''The Ruler'' (German: ''Der Herrscher'') is a 1937 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the high point of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film '' Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial. W ...

. It was adapted from the play of the same name by

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

Erwin Leiser Erwin Leiser (May 16, 1923 – August 22, 1996) was a Swedish director, writer, and actor. He is best known for his 1960 documentary film ''Mein Kampf'', based on Nazi footage from secret archives and depicting Nazi atrocities. He subsequently ...

calls it a propagandistic demonstration of the

Führerprinzip The (, ''Leader Principle'') was the basis of authority, executive authority in the government of Nazi Germany. It placed the Führer's word above all written law, and meant that Law of Nazi Germany, government policies, decisions, and officia ...

of Nazi Germany. 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 ...

Robert Herlth Robert Herlth (2 May 1893 – 6 January 1962) was a German art director. He was one of the leading designers of German film sets during the 1920s and 1930s.Reimer & Reimer p.146 Filmography * ''Masks'' (1920) * '' Island of the Dead'' (1921) * ' ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

took place around

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

and

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

near

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. It premiered at the

Ufa-Palast am Zoo The Ufa-Palast am Zoo, located near Berlin Zoological Garden in the City West, New West area of Charlottenburg, was a major Berlin cinema owned by Universum Film AG, or Ufa. Opened in 1919 and enlarged in 1925, it was the largest cinema in German ...

in Berlin.

Plot

Matthias Clausen (

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz; 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss-born German actor who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for starring in '' ...

) is the head of Clausen Works, an old and prosperous munitions firm. He falls in love with a secretary in the office (

Marianne Hoppe Marianne Hoppe (26 April 1909 – 23 October 2002) was a German theatre and film actress. Life and work Born in Rostock, Hoppe became a leading lady of stage and films in Germany. She was born into a wealthy landowning family and was initial ...

), and his children conspire against him in order to protect their inheritance. Clausen disowns them and bestows the firm on the state, confident that one of his workers capable of carrying on his work will arise.

Cast

as Matthias Clausen *

Paul Wagner Paul Alan Wagner (born November 14, 1967) is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher who is currently the pitching coach for the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He played in Maj ...

as Professor Wolfgang Clausen - his son *

Hannes Stelzer Hannes Stelzer (20 June 1910 – 27 December 1944) was an Austrian film actor. Stelzer was a leading actor in German cinema during the Nazi era. As well as appearing in dramas and light comedies, Stelzer also featured in more propagandistic work ...

as Egert - his youngest son *

Hilde Körber Hilde Körber (3 July 1906 – 31 May 1969) was an Austrian film actress who worked largely in the German Film Industry. She appeared in 53 films between 1930 and 1964. She was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary and died in West Berlin, West G ...

as Bettina - his daughter *

Käthe Haack Käthe Haack (born Käte Lisbeth Minna Sophie Isolde Haack; 11 August 1897 – 5 May 1986) was a German stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 200 films and 30 television productions between 1915 and 1985. Life and career Käte Li ...

as Ottilie Klamroth - his married daughter *

Herbert Hübner Herbert Hübner (6 February 1889 – 27 January 1972) was a German stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1921 and 1966. He was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) and died in Munich, West Germany. Select ...

as Direktor Erich Klamroth - her husband *

Maria Koppenhöfer Maria Koppenhöfer (11 December 1901 – 29 November 1948) was a German film actress. Selected filmography * '' The Opera Ball'' (1931) * '' 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman'' (1931) * '' Unheimliche Geschichten'' (1932) * ''The First Right of th ...

as Paula Clausen - born von Rübsamen *

as Inken Peters *

Helene Fehdmer Helene or Hélène may refer to: People * Helene (name), and Hélène, a female given name, including a list of people with the name * Hélène (singer) (Hélène Rollès, born 1966), French actress and singer * Helen of Troy, a figure in Greek ...

as Mrs. Peters *

Max Gülstorff Max Walter Gülstorff (23 March 1882 – 6 February 1947) was a German actor and stage director. Biography Gülstorff was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. He first appeared in 1900 at the Rudolstadt municipal Theater and moved to Cottbus in 1908 ...

as Medical Doctor Geiger *

Harald Paulsen Harald Paulsen (26 August 1895 – 4 August 1954) was a German stage and film actor and director. He appeared in 125 films between 1920 and 1954. Career Paulsen first appeared on stage at age sixteen. He then studied under Leopold Jessner, who ...

as Judicial Council Hanefeld *

Theodor Loos Theodor August Konrad Loos (18 May 1883 – 27 June 1954) was a German actor. The son of a watchmaker and instruments manufacturer, he left secondary school prematurely and worked for three years at an export firm for music instruments in Leipz ...

as Pastor Immoos *

Rudolf Klein-Rogge Friedrich Rudolf Klein (24 November 1885 – 29 May 1955), better known as Rudolf Klein-Rogge, was a German film actor, best known for playing sinister figures in films in the 1920s and 1930s as well as being a mainstay in director Fritz Lang's ...

