individual to step forward) and in their response to it
(as they, one after another, come forward to express their solidarity). Concerns about

                                                                                       67
 HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL



war and peace are articulated from a conservative perceptive. The sce
Ambassador and the Minister of the foreign country discus
trade agreement is particularly interesting as the two men insist on alternating the
 words peace" and "war" in their conversation. Other shared values and concerns
 include a combined sense of isolation and superiority in the small - and stifled - com.
 munity of the Embassy, the mistrust and even fear of foreigners along with a low
esteem for people from a non-aristocratic background. Talking about Raak no
to the Embassy's rules of etiquette Squeelen, one of the senior diplomats, condescend.
ingly remarks to his colleague Hollen: "What do you expect? He comes from a mer.
chant background. Thirty years ago, his father was serving behind a counter." The fact
that, through hard work, the trade attaché and his father are financially far better off
and have managed to reach a higher social position does not alter the aristocrats' low
opinion of people who cannot point to a long and established family background.
  Given the time of the production, any reference to financial scandal must have had
a deep resonance with the French team before and at the time of shooting Vers l'abime.
1934 is a year of political and financial scandals in France. Among them, the Stavisky
affair brings about a real paranoia against Jews and foreigners in general. Anti-
Semitism raises its ugly head not just in Germany. In the world of cinema with its
small production companies and its various (often illegal) ways of raising money it is
fuelled by the bankruptcy of Bernard Natan. Several companies stop production (Osso)
or go bankrupt (Jacques Haïk's company); with debts to the BNC, the group Gaumont-
Franco-Film-Aubert (GFFA) finally goes into liquidation in July 1934.46 Followin
February riots when right-wing extremists walked on the French Parliament, French
exhibitors received a note from the Police (dated February 17, 1934) instructing them
to stop immediately any projections portraying politicians or civil servants in a man.
ner likely to provoke disorderly behaviour.47 In Die Insel, there is a line when the
blackmailer says to Rist: "Charakter und gesunde Finanzen vertragen sich ausgezeich.
net" (Bad character and solid finances go well together). It is probably not by accident
that this line does not appear in the French version. On the other hand, Vers l'abime,
contains a short tirade with which the money lender reacts to Rist's request for a loan
of $6.000, displaying a mixture of bitterness and self-pity that are absent from the
German version.48 In physical appearance and acting Lucien Dayle and Aribert
Wäscher as money-lender are quite different, but, in the way the former explains his
position, he almost seems to ask for compassion: perhaps a nod to social and political
events in France at the time.
  Such minor differences do not affect the films' general point of view. All foreigners-
including the Minister, the Inspector, the Banker and the Money Lender - are not
defined enough to attract sympathy. Even when the slight variations between the
German and French scripts are taken into account, the mistrust of foreigners is clearly
established right from the beginning. Introducing his niece to her first big, official
reception the Ambassador expresses strong feelings about the Embassy being an isolat
ed piece of home land in a foreign environment:

     Für mich haben solche Abende nichts Neues. Ich fühle an ihnen nur stärker, dass
     wir nicht in der Heimat sind. Alle Leute, die heute kommen, sind Fremde. Fremd,
     wie das Land in dem wir leben. Wie auf einer Insel im Meer.
     (For me, these evenings are nothing new. On these occasions I realise even more

68
                                                       MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


 strongly that we are not in our home country. All the people coming today will be
 foreigners. They will be as foreign, as the country we live in. Like an island in the
 sea.)

 In the French script he says:

 De pareilles réceptions sont plus delicates que l'on ne pense. Tous ces gens-là nous
 observent, nous pient, aux aguets de la moindre faute que nous pourrions com-
 mettre. Isoles parmi eux sur cette terre étrangère, nous devons veiller à ne prêter le
 flanc à aucune critique.
 (These receptions are not as simple as they seem to be. All these people are watch-
 ing us, waiting for us to make the slightest mistake. Isolated among those people in
 a foreign land, we must be careful not to do anything that could lead to criticism.)

