Titanic (1943 film)
Encyclopedia
Titanic was a 1943 Nazi
propaganda film
made during World War II in Berlin by Tobis Productions for UFA
, which was later banned from Nazi Germany by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels
. The film used the sinking of the RMS Titanic as a setting for an attempt to discredit British and American capitalist dealings
and glorify the bravery and selflessness of German
men. Today, Titanic is known for its extremely dark production history and, ironically, became the symbol of the corruption and "sinking" of the Third Reich itself.
Cult icon
Sybille Schmitz
, who would achieve everlasting fame twenty-seven years after her death when R. W. Fassbinder adapted her unhappy life into his famous film Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss
, has her most widely accessible role for today's audience in this film.
, a passenger cruise ship
which itself was sunk in the last weeks of World War II with a loss of life far heavier than that on the actual Titanic. The scenes with the lifeboats were filmed on the Baltic Sea
and some of the interior scenes were shot in Tobis Studios.
Titanic was the most expensive German production up until that time and endured many production difficulties, including a clash of egos, massive creative differences and general war-time frustrations. The film's original director, Herbert Selpin
was heard making unflattering comments about the Kriegsmarine officers, who were more concerned with molesting the female cast members rather than doing their job as marine consultants of the film. His close friend and co-writer of the script, Walter Zerlett-Olfenius, reported him to the Gestapo and Selpin was promptly arrested and personally questioned by Joseph Goebbels
, who was the driving force behind the Titanic project. Within twenty-four hours of his arrest, Herbert Selpin was found hanged in his jail cell, which was ruled a suicide. The cast and crew were angry and attempted to retaliate, but were quickly silenced with fear for their own safety. The unfinished film, the production of which spiraled wildly out control, was in the end completed by Werner Klingler
.
The premiere was supposed to be in early 1943, but the theatre that housed the answer print
was bombed the night before the big event. The film went on to have a lacklustre premiere in Paris around Christmas of that same year, but in the end, Goebbels
banned it altogether, stating that the German people, at that point going through almost nightly Allied
bombing raids, were less than enthusiastic about seeing a film that portrayed mass death and panic.
Titanic was re-discovered in 1949, but was quickly banned in most western and capitalist countries. After the fifties, the film went back into obscurity, sometimes showing on German television. But in 1992, a censored, low quality VHS copy, was released in Germany. This version deleted the strongest propaganda scenes, which immensely watered down its controversial content. Finally, in 2005, Titanic was completely restored and, for the first time, the uncensored version was released in a special edition DVD by Kino Video.
stock holders that their stocks are currently falling. The president of White Star Line J. Bruce Ismay
promises to reveal a secret during the maiden voyage
of the Titanic that will change the fate of the stocks. He alone knows that the ship can break the world record in speed and that, he thinks, will raise the stock value. He and the board of the White Star plan to lower the stocks by selling even their own stocks in order to buy them back at a lower price. They plan to buy them back just before the news about the record speed of the ship will be published to the press. (In reality, this was impossible to have occurred, since at the time the real White Star Line was a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Mercantile Marine conglomerate and was not a publicly traded company.)
The issue of capitalism and the stock market
plays a dominant role throughout the movie. The hero of the film is fictional German First Officer Herr Petersen (played by Hans Nielsen
) on the ill-fated voyage of the British ocean liner RMS Titanic in 1912. He begs the ship's rich and snobbish owners to slow down the ship's speed, but they refuse and the Titanic hits an iceberg
and sinks. The passengers in first class are shown to be sleazy cowards while Petersen, his lover Sigrid Olinsky (Sybille Schmitz
), and other German passengers in steerage
are shown as brave and kind. Peterson manages to rescue many passengers, convince Sigrid to get into a lifeboat (in a scene which was famously echoed in the 1997 film
) and saves a young girl, who was obviously left to die in her cabin by an uncaring, callous British capitalist mother. The film ends with the British Inquiry into the disaster
, where Peterson testifies against Bruce Ismay, condemning his actions, but Ismay is cleared of all charges and the blame is placed squarely on the deceased Captain Smith's shoulders. The epilogue states that "the deaths of 1,500 people remains un-atoned, forever a testament of Britain's endless quest for profit."
of the liner's loss specifically about British avarice
rather than, as most Titanic retellings do, about general human arrogance and presumption
. This fit in with other works of anti-British propaganda of the time such as My life for Ireland
and Der Fuchs von Glenarvon; however, the scenes of British and French panic and desperation undermined this effect, contributing to its ban by Goebbels.
