Canaris (film)
| Canaris | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alfred Weidenmann |
| Produced by | Emile J. Lustig |
| Written by |
Erich Ebermayer Herbert Reinecker |
| Starring |
O. E. Hasse Barbara Rütting Adrian Hoven Martin Held |
| Music by | Siegfried Franz |
| Cinematography | Franz Weihmayr |
| Edited by | Ilse Voigt |
Production company |
Fama-Film |
| Distributed by | Europa-Filmverleih |
Release dates |
30 December 1954 28 April 1958 (New York City) |
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | German |
Canaris is a 1954 West German drama film directed by Alfred Weidenmann and starring O. E. Hasse, Barbara Rütting and Adrian Hoven. It portrays real events during the Second World War when Wilhelm Canaris the head of German military intelligence was arrested and executed for his involvement with the 20 July Plot to overthrow Adolf Hitler. The film was a major success at the German box office, possibly because it allowed audiences to identify with a heroic German figure disassociated from Nazism.[1] Released in the UK as Canaris Master Spy, and in the US as Deadly Decision— it is also known by the alternative title Canaris: Master Spy.
Main cast
- O. E. Hasse as Admiral Canaris
- Barbara Rütting as Irene von Harbeck
- Adrian Hoven as Captain Althoff
- Martin Held as Obergruppenfuehrer Heydrich
- Wolfgang Preiss as Colonel Holl
- Peter Mosbacher as Fernandez
- Charles Regnier as Baron Trenti
- Franz Essel as Beckmann
- Alice Treff as Fräulein Winter
- Herbert Wilk as Hauptmann Degenhard
- Klaus Miedel as André, franz. Offizier
- Arthur Schröder as Herr von Harbeck
- Ilse Fürstenberg as Anna Lüdtke
- Arno Paulsen as Taxifahrer
- Nora Hagist as Luftwaffenhelferin
Music
The soundtrack features music from Lohengrin, composed by Richard Wagner.
Release
Canaris opened in Hanover on 30 December 1954. The distributor played down any political significance to the film, and marketed it as the story of a good German Christian "whose human tragedy reflects the experience of millions of Germans."[2]
Reception
The film was generally well received by critics, the press, and the public. It was recognized by the FBW as "especially valuable", and was awarded a Bambi for being the most financially successful film of 1955.[3]
The film's portrayal of a "tragic hero" of the Nazi period has been described as part of the beginning of a wave of films "interrogating the National Socialist past" in West German cinemas.[4]
References
- ↑ Hake, Sabine (2008). German National Cinema (illustrated ed.). Routledge. p. 104. ISBN 0415420970. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ↑ Hake, Sabine (2012). Screen Nazis: Cinema, History, and Democracy. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 0299287130.
- ↑ Wolfgram, Mark A. (2011). "Getting History Right": East and West German Collective Memories of the Holocaust and War. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press. pp. 136–137. ISBN 161148006X.
- ↑ Cooke, Paul; Silberman, Marc, eds. (2010). Screening War: Perspectives on German Suffering. Rochester, NY: Camden House. pp. 57–60. ISBN 1571134379. Retrieved 17 April 2016.