''Rasputin, Demon with Women'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen'') is a 1932 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Adolf Trotz and starring

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt ( , ; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German and British actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man ...

Paul Otto Paul Otto Schlesinger (8 February 1878 – 25 or 30 November 1943) was a German film actor and director. Born in Berlin, he began a qualification as a retail merchant and made his actor's debut at the age of 17. Otto worked at Theaters in ...

and

Hermine Sterler Minna Stern (20 March 1894 – 25 May 1982), known professionally as Hermine Sterler, was a German-American actress whose career spanned both the silent and the talkie film eras on two continents. Career Sterler, who appeared in several Holl ...

. It was shot at the Halensee Studios and

Terra Studios The Terra Studios or Marienfelde Studios were film studios located in the Berlin suburb of Marienfelde. The studios were originally a glasshouse constructed in 1913 by the early company Eiko Film, controlled by the producer Franz Vogel who h ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

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

Gustav A. Knauer Gustav A. Knauer (1886–1950) was a German art director.Gemünden p.171 He designed the sets of more than a hundred films during his career. Selected filmography * ''The White Roses of Ravensberg (1919 film), The White Roses of Ravensberg'' (1919 ...

and

Walter Reimann Walter Reimann (2 June 1887 – 8 November 1936) was a German painter and art director. He was an Expressionist and member of the group of artists associated with Zurich magazine, Der Sturm. He worked on the production design of a number of film ...

. It portrays the influence wielded by

Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian Mysticism, mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II of Russia, Nicholas II, the last Emperor of all the Russias, Emperor of Russia, th ...

over the Russian Royal Family around the time of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was released the same year as an American film about him ''

Rasputin and the Empress ''Rasputin and the Empress'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Richard Boleslawski and written by Charles MacArthur. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the film is set in Imperial Russia and stars the Barrymore siblings (John, a ...

''.

Felix Yusupov Knyaz Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston (; – 27 September 1967) was a Russian aristocrat from the House of Yusupov who is best known for participating in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin and for marrying Princess Irina ...

sued the filmmakers for his portrayal, but ultimately dropped his case. The film was banned in Germany in 1933 following the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

's rise to power.Soister p.236

Synopsis

Rasputin's success as mystical healer in a small village leads him to be sought and brought to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

by the authorities. Despite his façade of mysticism, he is also an avid womaniser, leading to widespread resentment. However, his success with the gravely ill son of

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

and Czarina Alexandra leads to his growing political influence over them, even as Russia goes to war. A group of his

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

enemies plot his murder.

Cast

References

Bibliography

* Klaus, Ulrich J. ''Deutsche Tonfilme: Jahrgang 1932''. Klaus-Archiv, 1988. * Soister, John T. ''Conrad Veidt on Screen: A Comprehensive Illustrated Filmography''. McFarland, 2002.

External links

* 1932 drama films 1930s historical drama films Films of the Weimar Republic German historical drama films Films directed by Adolf Trotz Biographical films about Russian royalty Films set in the 1900s Films set in the 1910s Films about Grigori Rasputin Cultural depictions of Nicholas II of Russia German black-and-white films 1930s German films 1930s German-language films Films shot at Halensee Studios Films shot at Terra Studios Films scored by Fritz Wenneis {{1930s-Germany-film-stub