''The Higher Command'' (german: Der höhere Befehl) is a 1935 German historical film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring

Lil Dagover Lil Dagover (; born Marie Antonia Siegelinde Martha Seubert; 30 September 1887 – 23 January 1980) was a German actress whose film career spanned between 1913 and 1979. She was one of the most popular and recognized film actresses in the Weimar ...

, Karl Ludwig Diehl and Heli Finkenzeller. Produced and distributed by UFA, it was shot at the company's Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. The film's sets were designed by the

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

s Otto Erdmann and Hans Sohnle. It was produced around the time of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement when the German government were still optimistic about forming an alliance with the British and saw the film as a way of recalling the historic Anglo-Prussian partnership in liberating Europe from Napoleon. The film was praised by the Minister of Propaganda

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

as "a national and engrossing film".

Synopsis

During the Napoleonic Wars, a

Prussian army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

officer assists a British

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

to construct an alliance to defeat

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's France.Kreimeier p. 277

Cast

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1935 films Films of Nazi Germany German historical films German black-and-white films 1930s historical films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Gerhard Lamprecht Films set in England Films set in London Films set in Vienna Napoleonic Wars films UFA GmbH films 1930s German films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios {{1930s-Germany-film-stub