''Don't Lose Heart, Suzanne!'' (german: Nur nicht weich werden, Susanne!) is a 1935 German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Arzén von Cserépy Arzén von Cserépy (1881–1958) was a Hungary, Hungarian screenwriter, film producer and film director, director who was based in Germany. He ran his own production company Cserépy-Film until it was merged into the larger UFA GmbH, UFA empire. ...

, and starring

Jessie Vihrog Jessie Vihrog (19 October 1906 – 1 January 1996) was a South African-born German film actress. Selected filmography * '' The Wrong Husband'' (1931) * '' Hooray, It's a Boy!'' (1931) * ''Contest'' (1932) * ''The Ladies Diplomat'' (1932) * ''Thi ...

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film ''Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial ...

, and

Willi Schur Willi Schur (22 August 1888 – 1 November 1940) was a German actor and singer. He appeared in roughly ninety feature films in a variety of supporting roles. Selected filmography * '' Berlin-Alexanderplatz'' (1931) * ''Who Takes Love Seriously?' ...

Plot

The film takes place in the film milieu towards the end of the Weimar Republic against the background of the world economic crisis. The title character Susanne is an unemployed extra who, through an assistant director, finds a supporting role in the kitsch film Love Me in Honolulu. The producers are Jews who are portrayed as greedy and lustful and at the same time run an illegal casino. When a visitor commits suicide, the film producers kidnap Susanne and another actress as a distraction. Georg, Susanne's fiancé frees the women. Together, they try to prove the guilt of the producers. As a result of in just don't soften, Susanne! When the National Socialists seize power, the producers are arrested and Susanne and Georg become a married couple.

Background

The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Erich Grave Erich Grave (1891–1955) was a German art director.Giesen p.213 Selected filmography * ''Behind the Altar'' (1927) * ''Don't Lose Heart, Suzanne!'' (1935) * ''Maria the Maid'' (1936) * ''The Call of the Jungle'' (1936) * '' A Night in May'' (193 ...

and Karl Vollbrecht. The film offered support to the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

stance by a negative portrayal of the two Jewish film producers. It received strong official backing, and a gala premiere was arranged for its release by

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

. To Goebbels' surprise and disgust, the first night audience booed, once the screening was over. The incident was largely hushed-up, and the film's director

went back to his native Hungary in disgrace and never made another German film. The film was a success, however, for the young actress

Hilde Krüger Hilde Krüger (9 November 1912 – 8 May 1991) was a German film actress who eventually settled in Mexico.Lynn p.413 Life Krüger was born in 1912. One source says she was born in Cologne while another claims her birth occurred in Berlin on Sept ...

. Following this film, she was given the patronage of Goebbels. She was to appear in twenty more films, and went on to be a spy for Germany.Verführungskunst war ihre Waffe
Spiegel online, Retrieved 24 July 2016.

Cast

References

External links

* 1935 drama films German drama films Films of Nazi Germany Films directed by Arzén von Cserépy Films about filmmaking Nazi propaganda films German black-and-white films 1930s German films 1930s German-language films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub