''S.A.-Mann Brand'' (Storm Trooper Brand) is a German film made around the time that

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

became

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

. It was released in mid-June

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

Plot

The film presents the story of a truck driver, Fritz Brand, who joins the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

'' to defend Germany against

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

subversion orchestrated from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He persuades his

social circle In the social sciences, a social group is defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. Fo ...

of the imminent danger and the need to support Hitler in the federal election.

Cast

* Heinz Klingenberg as Fritz Brand *

Wera Liessem Wera Liessem (23 April 1913 – 11 September 1991) was a German actress. She appeared in thirteen films between 1932 and 1955. Filmography References External links * 1913 births 1991 deaths German film actresses Actresses from ...

as Anni Baumann * Rolf Wenkhaus as Erich Lohner * Hedda Lembach as Margaret Lohner *

Otto Wernicke Otto Karl Robert Wernicke (30 September 1893, Osterode am Harz – 7 November 1965) was a Germans, German actor. He is best known for his role as police inspector Karl Lohmann in the two Fritz Lang films ''M (1931 film), M'' and ''The Testament of ...

as Herr Brand *

Elise Aulinger Elise Aulinger (11 December 1881 – 12 February 1965) was a German stage, radio and film actress. Selected filmography * ''The Favourite of the Queen'' (1922) * ''Martin Luther'' (1923) * '' What the Stones Tell'' (1925) * ''The Seventh Son'' ( ...

as Frau Brand *

Joe Stöckel Josef "Joe" Stöckel (27 September 1894, Munich – 14 June 1959) was a Germans, German actor, screenwriter and film director. Selected filmography Actor * ''The Villa in Tiergarten Park'' (1927) * ''The Champion Shot'' (1932) * ''S.A.-Mann Brand' ...

as Anton Huber *

Helma Rückert Helma is a feminine German or Dutch given name, and a Czech surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Helma Knorscheidt (born 1956), East German shot putter * Helma Lehmann (born 1953), German rower * Helma Neppérus (born 1950), Dutch ...

as Genoveva Huber *

Max Weydner Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

as Alexandr Turow *

Philipp Weichand Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864� ...

as SA-Wirt *

Fritz Greiner Fritz Greiner (1879–1933) was an Austrian film actor. Selected filmography * ''Der Einäugige'' (1916) * ''Der Klub der Einäugigen'' (1917) - Nick Carter * ''Der schwarze Jack'' (1918) - Cowboy Schwarzer Jack * '' The Hunter of Fall'' (1918 ...

as Herr Baumann * Magda Lena as Frau Baumann *

Rudolf Frank Rudolf Frank (19 August 192027 April 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviation, military aviator during World War II, a night fighter fighter ace, ace credited with 45 enemy aircraft shot down in 183 combat missions. All of his victories ...

as Neuberg * Manfred Koempel as Pilot, himself * Theo Kaspar as himself *

Wastl Witt Wastl Witt (20 July 1882, Hausham – 21 December 1955, Munich) was a German actor. Selected filmography * '' S.A.-Mann Brand'' (1933) * ''There Were Two Bachelors'' (1936) * '' The Vagabonds'' (1937) * '' Der arme Millionär'' (1939) * '' Th ...

as Wirt "Café Diana" * Rudolf Kunig as Stadtrat Rolat *

Josef Eichheim Josef Theodor Ludwig Eichheim (23 February 1888 – 13 November 1945) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg'' (1926) * '' The Women's War'' (1928) * '' Behind Monastery Walls'' (1928) * '' Peter Voss, T ...

as unknown

Production

''S.A.-Mann Brand'' was the first feature-length film by the Nazis to cover the SA. It was filmed in Munich by

Bavaria Film Bavaria Film GmbH is a German film production and distribution company located in Grünwald, Bavaria at the district of Munich. It is one of Europe's largest film production companies and one of the leading production and distribution companies ...

under the direction of

Franz Seitz Sr. Franz Seitz Sr. (14 April 1887 – 7 March 1952) was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 59 films between 1920 and 1951. His son Franz Seitz Jr. was a film producer. In 1933, he directed '' S.A.-Mann Brand'', one of the fi ...

and a low budget. It was one of three propaganda films about the rise of the Nazi Party, along with '' Hitlerjunge Quex'' and ''

Hans Westmar ''Hans Westmar'' (full title: ' "Hans Westmar. One of many. A German Fate from the Year 1929") was the last of an unofficial trilogy of films produced by the Nazis shortly after coming to power in January 1933, celebrating their '' Kampfzeit'' � ...

'', made in 1933. It was written by

. Over 1,600 extras were used for the film.

Release

The film was approved by censors on 9 June 1933, and released on 14 June. An incident occurred at opening night at the

Gloria-Palast The Gloria-Palast was a German cinema located on the Kurfürstendamm in the German capital Berlin. It was constructed in 1924 and replaced the existing neo-Baroque Romanischen Hauses designed by Franz Heinrich Schwechten. It became a common lo ...

where thousands of SA and SS members walked out at the orders of

Adolf-Heinz Beckerle Adolf-Heinz Beckerle (4 February 1902 – 3 April 1976) was a German politician, SA officer and diplomat who played a significant role in the Holocaust in Bulgaria. ''Völkisch'' Activist Beckerle was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a post ...

. Beckerle claimed that the publicity posters were created by a Polish person and ordered them removed, but the owners of Gloria-Palast refused to. It was released in the United States as ''A Romance of Our Day''.

Reception

A review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' noted favorably the film's production value and the absence of any

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

message but also expressed contempt for its unsophisticated plot. The film performed poorly even with the Nazi press as ''

Der Angriff ''Der Angriff'' (in English "The Attack") was the official newspaper of the Berlin ''Gau'' of the Nazi Party. Founded in 1927, the last edition of the newspaper was published on 24 April 1945. History The newspaper was set up by Joseph Goebb ...

'' criticized Seitz for not having "the talent nor the competence necessary for a film of this importance".

References

Works cited

* *

External links

* * 1933 films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s German-language films Nazi propaganda films German black-and-white films 1933 drama films German drama films 1930s German films German-language drama films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub