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The Dismissal (film)

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The Dismissal
Directed byWolfgang Liebeneiner
Written by
Produced by
StarringSee below
CinematographyFritz Arno Wagner
Edited byMartha Dübber
Music byHerbert Windt
Release date
  • 6 October 1942 (1942-10-06)
Running time
  • 110 minutes
  • 100 minutes (West Germany cut version)
CountryNazi Germany
LanguageGerman
Budget3.6 million ℛℳ
Box office6.5 million ℛℳ

The Dismissal (German: Die Entlassung) is a 1942 German film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner about the dismissal of Otto von Bismarck. It was one of only five films to receive the honorary distinction "Film of the Nation" by the Reich Propaganda Ministry Censorship Office.[1]

Plot

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The film shows the events leading up to Bismarck being dismissed by Wilhelm II of Germany and the dilettantes who surround him. An unscrupulous schemer plays on the king's desire to lead and so persuades him to dismiss his chancellor. This results in a disastrous two-front war by destroying Bismarck's treaty with Russia and leaving him to lament with the question of who would complete his work.

The film ends with a postscript stating that Germany's misfortunes from 1890 to 1933 were the result of Bismarck's dismissal and that a nation's fate depends on its personalities, not its institutions.

Cast

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Production

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The success of Bismarck led to the creation of a sequel.[2] The Dismissal cost 3.6 million ℛℳ (equivalent to $15,000,000 in 2021) to produce.[3]

Release

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The Dismissal was first shown in the small town of Stettin on 15 September 1942, to gauge whether the film should receive a general release. Alfred Rosenberg reported that the film should not be released as it gave the impression of German war guilt, it could aid Allied propaganda, and that it reminded the German people of Wilhelm's policies. However, the film was released as Joseph Goebbels viewed it as "a brilliant success".[4]

The film was approved by the censors on 28 August, and premiered in Berlin on 6 October.[5] The war with Russia delayed its release, and it was not exported, owing to the obvious parallels.[6][vague] Ulrich von Hassell felt that the film was anti-monarchist.[7] It earned 6.5 million ℛℳ (equivalent to $27,000,000 in 2021) at the box office for a profit of 2,081,000 ℛℳ (equivalent to $8,720,000 in 2021).[3]

References

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  1. ^ Hake 2002, p. 63.
  2. ^ Welch 1983, p. 144.
  3. ^ a b Welch 1983, p. 270.
  4. ^ Welch 1983, p. 146.
  5. ^ Welch 1983, pp. 144, 146, 280.
  6. ^ Hertzstein 1978, pp. 305–306.
  7. ^ Welch 1983, p. 145.

Works cited

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  • Hake, Sabine (2002). German National Cinema. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-08901-2.
  • Hertzstein, Robert Edwin (1978). The War That Hitler Won. New York: Putnam. ISBN 978-0-399-11845-6.
  • Welch, David (1983). Propaganda and the German Cinema: 1933-1945. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781860645204.

Further reading

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