 The offensive reference to foreigners in the context of the reception may be unex-
pected, but the message is clear. This blatant dislike of foreigners brings to mind French
attitudes of the period. With a rapid deterioration of France's economic situation, a phe
nomenon of rejection had developed, encouraged by right-extremists and occasionally
as well by the left. "The pejorative term métèque (designating vaguely people of
Mediterranean origins) begins to appear more frequently in written articles, along with
the potent suggestion of a 'foreign invasion'."49 Film émigrés become the subject of
increasingly organised hostility from the disenfranchised sections of the French film
industry. In May 1934, the Minister of Justice Chéron gives instructions to reject any
interventions in favour of giving French nationality to foreign filmmakers and Adrien
Marquet, the Employment Minister, announces that work permits will no longer be
issued to foreign filmmakers. Many decide to move to America. The grievance against
this "foreign invasion" is economic but also, as Pierre Billard argues, "moral and cultur-
al." Allowing foreign input into the creative process means that "the language, the
ideas, the customs, the sensitivities of a nation are taken over by people who don't
belong and do not share this national heritage."50 In 1938, Serge Veer echoed these
grievances in an article entitled "Le cinéma français aux Français" published in Pour
Vous sneering: "Come in, please, do come in. Invade us. There is enough room for every.
body. I know perfectly well that it is human to welcome émigrés, these poor devils, and
that we cannot blame them for seeking to find a home. But, for goodness sake, let's look
after the French first. We've got our own poor, let's not forget it."51 For the French
author and co-director of the French version of Die Insel (who in 1930 had worked at the
Paramount studios before moving on to Osso Films and, from I932 to 1935, to Berlin) to
express such an opinion without realizing the contradiction of his own position is not
without irony. His public rejection of foreigners in these terms says much about the
atmosphere in the French film industry on the eve of WWII. That the film historian
Pierre Billard finds the tone Veber used to express his rejection "moderate" for the time,
gives some indication of the rapid deterioration of French attitudes toward foreigners
in the second half of the 19305.
  Xenophobia, of course, was not limited to France. In Germany (where German citi
 zens of Jewish descent were viciously persecuted as aliens) it was rampant. Reacting to
 a highly visible political murder of the time, the film contains what appears to be a last-
 minute alteration and addition to justify the National Socialists' disregard for the legal
                                                                                         69
 HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL



 process as well as the ruthless brutality with which they were ready to eliminate ev
 their own supporters if these were considered a threat to the regime. When R
 towards the end of the film, says farewell to Rist while the two men walk amongst palm
 trees along a quayside before he returns to his home country by boat, the
 sion contains shots made with the help of background projection rather than on loca
 tion. These are not found in the French version. Neither is a key statement with which
 Raak rejects Rist's attempt to justify the Ambassador's refusal to start an enquiry into
 the forgery of Raak's signature (and with it the possibility of a proper legal trial of the
 person responsible): "I don't see why [the Ambassador acted the way he did. I want the
 truth. I don't want to be with people who hush up a crime and let others suffer. I expec
  of a superior that he exposes a crime with absolute candour, and is strong enough to
 deal with the consequences.


     Location shot:




      Raak: Jetzt wird mir der Abschied doch             Rist: Ich habe noch eine Bitte, Raak. Denke
      schwer, Rist.                                      nicht ungerecht über seine Excellenz. Er
                                                         musste so handeln.
      (Saying good-bye is difficult after all, Rist.)
                                                         (One last request, Raak. Don't be unjust
                                                         towards his Excellency. He did what he had
                                                         to do.)



     Back projections




                                                        bai tie




     Raak: Nein, Rist, das sehe ich nicht ein. Ich      Ich will nicht da bleiben, wo man ein Ver-
     will Wahrheit.                                     brechen vertuscht und einen Unschuldigen
     (No, Rist, I don't see why. I want the truth.)     büßen lässt.
                                                        (I don't want to be with people who hush up
                                                        a crime and let others suffer for it.)




70
                                                          MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE




  Ich verlange von einem Chef, dass er mit         Rist: Vielleicht war das Verbrechen gar kein
  rückhaltloser Offenheit ein Verbrechen auf-      Verbrechen.
  deckt und dass er stark genug ist, die Folgen    (Perhaps the crime wasn't really a crime.)
  zu meistern.
   (I expect of a superior that he exposes a
   crime with absolute candour, and is strong
  enough to deal with the consequences.)



  Location shot




   Raak: Das sagst du. Du nimmst einen Mann        Rist: Ja, Raak. Vielleicht musste auch er so
   in Schutz, der einen Scheck fälscht, um         handeln, weil er etwas Gutes gewollt hat.
   seine Spielschulden zu bezahlen?                (Yes, Raak. Perhaps he too had to act in this
   (Is this really you speaking? You are protec-   way because he had good intentions.)
   ting a man who has forged a cheque in order
   to pay off his gambling debts?)