This film does include all the "classic" trappings of a Titanic film. The numerous subplots include greed, arrogance, star-crossed lovers, young love, old flames meeting again on the doomed ship and the hallmark emotional scene where a wife refuses to leave her husband on the doomed liner. The fact that the real-life couple
on which this scene was based were Jewish was omitted.
.
Several story aspects are in both films but not in any other Titanic version:
Additionally, many of the scene compositions and camera angles are similar to the 1943 film.
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
propaganda film
Propaganda film
The term propaganda can be defined as the ability to produce and spread fertile messages that, once sown, will germinate in large human cultures.” However, in the 20th century, a “new” propaganda emerged, which revolved around political organizations and their need to communicate messages that...
made during World War II in Berlin by Tobis Productions for UFA
Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
, which was later banned from Nazi Germany by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
. The film used the sinking of the RMS Titanic as a setting for an attempt to discredit British and American capitalist dealings
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and glorify the bravery and selflessness of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
men. Today, Titanic is known for its extremely dark production history and, ironically, became the symbol of the corruption and "sinking" of the Third Reich itself.
Cult icon
Gay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...
Sybille Schmitz
Sybille Schmitz
Sybille Schmitz was a German actress.-Biography:Schmitz attended an acting school in Cologne and got her first engagement at Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1927. Only one year later, she made her film debut with Freie Fahrt , which attracted her first attention from the critics...
, who would achieve everlasting fame twenty-seven years after her death when R. W. Fassbinder adapted her unhappy life into his famous film Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss
Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss
Veronika Voss is a black and white 1982 film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Its original German title is Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss, which means The Longing of Veronika Voss....
, has her most widely accessible role for today's audience in this film.
History of the film
The film was shot on board the SS Cap ArconaSS Cap Arcona
The Cap Arcona was a large German luxury ocean liner, formerly of the Hamburg-South America line. It transported passengers between Germany and South America up until 1940 when it was taken over by the German Navy....
, a passenger cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
which itself was sunk in the last weeks of World War II with a loss of life far heavier than that on the actual Titanic. The scenes with the lifeboats were filmed on the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
and some of the interior scenes were shot in Tobis Studios.
Titanic was the most expensive German production up until that time and endured many production difficulties, including a clash of egos, massive creative differences and general war-time frustrations. The film's original director, Herbert Selpin
Herbert Selpin
Herbert Selpin was a German film director and screenplay author.-Biography:Herbert Selpin was born on May 29, 1902 in Berlin. After his medical studies in the same city, Selpin worked as a dancer, boxer, librarian, and art seller before he obtained, in the mid-1920s, an internship at the Ufa film...
was heard making unflattering comments about the Kriegsmarine officers, who were more concerned with molesting the female cast members rather than doing their job as marine consultants of the film. His close friend and co-writer of the script, Walter Zerlett-Olfenius, reported him to the Gestapo and Selpin was promptly arrested and personally questioned by Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
, who was the driving force behind the Titanic project. Within twenty-four hours of his arrest, Herbert Selpin was found hanged in his jail cell, which was ruled a suicide. The cast and crew were angry and attempted to retaliate, but were quickly silenced with fear for their own safety. The unfinished film, the production of which spiraled wildly out control, was in the end completed by Werner Klingler
Werner Klingler
Werner Klingler was a German film director and actor. He directed 29 films between 1936 and 1968.He was born in Stuttgart, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Titanic...
.
The premiere was supposed to be in early 1943, but the theatre that housed the answer print
Answer print
Answer print refers to the first version of a given motion picture that is printed to film after color correction on an interpositive. It is also the first version of the movie printed to film with the sound properly synced to the picture....
was bombed the night before the big event. The film went on to have a lacklustre premiere in Paris around Christmas of that same year, but in the end, Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
banned it altogether, stating that the German people, at that point going through almost nightly Allied
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
bombing raids, were less than enthusiastic about seeing a film that portrayed mass death and panic.
Titanic was re-discovered in 1949, but was quickly banned in most western and capitalist countries. After the fifties, the film went back into obscurity, sometimes showing on German television. But in 1992, a censored, low quality VHS copy, was released in Germany. This version deleted the strongest propaganda scenes, which immensely watered down its controversial content. Finally, in 2005, Titanic was completely restored and, for the first time, the uncensored version was released in a special edition DVD by Kino Video.
