Whom the Gods Love (German: Wen die Götter lieben) is a 1942 Austrian historical musical film directed by Karl Hartl and starring Hans Holt, Irene von Meyendorff, and Winnie Markus. The film is a biopic of the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.[1] It was made as a co-production between the giant German studio UFA and Wien-Film which had been set up following the German annexation of Austria. The film was part of a wider attempt by the Nazis to portray Mozart as an authentic German hero. Like many German biopics of the war years, it portrays the composer as a pioneering visionary.
| Whom the Gods Love | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Karl Hartl |
| Written by | Richard Billinger (novel) E. Strzygowski (novel) Eduard von Borsody |
| Produced by | Karl Hartl |
| Starring | Hans Holt Irene von Meyendorff Winnie Markus Paul Hörbiger |
| Cinematography | Günther Anders |
| Edited by | Henny Brünsch Karl Hartl |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | UFA |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | Austria (Part of Greater Germany) |
| Language | German |
The title refers to Mozart's middle name Amadeus (Latin for "love God") and to the aphorism "he whom the gods love, dies young" (Latin: "quem di diligunt, adolescens moritur") from Plautus' Bacchides, lines 816–17, and earlier Greek sources, including Homer's mention of Trophonius; Mozart died at the age of 35.
A British film of the same title had been released in 1936.
Cast
edit- Hans Holt as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Irene von Meyendorff as Luisa Weber Langer
- Winnie Markus as Konstanze Weber Mozart
- Paul Hörbiger as Von Strack
- Walter Janssen as Leopold Mozart
- Rosa Albach-Retty as Frau Mozart
- Annie Rosar as Frau Weber
- René Deltgen as Ludwig van Beethoven
- Thea Weis as Sophie Weber
- Susi Witt as Josepha Weber
- Curd Jürgens as Emperor Joseph II
- Hans Siebert as Duke of Mannheim
- Richard Eybner as Baron von Gemmingen
- Fritz Imhoff as Albrechtsberger
- Karl Blühm as Hoeffer
- Erich Nikowitz as Süssmayr
- Doris Hild
- Georg Lorenz
- Pepi Glöckner-Kramer
- Franz Herterich
- Otto Schmöle
- Theodor Danegger
- Alfred Neugebauer
- Ferdinand Mayerhofer
- Willi Hufnagel
- Hermann Erhardt
- Louise Kartousch
- Erna Berger as Singer
- Siegmund Roth as Singer
- Karl Schmitt-Walter as Singer
- Dagmar Söderquist as Singer
See also
edit- The Mozart Story (re-edited version for the USA, 1948)
References
edit- ^ Hake p. 157
Bibliography
edit- Hake, Sabine. Popular Cinema of the Third Reich. University of Texas Press, 2001.
External links
edit
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