 The argument presented and the resolute tone in which it is delivered echo Goebbels'
and Hitler's attempts to justify the murder of one of the Führer's closest allies, the head
of the SA Ernst Röhm. At the time the production team of Die Insel was working on
location in Yugoslavia, long raging tensions between Hitler and Röhm (one of the few
people with whom Hitler used the informal address "Du") were coming to a head
because of the latter's insistence of having the Storm Troupers incorporated into the
Reichswehr - a notion rigorously resisted by the military establishment. Anxious to
win over the support of the generals in order to consolidate his power, Hitler tried to
settle his disagreements with Röhm. When these attempts failed he decided to seize the
opportunity and rid himself of the left-wing activists of his party. On June 30, 1934, he
personally travelled to Bad Wiessee in Southern Germany where the SA leadership
were on holiday and had his former comrade in arms arrested. Two days later a pistol
was placed in Röhm's cell. Told to "do the honourable thing" he refused to commit sui-
cide and was subsequently shot. During the purge that followed, a large number of lead-
                                                                                                   71
 HORST CLAUS, ANNE JÄCKEL

 ing SA men and people with (real or imagined) links to them were executed without
 trial. Goebbels immediately put his propaganda machinery into action claiming Hitles
had come to Germany's rescue by ridding the country of dangerous Bolsheviks who had
planned to overthrow the government. On July 3, the Cabinet passed a law stating that
the measures taken on June 30 and July 1 and 2 against persons guilty of high treason
constituted a response to a state of emergency and as such were in accordance with the
law. At the time the events of the so-called "Röhm-Putsch" (also known as the "Night of
the Long Knives") took place, the location-shots for Die Insel were already "in the can"
Given that the call for strong leadership and decisive action resonated not just with
Ufa's conservative Board of Directors and National Socialists like Karl Ritter on their
 payroll but also with wide sections of the German public, it is likely that these changes
- minor as they may appear to be at first glance - were made in response to Hitler's
speech to the Reichstag on July 13, in which he justified the murders by stating
amongst others: "If someone wants to accuse me of not having followed the proper
course of law, I can only say: In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German
Nation, and therefore the German People's supreme judge."52
  Speculation about possible references to the political and social climate of the time
apart, in a strange way, nor Die Insel neither Vers l'abime present the joint departure of
Raak/Roll and Karin/Karine for home as a conventional happy end for the lovers.
Visually there is an atmosphere of doom hanging over them that raises questions about
their future, not only about their life together but also about their prospects in the
world they will live in. A certain degree of ambivalence in the film and the ambiguous
ending may suggest a move, however hesitant, towards modernity. Ginette Vincendeau
argues that "one aspect of French and German narrative plotting that would have
meshed perfectly is 'the myth of departure,' the dream of escape from a harsh reality to
an idealized otherwhere."53 Three characters in Die Insel leave a past which has been
exposed as morally or socially false. Rist, like so many fallen heroes of the period, com
mits suicide. For the trade attache and Karin, the ambiguous ending does not suggest an
escape to "an idealized world." The social reality is not harsh, not for them and not for
the stifled community at the Embassy. Yet there is no happy ending for the two lovers.
Going home is not a prospect they seem to relish.


              No "happy end": Karine/Karin and Roll/Raak returning home

                         French version                German version




               CHC-SAF

               Empty looks into an uncer-
               tain future
                                                 Lost in thought

72
                                                          MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE




                                   What is he thinking?




             CHI

                                 What are they thinking?




              ENC-SAF

              Holding hands, but avoiding        The touch of comfort
              his gaze




  By the mid-193s in France, many films featured high-society, exotic and cosmopoli-
tan settings such as casinos but they also had scenes in cafés and bal populaires.
Contrasting the former (and their upper-class perspective) with the latter (and their
appeal to popular audiences), Ginette Vincendeau contends that "the presentation of
night-club and casino scenes in the 1930 French films, whatever their genre (and
whatever their narrative resolution) served to consolidate, by contrast, a sense of
national identity for their popular audience."54 The popular milieu is totally absent
from Ufa's national film project Die Insel. For the French, economically, the MLVs may
have filled a gap by providing employment for film personnel, but culturally, audi
ences needed more than films endorsing the values of the past. They needed some-
thing that conveyed a sense of identity. As noted by Pierre Sorlin, they soon found it in
a newly emerging French national cinema more in touch with the issues of the day.55
The film's roots in pre-WW I values and ideals, its distance to ordinary everyday life as

                                                                                           73
HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL


well as its ambiguous ending almost certainly were the decisive factors why Die Insel
did not "click" with German audiences either - in contrast to the production team's
earlier Hitler Youth Que which successfully had captured the mood and appealed to
the idealist imagination of wide sections of the German youth.