Plot
The movie opens with a proclamation to the White StarWhite Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
stock holders that their stocks are currently falling. The president of White Star Line J. Bruce Ismay
J. Bruce Ismay
Joseph Bruce Ismay was an English businessman who served as chairman and managing director of the White Star Line of steamships. He came to international attention as the highest-ranking White Star official among the 706 survivors Joseph Bruce Ismay (12 December 1862 – 17 October 1937) was...
promises to reveal a secret during the maiden voyage
Maiden voyage
The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
of the Titanic that will change the fate of the stocks. He alone knows that the ship can break the world record in speed and that, he thinks, will raise the stock value. He and the board of the White Star plan to lower the stocks by selling even their own stocks in order to buy them back at a lower price. They plan to buy them back just before the news about the record speed of the ship will be published to the press. (In reality, this was impossible to have occurred, since at the time the real White Star Line was a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Mercantile Marine conglomerate and was not a publicly traded company.)
The issue of capitalism and the stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
plays a dominant role throughout the movie. The hero of the film is fictional German First Officer Herr Petersen (played by Hans Nielsen
Hans Nielsen (actor)
Hans Nielsen was a German film actor. He appeared in 136 films between 1937 and 1965.He was born in Hamburg, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Daphne and the Diplomat...
) on the ill-fated voyage of the British ocean liner RMS Titanic in 1912. He begs the ship's rich and snobbish owners to slow down the ship's speed, but they refuse and the Titanic hits an iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
and sinks. The passengers in first class are shown to be sleazy cowards while Petersen, his lover Sigrid Olinsky (Sybille Schmitz
Sybille Schmitz
Sybille Schmitz was a German actress.-Biography:Schmitz attended an acting school in Cologne and got her first engagement at Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1927. Only one year later, she made her film debut with Freie Fahrt , which attracted her first attention from the critics...
), and other German passengers in steerage
Steerage
Steerage is the act of steering a ship. "Steerage" also refers to the lowest decks of a ship.-Steerage and steerage way:The rudder of a vessel can only steer the ship when water is passing over it...
are shown as brave and kind. Peterson manages to rescue many passengers, convince Sigrid to get into a lifeboat (in a scene which was famously echoed in the 1997 film
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
) and saves a young girl, who was obviously left to die in her cabin by an uncaring, callous British capitalist mother. The film ends with the British Inquiry into the disaster
Changes in safety practices following the RMS Titanic disaster
The sinking of the RMS Titanic resulted in changes in maritime policy.-Lifeboats:Alexander Carlisle, Harland and Wolff's general manager and chairman of the managing directors, suggested that Titanic use a new, larger type of lifeboat crane which could give the ship the potential to carry 48...
, where Peterson testifies against Bruce Ismay, condemning his actions, but Ismay is cleared of all charges and the blame is placed squarely on the deceased Captain Smith's shoulders. The epilogue states that "the deaths of 1,500 people remains un-atoned, forever a testament of Britain's endless quest for profit."
Themes and propaganda context
Titanic makes the allegoryAllegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
of the liner's loss specifically about British avarice
Anglophobia
Anglophobia means hatred or fear of England or the English people. The term is sometimes used more loosely for general Anti-British sentiment...
rather than, as most Titanic retellings do, about general human arrogance and presumption
Hubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....
. This fit in with other works of anti-British propaganda of the time such as My life for Ireland
My life for Ireland
My life for Ireland is a German anti-British propaganda movie from 1941 directed by Max W. Kimmich.- Plot :In 1903, the Irish nationalist Michael O'Brien is captured in Dublin after committing an attack on British policemen, and he is sentenced to death. While he is in jail, his pregnant fiancée...
and Der Fuchs von Glenarvon; however, the scenes of British and French panic and desperation undermined this effect, contributing to its ban by Goebbels.
This film does include all the "classic" trappings of a Titanic film. The numerous subplots include greed, arrogance, star-crossed lovers, young love, old flames meeting again on the doomed ship and the hallmark emotional scene where a wife refuses to leave her husband on the doomed liner. The fact that the real-life couple
Ida Straus
Ida Straus, born Rosalie Ida Blun was an American homemaker and wife of the co-owner of the Macy's department store. She and her husband Isidor died on board the RMS Titanic.-Early life:...
on which this scene was based were Jewish was omitted.