as Director Bodlfing *

Paul Bildt Paul Hermann Bildt (19 May 1885 – 13 March 1957) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1910 and 1956. He was born in Berlin and died in Zehlendorf, West Berlin. Selected filmography * '' Devil in Silk'' (19 ...

as Diener Winter *

Walter Werner Walter Gotthard Werner (11 April 1883 – 8 January 1956) was a German actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1921 to 1956. Selected filmography References External links

* 1883 births 1956 deaths German male film acto ...

as Private Secretary Dr. Wuttke *

Heinrich Schroth Heinrich August Franz Schroth (23 March 1871 – 14 January 1945) was a German stage and film actor. Career Schroth was born in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He made his acting debut at the Sigmaringen Royal Theatre in 1890. In 189 ...

as Director Hofer *

Hans Stiebner Hans Stiebner (19 November 1898 – 27 March 1958) was a German actor. Steibner was born in Vetschau, Germany as Hans Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Paul Stiebner. He died in 1958 in Baden-Baden, West Germany. Selected filmography * '' The Grand Duk ...

as Director Weißfisch *

Peter Elsholtz Peter Ludwig Wilhelm Elsholtz (20 October 1907 – 30 August 1977) was a German stage and film actor.Giesen p.193 Selected filmography * ''Schlußakkord'' (1936) * ''The Castle in Flanders'' (1936) - Lincoln * '' Ride to Freedom'' (1937) - Adju ...

as Engineer Dr. Ehrhardt *

Heinz Wemper Heinz Wemper (8 June 1903 – 15 May 1985) was a German actor. He appeared in 27 films between 1929 and 1943. Selected filmography * ''The Ship of Lost Souls'' (1929) * '' Overnight Sensation'' (1932) * ''Gold'' (1934) * ''Police Report'' (1 ...

as Foreman * Ursula Kurtz as Miss Biel

Production

Curt J. Braun and

Thea von Harbou Thea Gabriele von Harbou (27 December 1888 – 1 July 1954) was a German screenwriter, novelist, film director, and actress. She is remembered as the screenwriter of the science fiction film classic ''Metropolis'' (1927) and for the 192 ...

loosely adapted ''Before Sunset'' by

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

recipient

for the purposes of Nazi propaganda. Clausen's character is significantly changed from being destroyed by his family's greed in the book to renouncing his family and helping rebuild Germany in the film.

, who directed the film, stated that

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

and

Walther Funk Walther Immanuel Funk (18 August 1890 – 31 May 1960) was a German economist and Nazi official who served as ''Reichsminister'' for the Economy from 1938 to 1945 and president of the Reichsbank from 1939 to 1945. Funk oversaw the mobili ...

directly added Nazi slogans to the script and entirely rewrote Clausen's ending speech. Harlan wanted to leave the project as he felt the play was altered too much, but was kept on by Goebbels. Arnold Räther, the vice president of the Reich Chamber of Film, oversaw the production.

Reception

''The Ruler'' was approved by the censors on 15 March 1937, and premiered on 18 March with Goebbels in attendance. It was banned in Germany after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Some newspapers objected to the anti-capitalist bent inherent in having a man leave his company to the state; the official release contained a postscript by

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

repudiating such intentions. Writing for '' Night and Day'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

gave the film a mildly negative review, criticizing the acting and describing Jannings' portrayal as "the meaningless gaze of a sea-lion". Greene noted that he had enjoyed the "pleasantly savage opening", but that as the film continued it was increasingly necessary for the audience to assign emotions to Jannings' "marine" acting. Meanwhile, the critic for The Brooklyn Daily Eagle concluded, "despite its Nazi propaganda influence, 'The Ruler' is nevertheless a skillfully produced photo-drama, distinguished by a powerful performance by Herr Jannings in the role of the sentimental industrialist". And in England, The Evening Standard reviewer told readers, the film had "the marks of good direction, acting and camera-work. And the presence of Jannings is dynamic as ever."Evening Standard, 26 June 1937, p9

Accolades

References

Works cited

* *

Bibliography

* Hake, Sabine. ''Popular Cinema of the Third Reich''. University of Texas Press, 2001. * Noack, Frank. ''Veit Harlan: The Life and Work of a Nazi Filmmaker''.

University Press of Kentucky The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 194 ...

, 2016. * Rentschler, Eric. ''The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife''. Harvard University Press, 1996.

External links

* 1937 films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s German-language films Films based on works by Gerhart Hauptmann Films directed by Veit Harlan 1937 drama films Films with screenplays by Thea von Harbou 1930s business films German films based on plays German drama films German black-and-white films 1930s German films Tobis Film films Films scored by Wolfgang Zeller Nazi-era films restricted in Germany {{1930s-Germany-film-stub