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SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

I will not give you all the English-language titles listed here on IMDb for the German 1951 film "Der Untertan". If you do the maths, this film was made 65 years ago and Germany already existed as FRG and GDR. These 105 minutes here come from East Germany and are still among the most known the country has come up with in terms of movies. It is a black-and-white film, but of course already has sound. Writer and director is Wolfgang Staudte and he adapted Heinrich Mann's novel together with his father Fritz into this film. Unfortunately, I cannot say it was particularly good watch. Lead actor Werner Peters plays his part well though and you could see that he was very experienced indeed. I came across him recently in the Oscar-nominated "Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam", for which he won a German Film Award and he appeared in many films in the 1950s and 1960s that are still well-known today.As for "Der Untertan", I guess the main reason I was not too impressed was the monotonous script by father and son Staudte. Or maybe it was also Mann's fault. I have not read his famous "Der Untertan", but I think that it should never be required to read a book in order to appreciate a movie. It does help for sure in understanding the material and plot, but I am off the opinion that it should never be essential. There were some political references in here, but none got me hooked really. Ultimately the story is about a man who follows one model to perfection: Suck up to everybody above you. Look down arrogantly on everybody below you. And he became so obsessed in this pattern that he forgot to honor everything that is dear to him. Or was his wife really dear to him or did he just marry because it fit the emperor's and society's way of thinking? Decide for yourself. The ruins in the end are very telling.And let us be honest: These people exist today as well, actually far too many of them who follow this concept. And it is pretty despicable. I would not call this film here despicable, but I cannot call it a fulfilling watch either. Not recommended.

It's not all that often that toadies get what's coming to them. Too often, when their political toadying days wind down, they join important New York law firms or become Washington "consultants," toadying in only a slightly different milieu, and able now to directly afford their bespoke suits and strip steak dinners at The Capital Grille. But then we have Diederich Hessling. The place is Germany and the time is before the turn of the century. Diederich (Werner Peters) is a superior toady in this superior East German satire from 1951. Hessling is an unlikable, pudgy little man, with a small, soft mouth. He is a perfect bourgeois, inwardly anxious and outwardly pompous. He was a fearful child, frightened of his father's cane and his mother's stories. Tattling on others at school was his satisfaction. He was attracted, while at university, to the shy Agnes, but when warned off by her family's boarder one evening, he hurriedly left her home. He joined with pride the Neo Teutons to drink beer with careful rituals and fearfully gained a dueling scar. As a cadet in the Kaiser's army he realized, we are told, that "the whole military set-up was aimed to reduce one's dignity to a minimum. This impressed him. Despite his misery he was filled with respect." Alas, his flat foot hurt, he said, and soon he was released with dramatic tales to tell. Then he must manage his family's factory when his father dies, lording it over the workers and nuzzling the town's leaders. He also manages to seduce the loving Agnes, who, having acquiesced is now of course unworthy of a man of his stature. His self-importance is as prominent as his newly up-turned moustache, identical to the Kaiser's. And now this pompous little man, Diederich Hessling, respected factory owner, leads us into a satire which is not all that amusing, with workers abused, Jewish blood gossiped about and patriotic Germanic delusions flowering with pride. We have self-satisfied town councilors, careful church leaders and elderly military men, toadies all in Diederich's stultifying middle class. His factory, which appears to make huge piles of rags from huge piles of rags, prospers. Dietrich has found a place for his self-importance and for his inner fearfulness. The Kaiser becomes his grail and patriotic nationalism strengthens his easily-led tattling proclivities. He is so proud of Germany, German power and his German Kaiser, that at his wedding to a plump and wealthy woman he introduces his guests to the latest German innovation from his factory, toilet paper. But good things, even toilet paper, never last. The obsequious Diederich Hessling finds himself over his head in a game of anxious brown nosing more complex than simply tattling on schoolmates. We may not know what Dietrich's fate is, but the movie gives us, with heavy Teutonic irony, a vivid look at what Germany's will be. The Kaiser's Lackey is sharp, good fun as long as it focuses on the fears and behavior we can find so amusingly contemptible in Diederich. But then the film moves into a more heavy- handed satire of complacent bourgeois German nationalism and society. The Kaiser's Lackey is amusing, but eventually moves into tedious irony. Still, if for nothing more than the satire of a smug society and a weak protagonist, as well as for Werner Peter's skilled toadying throughout, the movie is worth the time spent. The director, Wolfgang Staudte, had an unlikely career in films. He started out in the movie business under the Nazi's, eager as a young man to protect his film deferment to escape being sent to the front. He directed the first German movie after WWII, The Murderers Are Among Us, in 1946 with Ernst Borcert and Hildegard Kneff. It is probably the best movie he ever made, filmed amidst the miles of rubble in Berlin. It remains a powerful statement of guilt, redemption and hope. He directed films in East Germany, then West Germany, then a unified Germany. Staudte's life itself might make a good film.

This wicked satire of imperialistic Germany during reign of Wilhem 11 was made in East Germany.It is from a Heinrich Mann novel, Written by Fritz Staudte and directed by Wolfgang Staudte,These last 2 gentleman gave us, a few years prior the heavy dramas, ROTATION and MURDERERS ARE Among US.This 1951 movie is a pleasant change of pace.The pace is fast & furious as all satires are supposed to be. There are a few songs at the beginning,I think I would have liked a few more.The acting by all is first rate & all production values are equally good.Ratings: *** (out of4 )82 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)

This is a must see movie. Werner Peters and all the other cast members deliver superb performances. It has got an ensemble of top german character actors playing together on the same high level as we are used to get from the best of Preston Sturges' movies.The photography of Robert Baberske is a sheer delight, both lighting and framing are masterly done.If you have enjoyed Fritz Lang's "M" than you certainly will enjoy this one. The appeal of the story and characters may a bit more specific german, but the moral and "message" is timeless and is true to all western societies.Comedic film jewels like this are not made anymore - this makes it even less understandable that there is no DVD version around yet. (I know for certain that a top notch flawless negative for a digital transfer exists !!!)