Cast
- Sybille SchmitzSybille SchmitzSybille Schmitz was a German actress.-Biography:Schmitz attended an acting school in Cologne and got her first engagement at Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1927. Only one year later, she made her film debut with Freie Fahrt , which attracted her first attention from the critics...
as Sigrid Olinsky - Hans NielsenHans Nielsen (actor)Hans Nielsen was a German film actor. He appeared in 136 films between 1937 and 1965.He was born in Hamburg, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Daphne and the Diplomat...
as 1st Officer Petersen - Kirsten HeibergKirsten HeibergKirsten Heiberg was a Norwegian actress and singer who had a major film career in Germany between 1938 and 1954. Heiberg was a Nazi, but was not punished by the Norwegians, as she was a German citizen....
as Gloria - E.F. FürbingerErnst Fritz FürbringerErnst Fritz Fürbringer was a German film actor. He appeared in 130 films between 1933 and 1983.He was born in Brunswick, Germany and died in Munich, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Titanic...
as Sir Bruce Ismay - Karl SchönböckKarl Schönböck-Selected filmography:* Daphne and the Diplomat * Bismarck * Das Grosse Spiel * Titanic * Peter Voss, der Millionendieb * Feuerwerk * Der Kongreß tanzt * Love Now, Pay Later...
as John Jacob Astor - Charlotte Thiele as Lady Astor
- Otto WernickeOtto WernickeOtto Karl Robert Wernicke was a German actor. He was best known for his role as police inspector Karl Lohmann in the two Fritz Lang films M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. He was the first one to portray Captain Smith in the first "official" Titanic film.Wernicke was married to a Jewish woman...
as Captain Edward J. Smith - Franz SchafheitlinFranz SchafheitlinFranz Schafheitlin was a German film actor. He appeared in over 160 films between 1927 and 1974.He was born in Berlin, Germany and died in Bavaria, Germany.-Selected filmography:* The Sorceror...
as Hunderson - Sepp Rist as Jan
- Monika BurgClaude FarellClaude Farell, real name Monika Burg, also known as Paulette Colar, Catherine Farell, Paulette Kolar and Paulette von Suchan was an Austrian actress.-Filmography:*1941 Immer nur du...
as Manniküre Heidi - Jolly Bohnert as Marcia
- Fritz Böttger as Lord Douglas
- Hermann Brix as Chapel-MasterKapellmeisterKapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
Gruber - Lieselott Klinger as Anne
- Theodor LoosTheodor LoosTheodor August Konrad Loos was a German actor.The son of a watchmaker and instruments manufacturer, he left secondary school prematurely and worked for three years at an export firm for music instruments in Leipzig, and after that for his uncle, an art dealer in Berlin...
as Privy CouncillorGeheimratGeheimrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or principal courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the Geheimer Rat reporting to the ruler...
Bergmann
Allegations about A Night to Remember
The film, which was known for having exceptional special effects for its time, was alleged to have various shots spliced into the 1958 film A Night to Remember. This "fact", however, is greatly overstated as the only shots used by the 1958 film are four brief inserts. Two shots are of the ship sailing in calm waters during the day—a very noticeable goof, since the model used in the 1943 version is very different from the one used in 1958. The other two shots were brief clips of a flooding walkway in the engine room. No shots of the actual sinking were used in A Night to Remember.Allegations about Titanic
Several commentators have expressed their conviction that James Cameron must have been very familiar with the 1943 Nazi propaganda film when writing and filming his own TitanicTitanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
.
Several story aspects are in both films but not in any other Titanic version:
- A group of first class passengers is taken on a tour of the ship; both films imply their tour would head to the engine room, a location forbidden to passengers under all circumstance in reality.
- The salt of the earth non-British "hero" orders his girlfriend into a lifeboat. She hesitantly complies and watches her lover disappear behind the railing as the lifeboat is lowered (though she does not jump out in the 1943 film.)
- A young, dashing male lead coaches the girl he loves that she should not marry the man for whom she feels nothing - just because her parents ordered her to do so.
- A stolen jewelry subplot (a character is accused of a jewel theft (including a blue diamond) he did not commit).
- A First Class couple fight in their stateroom over the woman's alleged infidelity, only to have a Steward interrupt their squabble and order them to put on lifebelts and proceed to the boat deck.
- A scene of a character being informed by another character of the ship sinking while both are standing on the grand staircase as people are rushing up the stairs is used in both films, as well as in A Night to Remember.
- One of the characters ends up in the ship's jail as it floods, while another one (male in the 1943 film) has to rescue him with an emergency axe. (This was based on an actual incident that occurred during the sinking.)
Additionally, many of the scene compositions and camera angles are similar to the 1943 film.
See also
- List of films made in the Third Reich
- Nazism and cinema
- Sybille SchmitzSybille SchmitzSybille Schmitz was a German actress.-Biography:Schmitz attended an acting school in Cologne and got her first engagement at Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1927. Only one year later, she made her film debut with Freie Fahrt , which attracted her first attention from the critics...
External links
- Lengthy analysis
- Article at Turner Classic Movies website
- Review of Titanic and two other Nazi-era movies
- 1 Reference