''Der Kaiser von Kalifornien'' (English: ''The Emperor of California''), is a 1936 film that was the first

western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

made in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Some exterior scenes were shot on location in the United States at

Sedona, Arizona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

, the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

and at

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

in California.

Plot

The film follows the life story of Johann Augustus Sutter, the owner of

Sutter's Mill Sutter's Mill was a water-powered sawmill on the bank of the South Fork American River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California. It was named after its owner John Sutter. A worker constructing the mill, James W. Marshall, found gold t ...

, famous as the birthplace of the great

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

of 1849. However much of the story re-writes the actual history of Sutter. While the basic story of Sutter's life is retained, the producers inserted some notable changes reflecting the political environment of the film's creation: though Sutter was a Swiss-German, the film emphasizes his German ethnicity, and though he changed his name to John when he came to the United States, throughout the film he retains the name Johann. The film opposes the "easy" money of gold-digging with the wealth and values created by

hard work Diligence—carefulness and persistent effort or work—is one of the seven heavenly virtues. It is indicative of a work ethic, the belief that work is good in itself. In students Bernard et al. suggest that diligence in students is define ...

, as the gold rush eventually destroys Sutter's fortunes and creates social disintegration and the loss of solidarity and companionship. In the final scene the aged and impoverished Sutter is shown in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he has a vision of America's future industrial might, seeing a land full of skyscrapers and factories. Unlike most American Westerns of the 1930s, ''The Emperor of California'' offers a sympathetic portrait of the Native Americans, whom Sutter respectfully befriends. In this it follows the

Karl May Karl Friedrich May ( , ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his 19th century novels of fictitious travels and adventures, set in the American Old West with Winnetou and Old Shatterhand as main pro ...

tradition of German Western stories, which often featured noble Native Americans and German immigrants turned pioneers and gunmen.

Production

The film was loosely based on the book ''L'Or'' (1925) by

Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European mod ...

. The screenplay was written and directed by the Tyrolean

Luis Trenker Luis Trenker (born Alois Franz Trenker, 4 October 1892 – 13 April 1990) was a South Tyrolean film producer, director, writer, actor, architect, Mountaineering, alpinist, and Bobsleigh, bobsledder. Biography Early life Alois Franz Trenker was b ...

, who also starred as Johann Sutter. Trenker had previously directed ''

Der verlorene Sohn ''The Prodigal Son'' (German: ''Der verlorene Sohn'') is a 1934 German drama film directed by Luis Trenker and starring Trenker, Maria Andergast and Bertl Schultes.Hake p.142 A South Tyrolean immigrates to New York City, but ultimately finding the ...

'' (The Prodigal Son, 1934), the story of an

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

immigrant in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which is the only other film produced in Nazi Germany with scenes photographed on location in the United States.

Awards and honors

The film won the 1936

Mussolini Cup The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

for best

foreign film World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive d ...

at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

. It was screened as part of the "Venice Days" series at the

68th Venice International Film Festival The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was p ...

in September 2011. When the film was released in Germany, Hitler attended the premier. When the film was released in the United States,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

gave it a positive review on May 8, 1937 however it never reached any commercial success.

Cast

as Johann August Sutter *

Viktoria von Ballasko Viktoria von Ballasko (24 January 1909, Vienna – 10 May 1976, Berlin) was an Austrian actress. She was born Viktoria Maria Franziska Ballasko. Partial filmography * ''Der Kaiser von Kalifornien'' (1936) - Anna, seine Frau * ''Kinderarzt Dr ...

as Anna, his wife *

Werner Kunig Werner may refer to: People * Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name Fictional characters * Werner (comics), a German comic book character * Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Rai ...

as Rudolf, their son *

Karli Zwingmann Karli may refer to: Places * Karlı, Ardanuç, village in Turkey *Karli-Eli, historical name of a region in Greece * Karlı, Vezirköprü, village in Turkey *Karli, Koper, settlement in Slovenia *Karli, India, village in India *Karla Caves, a compl ...

as Emil, their son *

Elise Aulinger Elise Aulinger (11 December 1881 – 12 February 1965) was a German stage, radio and film actress. Selected filmography * ''The Favourite of the Queen'' (1922) * ''Martin Luther'' (1923) * ''What the Stones Tell'' (1925) * ''The Seventh Son'' (1 ...

