''Brainwashed'' (original title ''Schachnovelle'', "Chess Novella") is a 1960

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 Gerd Oswald and starring

Curt Jürgens Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

, Claire Bloom and

Hansjörg Felmy Hansjörg Felmy (born Hans-Jörg Hellmuth Felmy; 31 January 1931 – 24 August 2007) was a German actor. He appeared in 50 films and television shows between 1957 and 1995. Films like ''Der Stern von Afrika'' and ''Wir Wunderkinder'' made hi ...

.BFI.org
/ref> It is based on

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...

's novella ''

The Royal Game ''The Royal Game'' (also known as Chess Story; in the original German ''Schachnovelle'', "Chess Novella") is a novella by the Austrian author Stefan Zweig written in 1941, the year before the author's death by suicide. In some editions, the title ...

''.

Plot

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

world champion Centowic wants to travel by ship to an important chess tournament. The ship, however, starts behind schedule, because a mysterious and obviously anxious passenger, who is on his way to the port with Bishop Ambrosse, is expected. During the trip, passengers ask grumpy Centowic to play a chess game, which he reluctantly agrees to. Centowic's opponents are about to lose the match. However, the mysterious passenger, who accidentally joins the scene, intervenes and helps them to turn the match into a draw. Centowic is amazed to not have ever seen the stranger, who, as he says, has just had his first

chess piece A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either White and Black in chess, white or black, and it can be one of six types: King (chess), king, Queen (chess), queen, Rook (chess ...

in his hands, at any important tournament. A flashback tells the stranger's story: He is Werner von Basil, an Austrian lawyer. Together with Bishop Ambrosse, he hides art treasures abroad in order to protect them from the national socialists who had just occupied Austria. Von Basil doesn't take the bishop's warnings about the threat for him too seriously. On a party given by von Basil, the newly inaugurated

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

man, Hans Berger engages ballet dancer Irene Andreny, who is his girlfriend, to learn from von Basil where the art treasures are. When she is unsuccessful, Berger has von Basil arrested the same evening. In order to break von Basil's will, Berger puts him into

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

. Von Basil has all his personal belongings taken from him; the only variety in his every-day routine is the guardian who provides him with food. Berger is pressured not only by Irene, who feels neglected, but also by his superior Hartmann, as von Basil keeps the hiding-place of the art treasures a secret even after six weeks of isolation. As von Basil pretends to be cooperative and is brought to a questioning, he succeeds in stealing a book from a coat pocket. In the questioning, von Basil drops Berger in it and feels the sympathy the present Irene feels for him. Back again in his room, von Basil is disappointed to learn that the book he has stolen just deals with chess matches. Due to a lack of alternatives, von Basil reads it and uses pieces of bread as chess pieces to re-enact the matches described in the book. Even as Berger discovers his secret and deprives him of the book, von Basil plays chess against himself in his mind. After asking bishop Ambrose for help, Irene begs Berger to release von Basil but is insulted by Berger. As von Basil suffers from a nervous breakdown but still refuses to reveal his secrets, Hartmann now tries on his own to break von Basil's will. As von Basil plays yet another match against Centowic, he furiously attacks Centowic, as he wants to learn from Centowic how much information he gave away during his solitary confinement. Irene joins the scene and is able to assure von Basil that he revealed none of his secrets. Irene was spared harassment; Berger was no longer of use for his superiors. Von Basil and Irene fall in love with each other.

Cast

* Curd Jürgens — von Basil *

— Berger * Mario Adorf — Karl Centowic * Claire Bloom — Irene Andreny *

Hans Söhnker Hans Söhnker (11 October 1903 – 20 April 1981) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1980. He was born in Kiel, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The Tsarevich'' (1933) – ...

— Bishop Ambrosse *

Albert Bessler Albert Bessler (15 February 1905 – 4 December 1975) was a German film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1942 and 1975. He was born in Hamburg, Germany and died in West Berlin, West Germany. Partial filmography * ''Front Theatre'' (1 ...

— Scientist *

Rudolf Forster Rudolf Forster (30 October 1884 – 25 October 1968) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1914 and 1968. His autobiography ''Das Spiel, mein Leben'' was published by Propyläen Verlag in 1967. He was born in Gr� ...

— Hotel manager * Alan Gifford — Mac Iver * Jan Hendriks — First Officer * Albert Lieven — Hartmann *

Harald Maresch Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrada ...

— Ballet Master * Dietmar Schönherr — Rabbi * Karel Stepanek — Baranow * Wolfgang Wahl — von Basils' Guardian, called ''Moonface'' *

Dorothea Wieck Dorothea Wieck, born Dora Bertha Olavia Wieck (3 January 1908 in Davos, Switzerland – 20 February 1986 in Berlin, West Germany), was a German theatre and film actress. Early years Dorothea Wieck was born Dora Bertha Olavia Wieck and grew up i ...

— Countess * Rijk de Gooyer — Berger's Secretary *

Susanne Körber-Harlan Susanne may refer to: *Susanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) *, later USS ''SP-411'', a United States Navy patrol boat in commission from 1917 to 1919 *, the proposed name and designation for a vess ...

— Young Lady

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brainwashed (Film) 1960 films 1960 drama films German drama films West German films Films directed by Gerd Oswald Films based on Austrian novels Films based on works by Stefan Zweig German black-and-white films 1960s German-language films Films about chess Films set on ships Films about Nazi Germany Allied Artists films 1960s German films