Very disappointed :(

Charming and brutal

The first must-see film of the year.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

'Des Teufels General' is set in the months leading up to Hitler's declaration of war on America in December 1941. Curd Jurgens essays the titular general who observes the violent tossing of German society by the torrid and overwhelming waves of the Nazi's mortal storm.Jurgens portrays General Harry Harras, a respected senior official at the Air Ministry. His position is one of authority and he senses the way the wind is blowing. He resists attempts to coerce him into becoming a party member and, as a result, becomes a subject worthy of scrutiny. The movie conveys with searing immediacy the spiralling path of distrust, imprisonment, humiliation and ostracisation that confronts Harras. This movie is a gripping character study of a cognac-nursing general but it is more than just that. It emanates from the American-sponsored era of denazification and offers an intriguing take on German society under the National Socialists. Harras is shown to be chivalrous and a member of a military that has an appreciation of the past and a sense of tradition and camaraderie. There are echoes of 'Anna Karenina' as veteran soldiers dine and drink socially in pleasant surroundings. There is a subtle and effective contrast drawn between the boisterous but essentially civilised bonhomie of Harras and his colleagues and the dispassionate and uncivilised brutishness of the Nazi-established militias. Harras espouses the spirit of Goethe in several electrifying scenes as the degeneration of decency occurs and the thuggery of Nazism takes an iron grip on Germany, working its way into long-venerated edifices of society. While, with hindsight, it seems possible that the movie downplays the extent of committed Nazism amongst the populace, it must be remembered that Germany was undergoing seismic changes in terms of reintegration and structural and economic rebuilding under the Nazi-persecuted statesman Konrad Adenauer. America had initially wanted to identify and prosecute criminally all those who had colluded significantly with the Nazis. This soon proved to be utterly unfeasible and would, undoubtedly, have severely hampered Germany's economic reemergence. Cinematic output of the Adenauer era desperately sought to impart the virtues of dignity and heroism. In alluding to the rampant rise of Nazism, those remaining in society who were swept along are not exonerated. Rather, the terrible, all-consuming enormity of the force that ravaged Germany is acknowledged. In its depiction of Harras and his surroundings, this movie is undoubtedly the product of a deeply scarred society simply doing its level best to move on and locate a measure of hope and honour upon which it can tentatively go forth. As for the acting, special mention must go to Curd Jurgens, who turns in the performance of a lifetime here. He literally becomes General Harras. Indeed, it is hard to imagine anyone else being so effective in the role. For his masterfully nuanced interpretation, Jurgens was the joint winner (with Kenneth More) of the Volpi Cup at the 1955 Venice Film Festival. He is ably supported by the lovely Marianne Koch and the imposing Viktor de Kowa, whose character really is a repulsive individual. This is the first of Helmut Kautner's movies that I have seen and I was suitably impressed by it. His deft narrative style certainly appeals to me. His direction is concise and to-the-point and this contributes to several taut and tense scenes. The atmospheric and chilling evocation of social upheaval is realised with a sure directorial touch. From a brief skimming of his filmography 'Romanze in Moll', 'Der Apfel ist ab', 'Die letzte Brucke' and 'Der Hauptmann von Kopenick' strike me as being some of his most interesting movies. I greatly look forward to viewing more of Kautner's movies in the months and years ahead and I can but thoroughly recommend 'Des Teufels General' to those who read this.

This is a near perfect film. Very very very intelligent, flows like the Danube...to the gates of hell, with Jurgens at the helm in one of the most fantastic performances by any actor anywhere anytime. Every moment of the thing is so polished and subtle that it shames most other actors I have ever seen. The others here commenting on his performance and the movie have pretty much nailed it. However sometimes you come across a performance that is so good.......well, I rank it with that of James Cagney in White Heat, Louis Calhern in Asphalt Jungle, Claude Rains in Deception, and James Stewart's various high points in the Mann Westerns as the kind of acting that money cannot buy at any price. Just watch Jergens and behold.

A movie that I saw for the first time decades ago and numerous times since! Every time I watch it, I discover new facets in Harras'personality. On one hand he is the tough guy, the party animal, the womanizer; however, he shows his softer, almost romantic side when he meets Diddo Geiss. I think that the movie could be a wonderful teaching tool, because it illustrates how "non-political", even rebellious Germans were drawn into the Nazi ideology and paid the ultimate price! Udo Jürgens and Marianne Koch were fabulous together! I would recommend this film for upper level German classes in the US. It is a good addition to "Die weisse Rose" or "Sophie Scholl".

This is a tranquil but disturbing film about a disputatious general trying to get along with the Nazi system. And even though the film does not live on action but on good dialogues, its appeal is quite different to that of the theatrical play. The movie is a classic.