as Frau Dübol, Anna's mother *

Bernhard Minetti Bernhard Theodor Henry Minetti (26 January 1905 – 12 October 1998) was a German actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1931 and 1996 but is mostly known for his distinguished stage career. Selected filmography *''The Murderer Dimitri Kara ...

as a stranger *

Hans Zesch-Ballot Hans Zesch-Ballot (20 May 1896 – 1 September 1972) was a German film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern m ...

as Governor Alvaredo *

Marcella Albani Marcella Albani (born Ida Fidalma Angela Maranca; 7 December 1899 – 11 May 1959), was an Italian actress and writer. Although largely forgotten today, Albani was an idol of European cinema in the 1920s, and appeared in 50 films between 1919 and ...

as Alvaredo's wife *

Walter Franck Walter Franck (16 April 1896 – 10 August 1961) was a German film actor. He appeared in 32 films between 1926 and 1952. Selected filmography * '' Master of the World'' (1934) * '' The Island'' (1934) * '' Escapade'' (1936) * ''Stronger Tha ...

as Castro, Alvaredo's adjutant *

Reinhold Pasch Reinhold is a German male given name. This German name is originally from "Reinold", composed of two elements. The first is from ''ragin'', meaning "the (Germanic) Gods" and ''wald'' meaning "powerful". This name was popularised by the ancient Ge ...

as Marshall (as Reginald Pasch) *

August Eichhorn August Theodor Eichhorn (30 July 1899 − 16 June 1980) was a German musician and professor for violoncello. Life Born in Mainz, from 1933 until he was drafted into the military in 1942 Eichhorn was solo cellist at Leipzig's Gewandhaus and taug ...

as Harper *

Luis Gerold Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

as a laborer *

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

as Billy, a barman *

Melanie Horeschowsky Melanie Horeschowsky (1901–1983) was an Austrian stage, film and television actress.Giesen p.228 Selected filmography * '' The Prodigal Son'' (1934) * '' Der Kaiser von Kalifornien'' (1936) * '' Another World'' (1937) * ''Clarissa'' (1941) * ' ...

as Amalie, Sutter's sister (as Melanie Horeschovsky) *

Berta Drews Berta Emilie Helene Drews (; 19 November 1901 – 10 April 1987) was a German stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films from 1933 to 1983. She was married to actor Heinrich George. The couple had two sons, including actor G� ...

as a singer *

Alexander Golling Alexander Golling (August 2, 1905 – February 26, 1989) was a German actor. Golling was a member of the Nazi Party.Hervé Dumont, ''Robert Siodmak: le maître du film noir'', L'Age D'Homme, 1981, p. 294 Selected filmography * ''Der stählerne ...

as Kewen, the mayor of San Francisco *

Heinrich Marlow Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

as Judge Thompson *

Rudolf Klein-Rogge Friedrich Rudolf Klein (24 November 1885 – 29 May 1955), better known as Rudolf Klein-Rogge, was a German film actor, best known for playing sinister figures in films in the 1920s and 1930s as well as being a mainstay in director Fritz Lang's ...

as a banker *

Otto Stoeckel Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

as a banker (as Otto Stockel) *

Bruno Ziener Bruno Ziener (11 June 1870 – 9 February 1941) was a German stage and film actor and director. He appeared in over 100 films between 1913 and 1941. He also directed 28 silent films such as '' The Flight into Death'' (1921).Grange p. 95 Selected ...

as a banker *

Josef Reithofer Josef Reithofer (1883–1950) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Selected filmography * '' In the Line of Duty'' (1917) * ''Without Witnesses'' (1919) * '' The Dancer from Tanagra'' (1920) * ''The Princess of the Nile'' (1920) * ''Fanny Elssl ...

as a police officer * Jakob Sinn as a police officer *

Erich Dunskus Erich Adolf Dunskus (27 July 1890 – 25 November 1967) was a German film actor. He appeared in 170 films between 1927 and 1966. He was born in Pillkallen, East Prussia and died in Hagen, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The King of Pa ...

as Smith, a casino owner *

Armin Schweizer Armin Schweizer (28 April 1892 – 8 October 1968) was a Swiss actor. Schweizer was born in Zurich, Switzerland and died there at age 76 Selected filmography * ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' (1918) * '' The Galley Slave'' (1919) * ''The Mayor of Z ...

as a coachman

References

External links