Walter von Molo's biography of Frederick the Great was much admired by the Nazis but the author himself was subject to intense harassment for his liberal beliefs. The film under review was adapted by him and directed by Johannes Meyer in 1937.
Otto Gebuhr plays Frederick for the fifteenth time and was to play him once more in 'Der Grosse Koenig' in 1942. Veit Harlan's film had a far bigger budget, greater resources and epic sweep than that of Meyer. Things had changed dramatically for Germany during those years with defeat looking more and more likely so Harlan's film was of necessity far more propogandist. Meyer's film therefore can be appreciated purely as a film.
In this the most memorable scenes are not those of battle but of the individual. We have Lucie Hoeflich as a mother pleading for the life of her son; the tender farewell between Frederick and his beloved sister Wilhelmine played by Hilde Korber who ironically was married at the time to Harlan and the scene where Frederick is told of his sister's death. The scenes between Frederick and the excellent Bernhard Minetti as von Wallis are superb and there are effective cameos by Lil Dagover as Madame de Pompadour, Kathe Haak as Maria Theresa and Agnes Strauss as the Czarina.
Cinematography is by the great Bruno Mondi who also shot the later film and there is a splendid score by Marc Roland.
This excellent film takes a while to get going but gets better and better and is especially memorable for its well-drawn characterisations and for reflecting von Molo's humanity.
Review of Fridericus