Conclusion

     Assertions about what constitutes a "national film," a "European film" or a
 "Hollywood film" can be "strengthened by nuanced micro-historical analysis which is
as alert to the specificities of individual case studies as it is to the shifting institution-
alised frameworks of industrial practice.*56 Despite Ufa's aim to make a "national film,"
 Die Insel is best described as a European film in two different language versions.
 Variations exist but their impact is not sufficient enough to affect the realisation that,
not withstanding the language and the nationality of the actors, Die Insel is not partic-
ularly German and Vers l'abîme not particularly French. It is difficult to see how either
version can - as the term "national film" suggests - "function as a cultural articulation
of a nation."57 When the film does construct a series of relations around the concepts of
 "the national," the values it proposes are those of an imaginary historical past, imbued
with nostalgia for military values and imperial grandeur.
     In an essay on culture and class in France in the 19305, Rosemary Chapman offers the
following definition of national culture: "Culture as a guarded tomb, or culture as a
temple to which only the initiés are admitted. The culture of the dominant class is a
potent means of self-justification, demonstrating the rightfulness of power structures
and the naturalness and necessity of bourgeois ideology."58 This definition perfectly fits
the ethos of the Embassy, a community built on myths of grandeur and loyalty, the
necessity of collective solidarity for the purpose of maintaining social order, a commu-
nity steeped in the values of the late Igth century. It is only within these parameters that
Die Insel fulfils Ufa's intentions as "a national film for nationalists all over the world."
  Quoting the Czech film historian Karel Smri, Petr Szczepanczik, argues that MLVs
represent "the beginning of a new period of film internationality."59 In the same vein,
Malte Hagener asserts that "MLVs [.] form a transnational and truly European film his-
tory which remains as yet to be written."6 That Die Insel belongs to a truly European
tradition is beyond doubt, but it is a tradition deeply rooted in a mythical past. As far as
Die Insel and Vers l'abime are concerned, their internationality is one clinging onto an
era gone by. If the two versions can be considered as a metaphor for Europe, it is that of
a Europe built on values no longer applicable at the time of their making.


Aknowledgement

Special thanks are due to those who have provided us with essential materials for this project:
Michelle Aubert, Mathilde Gotthardt, Barbara Schütz, and Nikolaus Wostry, as well as the
Bundesarchiv-Film Archiv (Berlin), the Centre National de la Cinématographie (Bois d'Arcy), and
the Film Archiv Austria (Vienna). We also extend our gratitude to the excellent team of the
MAGIS - International Film Studies Spring Film School for their constant support throughout
our stay in Gradisca. The article is based in part on a chapter from a forthcoming study of the
films and career of Hans Steinhoff.

