''The Old and the Young King'' (German: ''Der alte und der junge König'') is a 1935 German

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed by

Hans Steinhoff Hans Steinhoff (10 March 1882 – 20 April 1945) was a German film director, best known for the propaganda films he made in the Nazi era. Life and career Steinhoff started his career as a stage actor in the 1900s and later worked as a stag ...

and starring

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss born German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' The La ...

Werner Hinz Werner Hinz (18 January 1903 – 10 February 1985) was a German film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1935 and 1984. Selected filmography * '' The Old and the Young King'' (1935) - Kronprinz Friedrich ('Fritz') * ''White Slaves'' (1 ...

and

Leopoldine Konstantin Leopoldine Konstantin (born Leopoldine Eugenie Amelie Konstanti; 12 March 1886 – 14 December 1965) was an Austrian actress. She played in Frank Wedekind's ''Spring Awakening'' (1907), Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1907), ''A Winter's Ta ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art directors

Fritz Maurischat Fritz Maurischat (April 27, 1893 in Berlin – December 11, 1986) was a German production designer. He made his film debut in 1924. Over the next 38 years, he worked on over 70 films, all of them in his native Germany. He earned an Oscar nominati ...

and Karl Weber. It was produced by a subsidiary of

Tobis Film Tobis Film was a German film production and film distribution company. Founded in the late 1920s as a merger of several companies involved in the switch from silent to sound films, the organisation emerged as a leading German sound studio. Tobis ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for e ...

took place around

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, including at the

Garrison Church A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

. Interiors were shot at the

Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg) ...

and

Johannisthal Studios The Johannisthal Studios were film studios located in the Berlin area of Johannisthal. Founded in 1920 on the site of a former airfield, they were a centre of production during the Weimar and Nazi eras. Nearly four hundred films were made at Joh ...

. It premiered at the

Ufa-Palast am Zoo The Ufa-Palast am Zoo, located near Berlin Zoological Garden in the New West area of Charlottenburg, was a major Berlin cinema owned by Universum Film AG, or Ufa. Opened in 1919 and enlarged in 1925, it was the largest cinema in Germany until 19 ...

. Part of the tradition of

Prussian film Prussian films were a cycle of historical films made in Germany during the Weimar (1918–1933) and Nazi (1933–1945) eras noted for their general glorification of Prussian history and its military. The films are set during the eighteenth and ni ...

s of the

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg an ...

and Nazi eras, the film ostensibly deals with the intense conflict between Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I and his son and heir, Crown Prince Friedrich – the future King

Friedrich II Frederick II, Frederik II or Friedrich II may refer to: * Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194–1250), King of Sicily from 1198; Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 * Frederick II of Denmark (1534–1588), king of Denmark and Norway 1559–1588 * Frede ...

"The Great". This is a well-known incident of 18th century German history, which had drawn much public attention in the time itself, and been artistically treated before. However, in its specific presentation of this historical theme, the film was clearly seen to be a work of

Nazi propaganda The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Nazi polici ...

aimed at extolling the ''

Führerprinzip The (; German for 'leader principle') prescribed the fundamental basis of political authority in the Government of Nazi Germany. This principle can be most succinctly understood to mean that "the Führer's word is above all written law" and ...

'', i.e. blind obedience to the Leader (the King in the film's plot, Hitler in the reality for which the film was a parable); complaints of "encirclement" and the need for ''

Lebensraum (, ''living space'') is a German concept of settler colonialism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' became a geopolitical goal of Impe ...

'' also feature.

Erwin Leiser Erwin Leiser (May 16, 1923 – August 22, 1996) was a German-born Jew and director, writer, and actor. Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden at the age of 15 to escape the Nazi Party. He graduated from the University of Lund and worked a ...

, ''Nazi Cinema'', p. 113. . For that reason, the film was banned by the Allied military government following the Nazi defeat in 1945. However, after the foundation of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south ...

the FSK ("Voluntary Self Regulation of the Movie Industry") subjected it to a test on 4 August 1958 and ruled that, unlike other films made under the Nazis, the propaganda element in it was not so blatant as to justify its inclusion in the list of "Forbidden Films" ( :de:Vorbehaltsfilm).

Plot

The film opens at

in the time of "The Soldier King"

Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

, with the Royal Family sitting at the breakfast table. It turns out that Crown Prince Friedrich, informally called "Fritz", had lost so much money at the gaming tables that he had to sign debentures. Members of the

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

regiment had seen the crown prince appearing late in a wretched state, which greatly angers his father. The King would like to prepare his son for the future role as a ruler, and regards his preoccupation with music and literature with much displeasure. Fritz, for his part, is infuriated with the austere treatment by his father and hatches a plan to flee Prussia and get to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, where he expects a welcome from his mother's family. His companion Katte would like to help him in this plan. However, being a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

bound by his officer's code, he at first declines. The father-son conflict further escalates when Fritz accumulates even heavier gambling debts than those the King already had to pay off. The King insults the Crown prince, calling him "a liar and coward" and puts him under arrest. In the barracks, he is forbidden to engage in his beloved flute playing or read French literature. At night the King returns earlier than usual and surprises the Crown Prince playing the flute in the music room together with his sister

Wilhelmine The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm's a ...

. Katte, who was also present, manages to hide just in time. The angry King throws Fritz's books and flute into the open fire and orders the Crown Prince to accompany him on a trip to South Germany. Fritz, more than ever determined on his escape plan, can count on Katte's support after this incident. However, the escape fails, and both the Crown Prince and Second Lieutenant Katte are condemned by a

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of me ...

to custody at the fortress of Küstrin. Indeed, the King goes much further, arbitrarily changing the judgement against Katte into

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

and insisting on having him actually executed. The Crown Prince submits to the King's authority and is moved to better quarters in a palace. Nevertheless, in a visit by the King it is evident that the relationship between father and son is still very chilly and they are estranged. Fritz, who in the meantime has proved his "character," is now given his own household at

Rheinsberg Rheinsberg () is a town and a municipality in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on lake and the river Rhin, approximately 20 km north-east of Neuruppin and 75 km north-west of Berlin. History ...

Castle where he can again follow his artistic inclinations. Still, reconciliation between the estranged father and son does come about shortly before the death of the King. The last words of the Old King to the Young are: "Make Prussia great!" (The audience, aware of basic elements of German history included in their school curriculum, know that Friedrich would duly proceed to do just that.)

Cast

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Old and the Young King Films of Nazi Germany Films set in the 1730s German biographical drama films Films directed by Hans Steinhoff Cultural depictions of Frederick the Great Prussian films German historical drama films 1930s historical drama films Films with screenplays by Thea von Harbou Biographical films about German royalty Censored films Tobis Film films 1930s biographical drama films Films set in Berlin Films shot in Berlin Films shot at Johannisthal Studios German black-and-white films 1935 drama films Films set in the Kingdom of Prussia 1930s German films