''The Last Illusion'' (german: Der Ruf) is a 1949 German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Josef von Báky Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

and starring

Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn; 12 May 1892 – 22 July 1970) was an Austrian stage and film actor and theatre director. Life and career Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn into a Jewish family. He studied at the Vienna A ...

Johanna Hofer Johanna Hofer (born Johanna Therese Stern; 30 July 1896 – 30 June 1988) was a German film actress. She appeared in 34 films between 1926 and 1982. Biography Hofer was born in Berlin. She was the daughter of engineer and later director of ...

and

Lina Carstens Lina Carstens (6 December 1892 in Wiesbaden – 22 September 1978 in Munich) was a German film and theater actress. On stage she appeared in plays by Gerhart Hauptmann, Arthur Schnitzler, and August Strindberg, and in her old age she starred in the ...

.Hake p. 103 It was entered into the

1949 Cannes Film Festival The 3rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 2 to 17 September 1949. The previous year, no festival had been held because of financial problems. Like in 1947, the entire jury for this festival was made up of French persons, with historian Georges ...

. It was shot at the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Fir ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art directors

Fritz Lück Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridoli ...

Fritz Maurischat Fritz Maurischat (April 27, 1893 in Berlin – December 11, 1986) was a German production designer. He made his film debut in 1924. Over the next 38 years, he worked on over 70 films, all of them in his native Germany. He earned an Oscar nominati ...

and

Hans Sohnle Hans Sohnle (17 September 1895 – 24 March 1976) was a German art director.Chandler p.270 He frequently collaborated with Otto Erdmann on set designs. Selected filmography * '' The Loves of Käthe Keller'' (1919) * ''The Woman in Doctor's Garb ...

Synopsis

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

university professor returns from exile following the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. His hopes of rebuilding a new Germany are undermined by the continuing

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

of his colleagues and students.

Cast

as Professor Mauthner *

as Lina *

Rosemary Murphy Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was a German- American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for h ...

as Mary *

as Emma * William Sinnigen as Elliot *

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

as Spencer * Ernst Schröder as Walter * Paul Hoffmann as Fechner *

Arno Assmann Arno Assmann (30 July 1908 – 30 November 1979) was a German actor, film director and television writer. He committed suicide. Filmography As an actor * '' The Original Sin'' (1948) * '' The Last Illusion'' (1949) * '' My Wife's Fr ...

as Kurt *

Charles Régnier Karl Friedrich Anton Hermann 'Charles' Regnier (Régnier)"Wedekind aus Horst Kreis Neustadt am Rübenberge in Niedersachsen". In: ''Niedersächsisches Geschlechterbuch''. (Genealogical studies). Limburg an der Lahn: Verlag C. A. Starke Volume 1 ...

as Bertram * Alwin Edwards as Homer * Harald Mannl as Fraenkl *

Friedrich Domin Friedrich Domin (15 May 1902 – 18 December 1961) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1939 and 1961. He was born in Beuthen, Germany (now Bytom, Poland) and died in Munich, Germany. Selected filmography * '' ...

as Professor Helfert *

Hans Clarin Hans Clarin (14 September 1929 – 28 August 2005) was a German actor. He became a well-known voice actor of characters in children audio plays, particularly the kobold ''Pumuckl'' (including its TV and cinematic film adaptations), the German voic ...

Angelika Schrobsdorff Angelika Schrobsdorff (24 December 1927 – 30 July 2016) was a German writer. Life Schrobsdorff's was born the daughter of Else Kirschner (1893–1949), an assimilated Jew from Berlin, and her second husband Erich Schrobsdorff (1893–195 ...

* Heinz Thiele

References

Bibliography

* Hake, Sabine. ''German National Cinema''. Routledge, 2002.

External links

* 1949 films 1949 drama films German drama films West German films 1940s German-language films Films directed by Josef von Báky German black-and-white films Films about Jews and Judaism Films about antisemitism Films shot at Bavaria Studios 1940s German films {{1940s-Germany-film-stub