''Whom the Gods Love'' (German: ''Wen die Götter lieben'') is a 1942 Austrian

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Karl Hartl Karl Hartl (10 May 1899 – 29 August 1978) was an Austrians, Austrian film film director, director. Life Born in Vienna, Hartl began his film career at the Austrian Sascha-Film company of Alexander Kolowrat and from 1919 was assistant to the H ...

and starring

Hans Holt Hans Holt (22 November 1909 – 3 August 2001) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1990. Selected filmography * '' Hannerl and Her Lovers'' (1936) * '' Catherine the Last'' (1936) * '' Florentine' ...

Irene von Meyendorff Baroness Irene von Meyendorff (6 June 1916 – 28 September 2001) was a Russian-born German-British actress. Biography Baroness Irene von Meyendorff was of Baltic German origin, born in 1916 in Tallinn (then Reval, Russian Empire), Estonia as th ...

, and

Winnie Markus Winnie Markus (1921–2002) was a Czechoslovakia-born Germany, German film actor, film and television actress whose captivating performances left an indelible mark on the German entertainment industry. With a career spanning over four decades, M ...

. The film is a biopic of the Austrian composer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

.Hake p. 157 It was made as a co-production between the giant German studio

UFA Ufa is a city in Russia and the capital of the republic of Bashkortostan. UFA or Ufa may also refer to: Places * Ufa (river), a river in Russia; a tributary of the Belaya * Ufa International Airport, near the Russian city * Ufa railway statio ...

and

Wien-Film Wien-Film GmbH ("Vienna Film Limited") was a large Austrian film company, which in 1938 succeeded the Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG (Sascha Film Company) and lasted until 1985. Until 1945 the business was owned by the Cautio Trust Company (''Cauti ...

which had been set up following the

German annexation of Austria The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany") arose after the 1871 unifica ...

. The film was part of a wider attempt by the Nazis to portray Mozart as an authentic German hero. Like many German biopics of the war years, it portrays the composer as a pioneering visionary. The title refers to Mozart's middle name Amadeus (Latin for "love God") and to the aphorism "he whom the gods love, dies young" (Latin: "") from

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus ( ; 254 – 184 BC) was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by Livius Andro ...

' '' Bacchides'', lines 816–17, and earlier Greek sources, including

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's mention of

Trophonius Trophonius (; Ancient Greek: Τροφώνιος ''Trophōnios'') was a Greek hero or daimon or god—it was never certain which one—with a rich mythological tradition and an oracular cult at Lebadaea (Λιβαδειά; ''Levadia'' or ''Livadei ...

; Mozart died at the age of 35. A British film of the same title had been released in 1936.

Cast

as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart *

as Luisa Weber Langer *

as Konstanze Weber Mozart *

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrians, Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the ...

as Von Strack *

Walter Janssen Walter Janssen (7 February 1887 – 1 January 1976) was a German film actor and director. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1917 and 1970. Selected filmography * '' The Dancer'' (1919) * ''Destiny'' (1921) * '' Wandering Souls'' ( ...

Leopold Mozart Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, violinist, and music theorist. He is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook ''Versuch einer grün ...

Rosa Albach-Retty Rosa Albach-Retty (born Rosa Clara Franziska Helene Retty; 26 December 1874 – 26 August 1980) was an Austrian film and stage actress.

as Frau Mozart *

Annie Rosar Annie Rosar (17 May 1888 – 5 August 1963) was an Austrian stage and film actress who is best remembered today for her appearances in many Austrian comedy films from the 1930s to the early 1960s. In those movies, she was frequently cast in the c ...

as Frau Weber *

René Deltgen Renatus Heinrich Deltgen (30 April 1909 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – 29 January 1979 in Cologne, West Germany) was a Luxembourgish stage and film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who port ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Thea Weis Thea may refer to: * Thea (name), a given name * Ancient Greek term for goddess, including an alternative spelling of Theia * ''Thea'', the former name of the tea plant genus, now included in ''Camellia'' * Thea, a village in the multiple unit Mess ...

Sophie Weber Maria Sophie Weber (1763–1846) was a singer of the 18th and 19th centuries. She was the younger sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's wife, Constanze, and is remembered primarily for the testimony she left concerning the life and death of her bro ...

* as

Josepha Weber Maria Josepha Weber (later Josepha Hofer, Josepha Meier; 1758 – 29 December 1819) was a German soprano of the classical era. She was a sister-in-law of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the first to perform the role of The Queen of the Night i ...

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in ''Des Teufels Gener ...

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

Hans Siebert Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

as Duke of Mannheim *

Richard Eybner Richard Eybner (3 March 1896 – 20 June 1986) was an Austrian actor at the theatre and in films. Selected filmography * ''Purpur und Waschblau'' (1931) - Kabinettsrat Traunstadt * '' Die große Liebe'' (1931) * '' When You're Young, the World B ...

as Baron von Gemmingen *

Fritz Imhoff Fritz Imhoff, real name: Friedrich Arnold Heinrich Jeschke (January 6, 1891, Alsergrund February 24, 1961, Wieden) was an Austrian actor. He was a brother of the Wienerlied composer (18901962). Selected filmography * '' Daughter of the Re ...

as Albrechtsberger * as Hoeffer * as Süssmayr *

Doris Hild Doris may refer to: People and fictional characters * Doris (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters * Doris (surname), a list of people * Doris (singer), stage name of Swedish rock and pop singer Doris Svensson (19 ...

* * *

Franz Herterich Franz Herterich (3 October 1877 – 28 October 1966) was a German actor. He was born in Munich and died in Vienna. Partial filmography * '' The Eye of the Buddha'' (1919) * ''Der Traum im Walde'' (1919) – alter Diener * ''Todestreue'' (1919) * ...

Otto Schmöle Otto Schmöle (1890–1968) was a German actor. Filmography Bibliography * Kulik, Karol. ''Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles''. Virgin Books, 1990. External links * 1890 births 1968 deaths German male film actors Male act ...

Theodor Danegger Theodor Danegger (31 August 1891 – 11 October 1959) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1932 and 1959. He was born in Lienz, Austria and died in Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital ...

Alfred Neugebauer Alfred Neugebauer (24 December 1888 – 14 September 1957) was an Austrian film actor. Selected filmography * '' Money in the Streets'' (1922) * ''Money on the Street'' (1930) * '' Madame Bluebeard'' (1931) * '' Storm in a Water Glass'' (1931) * ...

* * *

Hermann Erhardt Hermann Erhardt (January 9, 1903 in Landshut - November 30, 1958 in Vienna) was a German actor who played in more than 50 movies, among them '' Heimkehr'' and '' A Devil of a Woman''. Selected filmography * '' The Monastery's Hunter'' (1935) * ...

Louise Kartousch Louise Kartousch (17 August 1886 – 13 February 1964) was an Austrian character dancer, opera and operetta soprano. Life Born in Linz, Kartousch attended the music school in Linz and was trained in Vienna. She had children's roles in Linz an ...

Erna Berger Erna Berger (19 October 1900 – 14 June 1990) was a German lyric coloratura soprano. She was best known for roles such as Queen of the Night and Konstanze. Career Born in Dresden, Germany, Berger spent some years as a child in India and Sout ...

as Singer *

Siegmund Roth Sigmund or Siegmund may refer to: People * Sigmund (given name), list of people with the name Sigmund Arts and entertainment *''Sigmund and the Sea Monsters'', American 1970s TV series ;Fictional characters * Sigmund (also Siegmund), a hero in No ...

as Singer *

Karl Schmitt-Walter Karl Schmitt-Walter (23 December 1900 – 14 January 1985) was a prominent German opera singer, particularly associated with Mozart and the more lyrical Wagner baritone roles. Life and career Schmitt-Walter was born in Germersheim. He studied at ...

as Singer * Dagmar Söderquist as Singer

References

Bibliography

* Hake, Sabine. ''Popular Cinema of the Third Reich''. University of Texas Press, 2001.

External links

* 1942 films 1940s biographical films German biographical films Films of Nazi Germany Films set in Vienna Films set in the 18th century Films directed by Karl Hartl Cultural depictions of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Depictions of Ludwig van Beethoven on film Films about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Biographical films about musicians Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Austrian historical musical films 1940s historical musical films German historical musical films Austrian black-and-white films German black-and-white films UFA GmbH films 1940s German-language films Biographical films about composers {{historic-musical-film-stub

Cast

See also

References

Bibliography

External links