''King in Shadow'' () is a 1957 Western German

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film directed by

Harald Braun Harald Braun (26 April 1901 – 24 September 1960) was a German film director, screenwriter and film producer. He directed 21 films between 1942 and 1960. Selected filmography * ''The Roundabouts of Handsome Karl'' (dir. Carl Froelich, 193 ...

and starring

O. W. Fischer Otto Wilhelm Fischer (, ; 1 April 1915 – 29 January 2004) was an Austrian film and theatre actor, a leading man of West German cinema during the ''Wirtschaftswunder'' era of the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He was born in Klosterneuburg nea ...

Odile Versois Odile Versois (born Étiennette de Poliakoff-Baydaroff; 15 June 1930 – 23 June 1980) was a French actress who appeared in 47 film and television productions between 1948 and 1980. Versois was the sister of actresses Marina Vlady, Hélène ...

and Horst Buchholz.Klossner, Michael. ''The Europe of 1500–1815 on Film and Television: A Worldwide Filmography of Over 2550 Works, 1895 Through 2000''.

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tert ...

, 2002. p. 175. . 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 Firs ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and on location in

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Walter Haag. The story had previously been portrayed in the 1935 British film '' The Dictator''.

Synopsis

The film portrays the interaction of

Johann Friedrich Struensee Count, Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish gov ...

, a soctor treating the mentally ill

Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was King of Denmark–Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. He was affected by mental illness and ...

, and his English consort Caroline Matilda.

Cast

as Friedrich Struensee *

as Queen Mathilde * Horst Buchholz as

King Christian King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by fi ...

Fritz Tillmann Fritz Tillmann (December 13, 1910 – October 30, 1986) was a German actor. Selected filmography * '' Hoegler's Mission'' (1950) - Fritz Rottmann * ''The Council of the Gods'' (1950) - Dr. Hans Scholz * '' Master of Life and Death'' (1955) - Dr ...

as Count Rantzau *

Elisabeth Flickenschildt Elisabeth Ida Marie Flickenschildt (16 March 1905 – 26 October 1977) was a German actress, producer and author. She appeared in dozens of German language films and television productions between 1935 and 1976. Flickenschildt was born in Hambu ...

as Queen Juliane *

Ingeborg Schöner Ingeborg Schöner (born 2 July 1935) is a German film and television actress. Selected filmography * '' The Silent Angel'' (1954) * '' The Dark Star'' (1955) * '' The Captain and His Hero'' (1955) * '' The First Day of Spring'' (1956) * '' Kin ...

as Gertrud von Eyben * Günther Hadank as State Minister Count Bernstorff *

Siegfried Lowitz Siegfried Lowitz (22 September 1914 – 27 June 1999) was a German actor. Born in Berlin, he played the Hauptkommissar ''Erwin Köster'' in the German television drama '' Der Alte''. Prior to his tenure as Hauptkommissar, he played a killer ...

as Chamberlain Guldberg *Wilfried Jan Heyn as Baron

Enevold Brandt Count Enevold Brandt (7 September 1738 - 28 April 1772) was a Danish courtier. Biography Brandt was born in Copenhagen, and studied law at the University of Copenhagen. He became assistant judge of the Supreme Court of Copenhagen in 1764, roya ...

* Gerhard Ritter as Dr. Berger *Peter Esser as Court Chaplain Münter *

Helmuth Lohner Helmuth Lohner (24 April 1933 – 23 June 2015) was an Austrian actor, theatre director, and from 1997 to 2006 director of the Theater in der Josefstadt. Early life Born in Vienna, Lohner initially trained as a commercial artist, while also tak ...

as Count Holck

References

External links

* 1950s German films 1950s German-language films 1950s historical drama films Bavaria Film films Cultural depictions of Caroline Matilda of Great Britain Cultural depictions of Christian VII of Denmark Films about adultery Films directed by Harald Braun Films scored by Werner Eisbrenner Films set in Copenhagen Films set in the 1770s Films shot at Bavaria Studios Films shot in Denmark German historical drama films West German films {{1950s-Germany-film-stub

Synopsis

Cast

See also

References

External links