74
                                                            MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


1 Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities. Reflecting on the Origins and Spread of
  Nationalism (London: Verso, 1983).
2 Susan Hayward, French National Cinema (London: Routledge, 1993), p. 8.
3 Colin Crisp, The Classic French Cinema 1930-I960 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
   1993), P. XV.
   "Einmütig erwünscht werden: [.] c) Wenigstens ein grosser Nationaler Film, der aber
   keineswegs nur heroisch und tragisch sein soll, da er sons ausserhalb Deutschlands nicht
   mehr Wert hat als irgendein Mittelfilm. Er soll vielmehr das nationale Element so bringen,
   dass die nationalen Schichten aller Länder sich daran begeistern können und soll nebenbei
   eine allgemein menschlich Handlung, die auch stark mit lustigen Momenten durchsetzt sein
   soll, enthalten." Memo by Head of Distribution Wilhelm Meydam to Board of Directors
   (December I, 1932). Ufa-file no. 129, former GDR Film Archive.
5 Horst Claus, Anne Jäckel, "Der Kongreß tanzt - Revisited," in CINEMA & Cie, no. 6, Hans-
   Michael Bock, Simone Venturini (eds.), Multiple and Multiple-language Versions II I
   Versions multiples II (Spring 2005), pp. 76-95.
6 See CINÉMA & Cie, no. 4, Natasa Durovicova, in collaboration with Hans-Michael Boc
   Multiple and Multiple-language Versions / Versions multiples (Spring 2004), especially:
   Natasa Durovicová, "Multiple and Multiple-Language Versions/Version Multiples," (pp. 7-16);
   Pierre Sorlin, "Multilingual Films, or What We Know about a Seemingly Bright Idea," (pp. 17-
   21).
7 Attachment to Ufa-minutes (March 10, 1933). Quotations from the Board of Director's deci-
   sions derive from the minutes held by the Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde, Reference R 109
   1/1029a and R 109 I/1029b.
8 Cf. Horst Claus, Anne Jäckel, "Ufa, Frankreich und Versionen," in Sybille M. Sturm, Arthur
   Wohlgemuth (eds.), Hallo? Berlin? Ici Paris! Deutsch-französische Filmbeziehungen 1918-
   1939 (München: text+kritik/CineGraph, 1996), pp. 141-154.
9 Sa., , "Die englisch-deutschen Filmbeziehungen," Berliner Börsen-Zeitung (March 25, 1934),
   quoted in LBB, (April 5, I934).
I0 Minutes (March 10, 1933).
11 Minutes (April II, 1933). Debates about the title culminated in a list of six titles on June 10:
   Der Storch mit dem Halsband, Die Dame und ihr Hund, Lilli kann nichts dafür, Kind, ich freu
   mich auf Dein Kommen!, Der Storch hat sich geirrt, Als Lilli in die Großstadt kam. On June
   13, the Board decided on Kind ich freu mich auf dein Kommen.
I2 Minutes (April 5, 1933).
13 Francis Courtade, "Die deutsch-französischen Koproduktionen," Heike Hurst, Heiner Gassen
   (eds.), Kameradschaft - Querelle (München: Institut Français, 1991), p. 170.
14 Ploquin was probably appointed at the initiative of Erich Pommer. His contract was renewed
   annually with an increase in salary and an option by Ufa to renew it. After returning to
   France in 1939, he headed the Comité d'Organisation des Industries Cinematographiques
   (COIC) (I940-42) before founding his own production company in I943.
15 Marcel Colin-Reval, "M. Raoul Ploquin, Directeur de la Production Française A.C.E,"
   Cinématographie française, no. 744 (February 4, I933).
16 Paris et Limoges, Courier du Centre (n.d. I934), pp. 9-ro, quoted in C. Crisp, op.cit., p. 179.
17 Ibid.
18 La Revue de Paris, no. I (I935) pp. 572-3, 588, quoted in Ibid.
19 Reprinted in: Gerd Albrecht, Film im Dritten Reich (Karlsruhe: Schauburg, 1979), pp. 26-31.
20 Minutes (March 29, I933).

                                                                                              75
HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL

21 Lichbildbühne (March 29, 1933).
22 Lichbildbühne (May 3, I933).
23 "Was ich geworden bin, verdanke ich der militärischen Erziehung zu diszipliniertem
     Denken, zur Tätigkeit, zur Organisation (. Wer im Leben einmal Führer werden will, muß
     unbedingt gelernt haben, zu gehorchen, muß jahrelang Geführter gewesen sein." Quoted by
     Peter Hagemann, Karl Ritter, Magisterarbeit, Institut für Publizistik (Berlin: Freie Universität
     Berlin, n.d.), p. 8.
24 Kurt Hölger, Karl Ritter (Berlin: Karl Curtius, I940), P. 7.
25 The sums referred are derived from Ufa minutes of (July I, 1932), (October 7, 1932),
     (November 2z, 1932), (January 13, I933), (February 28, 1933).
26 Minutes (September 27, 1932).
27 Minutes (January 30, 1934).
28 Ploquin was first appointed at the beginning of 1933, receiving a monthly salary of 18.000
     Francs. His contract was renewed in September 1934 with a salary of 24.000 Francs per
     month, and an option for Ufa to renew his contract for a further year. Minutes (January 10,
    I933), (September 25, I934).
29 "..] Es ergibt sich die Generalfrage, a) ob man Filme mit einem betont nationalen Ethos noch
   in französischer Fassung machen kann, b) ob man in der französischen Version noch Filme
   mit betont deutschem Schauplatz und zwangsläufig ebenso betonter deutscher Mentalität in
   Frankreich herausbringen kann, ohne den Erfolg in Frage zu stellen." Memo Correll to Ufa's
   Board of Directors (October 2, 1933), attached to minutes (October 3, 1933).
30 Minutes, ibid.
31 See footnote 4.
32 "..] Denn der ungemein starke Erfolg, den die Uraufführung errang, wird nicht an den
     Grenzen unsers Vaterlandes haltmachen - London und Neuyork haben das Stück bereits
     angenommen -, sondern wird sich in den angelsächsischen Ländern womöglich noch stärk-
     er wiederholen." Lindemann, "Uraufführung in Bremen," Kölnische Zeitung (January 26,
     1934).
33 "Ich wollte Sie gern in ein Lokal bringen, wo Sie sich unter Ihren Landsleuten heimisch
   fühlen können." Jobst von Reiht-Zenthier, Sie machten uns glücklich (München: 1967), p.
   167, quoted by P. Hagemann, op. cit., p. 25.
34 The material "behandelt den Geist einer Botschaft auf ferner Insel, den zivilen Kampf für die
   eigene Nation - von beiden Seiten gesehen und ethisch aufgebaut auf den soldatischen
   Begriffen von Mannestum, Ehre, Korpsgeist, höchster Disziplin, strengstens Dienstes. ( Der
   nationale Ehrbegriff schlechthin liegt in der Herzkammer dieses Filmstoffs verankert." "Die
   Botschaft der Insel," Film-Kurier (May I2, I934).
35 "Wirklich wie auf einer Insel lebt diese Gesandtschaft in dem fremden Land. Aeußerstes
   Zusammenhalten aller Mitglieder dieser Gesandtschaft ist oberste Pflicht, das persönliche
   Erleben und Empfinden muß untergeordnet sein dem Gedanken an das Wohl der eigenen
     Nation, des Staates, den man vertritt. Was sich auch im Personalgefüge der Gesandtschaft an
     Konflikten ergibt, es gilt sich zusammenzureißen, es gilt eisern der Grundsatz 'Nichts für
     sich selbst, alles zum Wohle des eigenen Landes.' Das dramatische Geschehen des Films
   ergibt sich aus dem Zusammenprall persönlichen Wollens, das noch in eigensüchtigen Ideen
   befangen ist, und eben der großen, inneren Opfer fordernden Gesamtidee des Wohles der
   Heimat." "Die Insel," Kinematograph (June I, 1934).
36 Note in Kinematograph (June 7, 1934).
37 Kinematograph (September 4, I934).

76
                                                             MLVS IN A CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE


38 Der Film (September 15, I934).
39 See Joseph Garcarz, "Making Films Comprehensible and Popular Abroad," CINÉMA
  4, cit., pp. 72-79; Malte Hagener, "Prix de beauté as a Multiple Intersection," Ibidem, p
  115; Petr Szczepanik, "Undoing the National: Representing International Space in
   Czechoslovak Multi-Language Versions," Ibidem, pp. 55-65.
40 H. Claus, A. Jäckel, "Der Kongress tanzt: Revisited", cit, p. 87.
41 Early in her career, when interesting parts did not come her way in the silent era because of
   her physique, she took singing lessons at the Paris Conservatoire; following which, she was
   immediately signed on by the Opéra manager. See: Françoise Rosay, La Traverse de ma vie
   (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1974); "Françoise Rosay," Stars, no. 19 (Spring 1994), p. 40.
42 "Je donne tout ce que j'ai. [.] L'argent, moi j'm'en fous. Quand on aime à l'extrême, Il faut tout
   donner. [.] On donne avec sa peau, sa chemise. [.) Je donne tout ce que j'ai. [.] Mon coeur est
   à prendre. [.) Tous mes baisers sont, Messieurs, pour rien..."
43 Evidence of the latter can be found in an anecdote the French actress recounts in her autobi-
   ography when she writes about a meeting with Dr. Goebbels on the first night of La Kermesse
   heroique at the Capitol in Berlin on January 15, 1936. She apparently told Goebbels how
   angry she had been eighteen months earlier, when, taking a break from the shooting of Die
   Insel, she went on a shopping trip to Kaufhaus des Westerns. Intending to buy tin soldiers for
   her sons, to her dismay she discovered that all French soldiers looked wounded and defeated
   while the German tin soldiers were fit and triumphant. On hearing this, Goebbels apparent-
   ly gave orders for the disposition of the boxes containing the defeated French tin soldiers! See
   E. Rosay, op. cit., pp. 202-3.
44 Ginette Vincendeau, "Les Films en versions multiples: unéchec édifiant" (Paper presented
   at the Festival d'Avignon, 1988) Positif, no. 323 (January 1988), p. 43.
45 Pierre Cadars, Les Séducteurs du cinéma français 1928-I958 (Paris: Henri Veyrier, 1982), P.
   103.
46 Cf. Francis Courtade, Les Malédictions du cinéma français (Paris: Alain Moreau, 1978); C.
   Crisp, op. cit., p. 29; Jean-Pierre Jeancolas, 15 années d'années trente. Le cinéma des français
   1929-I944 (Paris: Stock, 1983): Paul Léglise, Histoire de la politique du cinéma parlant (Paris:
   Pichon, 1970).
47 F. Courtade, op. cit., p. 102.
48 The French dialogue is as follows: "L'usurier: 'Ah! Ah! On fait des bêtises, on se laisse entrain-
   er dans des histoires plus ou moins propres, mais qu'est-ce que a peut faire? [Le prêteur] est
   la! Ce bon prêteur: on ne lui montrera pas de papiers. Il ne vous demandera même pas votre
   nom, et il vous amenera tout l'argent que vous voulez. Après... apres, Ben, voyons, on me
   traitera de veil usurier... 6000 Dollars. ... Et comptant!'" (Money lender: Ah! Ah! You've been
   a fool, you've been dragged into rather sordid affairs. But this does not matter! I am here! This
   good old money-lender. You won't have to show him any papers. He won't even ask for your
   name and he will bring you all the money you want. ... And later, later... Well, of course, he
   will be called an old loan shark... 6000 Dollars... and cash!).
49 Alastair Phillips, "People I930-60: Migration and Exile in the Classical Period," in Michael
   Temple, Michael Witt (eds.), The French Cinema Book (London: BFI, 2003), p. 108.
50 Pierre Billard, L'Age classique du cinéma français. Du cinéma parlant à la Nouvelle Vague
   (Paris: Flammarion, 1995), p. 204.
51 Four Vous (March 29, 1938), quoted in Ibidem, p. 202; also in Raymond Chirat, Le Cinéma des
   années trente (Paris: Hatier, 1983).
52 The emergency legislation of July 3 consisted of one paragraph only: "Die zur
 HORST CLAUS, ANNE JACKEL

     Niederschlagung hoch- und landesverräterischer Angriffe am 30. Juni, 1
     Izogenen Maßnahmen sind als Staatsnotwehr rechts. " Original wording fro
     ment of July 13: "Wenn mir jemand den Vorwurf entgegenhält, weshalb wir nicht die
     ordentlichen Gerichte zur Aburteilung herangezogen hätten, dann kann ich nur sagen: In
     dieser Stunde war ich verantwortlich für das Schicksal der deutschen Nation und damit des
     deutschen Volkes oberster Gerichtsherr!" Quoted after: Susan Hügli, Barbar Ischi, Daniel
     Schärer, Markus Fischer, Der Nationalsozialismus. Eine Dokumentation übe
     klen Jahre deutscher Geschichte (Bonn: Inter Nationes, I979), p. 88.
 53 G. Vincendeau, op. cit, p. 43.
 54 Ginette Vincendeau, "From the Bal Populaire to the Casino: Class and Leisure in French
     of the 19305," Nottingham French Studies, Vol. 31, no. z, Rosemary Chapman (ed.), Culture
     and Class in France in the 19305 (Autumn 1992) p. 68.
 55 Pierre Sorlin, "Multiple versions: A Threat to National Cinemas?' Paper pre
     Gradisca International Film Studies Spring School, III Edition, Moving Pictures - Movinz
     People Film and Other Media, March 10-19 2005. See the revised version in the pre
     of CINÉMA & Cie.
 56 A. Phillips, op. cit., p. 117.
 57 S. Hayward, op. cit., p. 1.
 58 Rosemary Chapman, "Autodidacticism and the Desire for Culture," Nottingham Fren
     Studies, cit., p. 101.
 59 P. Szczepanczik, op. cit, p. 62.
 60 M. Hagener, op. cit., p. I13.




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