I'll give my heart just to one man
The greatest lo ve since time began
He'll come my wa y and he'll be strong
And he will sing me lo ve's sweet song
- What happened Mr. Höfgen? - What do you want?
I don't need you now! Go to hell!
We're invited to a boring banquet. Sorry, but we ha ve to lea ve now.
Can't you sit with us, Dora?
No, we're much too late.
Sorry, good e vening.
I wanted to sa y you were marvelous tonight.
It was fantastic. Thank God I saw it.
You fra ud, you didn't see the show. Ne ver mind, you're talented.
Me? Talented? Sa y it louder.
Yes, you're very talented, Herr Höfgen.
I'm sure you'll soon be able to show just how talented you are.
I must be going, goodbye.
- Böck. Se ven marks. - But Hendrik...
...if you need mone y I can lend you fifty marks.
This is men's business. Böck likes giving mone y.
Good e vening, Miklas. Thank you.
So...
...Doctor Kroge lets me starve.
Höfgen, you old sinner! Take a seat.
Well, Director, how'd you like the show?
What's getting you down, Hendrik?
That I'm a pro vincial actor.
Is that all? Nothing else?
Hello.
You're late.
One da y, I'll come to fetch you.
Don't you dread that, Heinz?
- Please don't call me Heinz. - Why not? That's your name.
I dislike it. Understand?
Perfectly, Heinz.
You can't e ven drink a beer like a man who feels like drinking one.
Shall we start?
What was that about beer?
It's not your style, simply to call for a beer.
"A beer, please" sounds phony when you sa y it.
I don't drink, Juliette.
I know, Heinz. Take your shoes off.
Come on...
One, two...
...one, two, three, four...
On one...
Don't fall down now.
Faster!
Show me what you can do.
You want to be an actor and show off for mone y, too?
You comical picture of misery.
If you liked this music, you wouldn't get tired.
You alwa ys la ugh at me, Juliette.
I can't cry. Would you lo ve me if I could cry?
I lo ve you anywa y.
You only lo ve yourself, Heinz, and e ven then not enough.
Keep talking. What you sa y is very nice.
Your only concern is your face being de void of human e xpression.
It's a mask, you hear?
I, too, ha ve skin and bones and body weight...
...and e yebrows and fingernails, just like you.
I, too, feel the cold. I can be hungry and thirsty.
I, too, think of my mother.
And I know there are Philistines and Communists.
But my e yes are not my e yes.
My legs are not mine, my face is not mine.
My name is not my name, beca use I am an actor!
Do you know what it means to be an actor?
An actor is a mask...
...among human beings.
Juliette...
Ladies and gentlemen, I ha ve the honor...
...of welcoming you to the first reading of the pla y.
Ma y I introduce our guest, Nicoletta von Niebuhr...
...who will pla y the female lead in this production.
Do you mind if my friend watches the rehearsal?
I ha ve no objection.
- Two cognacs, please. - Yes, director.
Coming up right awa y.
Three beers, please.
There you go.
Please e x cuse me.
Father Hansemann...
Hendrik, will we look lo vely in this pla y?
We are lo vely.
Ma y I introduce my best friend, Barbara Bruckner?
Nice to meet you.
What?
There's a nice smell of la vender about you.
Can you smell the la vender, too?
How shocking, on a man. But I need it like my daily bread.
A little on the temples is as good as a night's sleep.
Sleep would be better, but there's no time.
A beer and a mineral water.
We'll hear what he has to sa y...
...use the good bits, then pla y it our wa y.
He's good, but old-fashioned.
The future of Hamburg Art Theater is me.
I mean the two of us.
Most of the pla ys here are shallow bourgeois stuff.
But we visualize theater that will involve e veryone...
...the workers, the dockers.
Where will you perform this theater?
It doesn't matter. I n the docks, factories, cellars.
The y asked me about the pla y. We promised it for last week.
Let's get this opening night o ver first.
We must pro ve that theater has a political function.
Before it can be political or re volutionary, it first has to be good.
Which actors will be in this sort of theater?
All who think like us. Even workers.
It's what we sa y, not how we sa y it.
But I've no qualms if Hendrik stages our pla ys.
Go on. Why are you looking at me?
Am I not allowed to?
If it pleases you, go ahead.
Without you, I'll be finished, Barbara.
There's too much e vil in me.
Alone, I'm too weak to o vercome it, but you could help me.
I can't talk anymore. So many thoughts are just parts I've pla yed.
I lo ve you, Barbara.
I'm in lo ve. With a woman.
Juliette, am I a good looking man?
I've ne ver seen you on stage. Ma ybe you're handsome, but...
...frankly, I've ne ver found you good looking, but...
...sometimes your cold cheating e yes are those of a sad child.
You do it well.
Who ha ve you fallen for?
- A girl. - Great.
You falling in lo ve...
One da y you ma y just learn how to walk, not just dance.
Lo ve the girl, Heinz, and don't tell me anything about her.
- Do we keep in touch? - Yes.
You know what? I'm coming with you.
I ha ve nothing to lose, Heinz.
Are you crazy?
See a psychiatrist.
Though I'm sure you wouldn't dare talk about yourself.
Go, Heinz. We'll meet soon anywa y...
...e ven if I don't want to.
Grandmother, ha ve you a moment?
- I'd like to introduce... - Your fiancé.
I ha ve to take a closer look at my new grandson.
Not bad at all.
Ex cuse my mother please, she will be here shortly.
I assume you know, my dear Höfgen...
...that lo ving mothers rarely want their only sons to lea ve the nest.
Hello, Sebastian.
That is Sebastian.
Mom.
I'm really pleased.
Barbara, my dear child.
And I'm Nicoletta von Niebuhr...
...the bride's best friend, almost her sister.
Often, the bridegroom's mistress. Only onstage, of course.
Ma y I call you Aunt Bella?
But of course, Nicoletta.
Let us lea ve the ladies to themselves.
I'd like to show you my garden.
I'd lo ve to see it.
Ha ve you unsettling memories, too?
You know, Barbara, memories that give you the creeps?
When I was about twelve, I got into our school choir.
I was o verjo yed. I thought I could sing better than the other bo ys.
We had to sing in church at some wedding.
I wanted to show off. I was so proud of my soprano voice.
I had a great idea. I sang one octa ve higher than the others.
As I stood there, proudly singing...
...the music teacher looked at me more in disgust than disappro val...
...and he said softly, "Just keep quiet."
Do you understand?
Softly and dryly he said, "Just keep quiet."
When I felt I was singing like an angel.
Do you ha ve such memories?
No.
You've ne ver felt ashamed in your life.
I often ha ve. That was the first time.
I often ha ve to feel awfully ashamed of myself.
So ashamed, I could sink down into hell.
Do you understand me?
This is the basement room. The window faces the street.
Here's a lamp post and here, too. Behind it the bakery...
...with workers' wives lined up. - Stop!
Great.
Ms. Schult, you come up past the window.
Barbara, can you put a lamp post here...
...with a light to dazzle the a udience?
Then you come here. "I'm Widow Queck who hasn't paid the rent."
We could ha ve se veral more lamp posts in the a uditorium...
...so people feel the y're really in their filthy street.
We'll ha ve posters, recent political slogans, all jumbled up.
At the back, a grocer's shop, with nothing to sell, of course.
Everything in the hall must e xpress what we talk about.
Two policemen can patrol the rows and stare at the a udience.
An end to passive watching, actors and public isolated from each other.
The public must pla y an active part. The da ys of the peepshow are o ver.
The actor is only one element of the performance...
...not it's focal point.
The hall, lights, walls, mo vements, sounds, all must blend into a whole.
Only then shall we ha ve real theater. The workers need total theater.
One that shocks and arouses.
I am the widow Queck, who cannot pa y the rent. I work for the baker.
It's the only wa y I can feed my se ven hungry children.
The half-hour has to be paid for.
We've been waiting half an hour.
Here reigns logic and hunger.
I already owe you 31 marks and 25 pfennigs.
I've had nothing these past few da ys.
Silly goose!
Sabotaging our work! Do you think I don't know why?
Miklas or one of his damn party friends has put you up to it!
- What do you want from me? - Why don't you prompt her?!
Ne ver mind! Re volutionary Theatre can't be staged with pro vincial hams.
With amateurs, you can't create any sort of theatre.
Even re volutions need professionals!
I'll buy you a drink to celebrate. Re volutionary Theater is a big flop.
You're beside yourself with jo y.
Hello.
Two stiff ones, Hansemann.
How about another rebellious e vening?
I'd like to invite you to dinner.
What, me?
- Good morning. - Morning.
You're still half asleep.
I'm awake.
I've e ven phoned our grocer, he's a bit impatient o ver our large bill.
I'm sorry. I don't present a picture of early morning freshness.
If I, too, went riding e very morning I'd probably look more attractive.
But in our circles, such noble sport is not customary.
The offended husband, as in Molière.
Oh, be quiet.
It's not customary to sit all night at a Nazi thug's table.
- Miklas is not a thug. - All Nazis are thugs.
You must a void their company. Their dirt rubs off on you.
But you can't understand. It's your family's well known liberalism.
No political beliefs, just curiosity. Ideologies are psychological quirks.
I feel sorry for Miklas. He gets small parts and earns very little.
You all treat him very badly. He's at a loss, that's why he's with them.
So much understanding for that lousy brat.
How do you think the y'd treat us if the y came to power?
God forbid.
And yet you sit and chat with him. It's you bourgeois tolerance.
This understanding of one's enemy.
I'm sure you could e ven e x cuse Fascist terrorism.
Your liberalism might e ven get used to dictatorship.
No, thank you.
Ma y I remark...
...it's common practice to eat an egg from its shell and with salt.
I know, in the Bruckner household you eat it from a glass...
...with six spices, and that's very original...
...but no need to make fun of those unaccustomed to such originality.
- Who's juvenile lead in Halberstadt? - Herbert Boltz.
Where's Ms. Türkheim-Gawernitz now?
I n Heidelberg.
- And Hannelore Kühn. - Mannheim.
- And who's Othello there? - Max Kra use.
- And lago? - Johannes Fiedler.
- And Desdemona in Leipzig? - Käthe Müttel.
Who's the ingénue in Jena?
A stupid cow called Lotte Lindenthal.
Why is Lotte Lindenthal a stupid cow?
I don't know, but she is.
I know why you insult her.
She's the friend of a National Socialist leader.
I'm only moderately interested in the names and titles of her lo vers.
Must be quite a long list...
Watch your tongue, Höfgen!
You won't insult a lady beca use she's in the Nazi German worker's party...
...and the friend of a German hero.
You won't stand for it?
My, my...
Stop it, you're drunk.
I'm not. On the contrary.
Apparently I'm the only one here with a spark of honor left.
Nobody in this Jew-ridden business cares if a lady is insulted.
Let me!
No!
Go awa y!
I'll gladly belie ve you're not drunk.
You won't make that an e x cuse, then.
As for this Jew-ridden business you're in...
...you won't suffer it much longer.
That I promise you.
Perhaps you're right.
I agree, the fellow's beha vior was intolerable...
...but I can't just fire a poor, sick man like that.
Sick? He's not sick at all.
Why this indecision and compromise? It's just like our go vernment parties.
Ex cuse me, Barbara.
We must show this murderous pack it can't get awa y with it.
I beg you, don't insist that he be sacked on the spot.
It's punishment enough that he won't be hired for ne xt season.
He has no idea what he said last night, he just went wild.
I'm amazed, Otto.
I'm really amazed that you, of all people, should sa y that.
I don't want him made a martyr.
- I n the political situation... - Ex cuse me if I interrupt.
This conversation is quite pointless. The case is simple.
Either Miklas lea ves the theater...
...or I do.
That's nonsense.
Higher, higher!
Enough! This isn't a funeral march!
Again.
Lights!
Sorry, to interrupt.
Dr. Kroge asks you to appro ve the ne xt poster.
I must take it to the printer.
Can't I get my name spelled correctly e ven in this theatre?
My name is not Henrik, but Hendrik!
Hendrik Höfgen.
One da y the y'll all ha ve to mark my name.
Try to understand, doctor. I can't and won't tie myself down.
It's a great strain to sta y under contract.
I must be free. Free.
I can't be a pro vincial matinee idol.
No, no, I don't want to be that.
You want to lea ve Hamburg for good?
I don't know yet.
The Professor invited me to a Berlin guest appearance. One ne ver knows.
By the wa y, Dora Martin will be my partner.
Good. Then accept the offer.
Thank you.
Berlin.
Thank you, ladies. Till tomorrow.
Goodbye.
So you are Höfgen.
You ha ve friends here.
Some of them, who understand theater, recommended you to me.
Your father-in-law, too, when we met at the ministry.
And Dora Martin, as well.
I n real life I ma y seem a bit nondescript, but not, I hope on stage.
My father-in-law once aptly described my ability to transform myself.
Well, we'll give you a try.
Don't e xpect too much. I'm not offering anything big.
You are probably used to a reasonable income in Hamburg.
Here you'll ha ve less. Ha ve you e xpensive tastes?
Mone y doesn't interest me. My needs are modest.
All I need e very da y is a clean shirt and a drop of cologne.
Discuss the details with Miss Bernhardt.
Please give my regards to your father-in-law.
- Hendrik Höfgen. - Oh, yes. Bernhardt.
Here's your contract.
Thank you.
- Ma y I? - Please.
700 marks a month, less tax. You agree to pla y as cast.
Please give these flowers...
...and this card to Ms. Martin, will you?
THANKS!
Well, Hendrik Höfgen.
Now you're a beginner again.
Hamburg's fame, routine and security all lie behind you.
Now you must summon up all your strength.
And we'll work off that blubber.
- Who is that? - Dora Martin's Hamburg actor lo ver.
- No, Miss Bernhardt's. - You're misinformed, dear.
So glad you were able to come, despite all your work.
Ma y I introduce some of your admirers?
Mr. Da vidson of the London Times. Cäser von Muck, Mr. Müller-Andreä.
Mind you aren't influenced by the pre vailing culture Bolshe vism.
What do you mean?
German culture can only be renewed if it returns to its national roots...
...to its essence of blood and soil.
Russian ra vings or French farces are alien to the spirit the nation needs.
Ha ve you met Mr. Höfgen?
Berlin's new star, according to tomorrow's London Times.
I've seen you on stage. You danced, didn't you?
Yes, I like dancing. I had a good teacher.
I'd like to model your head.
No necktie and no gold we've got We're just a very shabby lot
At which the bourgeois spits
The bourgeois with polished boots And medals on morning suits
And e very morning he ablutes for church, or for the Ritz
Where does the bourgeois get it all? His guns his celebration ball?
He steals it where he can
He makes it hard for us to rob Takes it all, the greedy slob
Exploits the poor and wrecks the job of e very working man
Oh, if so wealthy I could be, Commit like him grand larceny
All honored since my birth
If then I met someone I knew, You filthy lot, I'd spit at you
That's all you dogs are worth!
Get the Jews out of here!
The y are completely drunk.
Now one of the most famous State Theater actors, Hendrik Höfgen.
Forget State Theater and fame. I am your comrade Hendrik Höfgen.
What does the proletariat want? That nobody should rule!
Nobody shall give orders Nobody shall be a sla ve
Freedom, equality for all souls
I'll dictate. Headline:
Actor Höfgen wins Berlin workers' hearts o vernight.
New paragraph.
- Hendrik? - Hello.
I bought this picture at the antique dealer. You don't mind?
Why should I mind?
You can admire it while I go and change.
I lo ve you, Barbara. Not only your father and grandmother.
I lo ve you... I, Hendrik Höfgen.
Welcome to my home, dear Sebastian.
The theater awaits me.
Up!
Two!
Three!
Four!
Five!
Six!
Führer! We are our people's strength!
We shall create a new world!
- What's your father's job? - Road digger!
- And your father's? - Farmer!
- And yours? - Teacher. He educates us!
- And your father? - Baker. He bakes our bread!
Mine's a miller. He grinds our grain!
A doctor. He makes us healthy!
Brickla yer. He builds our houses!
- Conductor! - Electrician!
We are the sons of one people, we all ha ve the same goal!
Unity and strength! We follow the Führer!
No. That's not convincing enough. Sa y it like this...
- Again... one, two, three. - Unity and strength!
Again!
Unity and strength!
- Louder! Again! - Unity and strength!
We follow the Führer!
Blood is a very special juice...
...let us in depths of sensuousness assuage our burning passions.
No bounds and goals are set for you.
You find your pleasure. A fleeing treasure.
Ma y you enjo y the prize you get. Help yourself and don't be co y.
But listen, it's not a question of jo y.
To knowledge I'm de voted, most painful gratification.
Most hateful lo ve, most ve xing stimulation.
Belie ve me, who countless years on this hard nourishment has fed.
That from cradle to the gra ve, no human can digest so stale a bread.
Belie ve me, worlds celestial and infernal...
...for one divinity were made.
He e xists in eternal light.
But us, into the darkness, has conve yed there's da y and night alone.
Yet I want that!
That's well worth hearing. But there's one thing I fear.
For time is short, but art is long.
If I thought you sought more teaching, cultivate a poet fond of preaching.
Let his thoughts wander.
And e very noble quality upon your brow let him bestow...
...the lion's courage, the buck's swiftness.
The Italian's fiery blood, the north's enduring pluck.
He'll teach you the secret vile of magnanimity steeped in guile.
Ma y his youthful drives unco ver to make of you an ardent lo ver.
I'd like to meet a scholar of such fame to Microcosm I'd change his name.
So what am I, if it's not possible the paragon of humanity to attain...
...towards all my senses strain?
You're in the end just what you are.
Put on the wigs of a million curls.
Put your feet in ele vating socks.
You'll sta y fore ver what you are!
Bra vo!
Wonderful! You were fantastic, Hendrik.
You were born to pla y Mephisto.
You sa y that with a touch of malice, Dora.
Not true, I don't detest people for what the y are.
- Anywa y, thank you for coming. - Let's skip the cliches.
- What's your ne xt project? - I'm learning English.
English? Why?
- I'll be working in America. - But why?
Here the curtain's descending. Ha ven't you noticed?
You're at the top here, hit after hit. Thousands adore you. So why go?
Thousands! Soon the y'll be ra ving about others.
There'll alwa ys be theater, no matter what happens in Germany.
No matter what happens in Germany? You really mean that?
Well, all the best. I'm lea ving in a few da ys.
I n a few da ys?
I don't want to wait till it's too late.
But you'll alwa ys do well, Hendrik...
...no matter what happens in Germany.
It's open.
Mephisto, I ne ver lock the door. Need neither bolts nor life insurance.
- I bet you've taken one out. - I need no life insurance.
Sit down, sir, in my new home.
You could ha ve gotten me a nicer flat.
- Ha ve you registered with the police? - Yes, sir.
What did the landlord sa y?
Nothing. He was drunk, humming a song...
No neckties, no gold we've got...
He ga ve me the ke y and I mo ved in.
I've been longing to see you.
- And how's your wife? - She's with her father, thank God.
The y're worried about the Republic.
I n Hamburg, the foreigners were also very worried about Germany...
...about German culture, whose Number-One-Parrot you are.
As if a peril threatened it. What are the Jews planning against Germany?
Even the whores wonder...
...and the y don't care about the pant color as long as it has a fly.
Barbara understands politics, doesn't she?
Is she keeping an e ye on you?
No. Mostly her opinions are the opposite of mine.
- Ha ve you told her so? - No. What point would there be?
Words don't sa y e verything.
I'd like very much to sleep with you.
Shall I make up the bed?
Yes!
Hendrik! Hendrik!
Hendrik, wake up! Didn't you here?
You're here already?
I came on the early train, beca use of you.
- What's the matter? - When did you go to bed?
I'm tired. I was tossing all night. Why?
The Nazis ha ve won the elections. You know who became Chancellor?
No.
Do you hear that?
That Bohemian corporal has become Chancellor?
Here, read it.
I thought there was nothing to fear from the Nazis.
Remember that business with Miklas?
That could ha ve unpleasant consequences. What do we do now?
Keep a clear head and don't panic.
So, the Austrian clown has become Reichs-Chancellor.
But there still is the opposition, no? Communists and Social Democrats.
The y'll make sure he doesn't get too big for his boots.
Perhaps there'll e ven be armed resistance.
And e ven if the Nazis sta y in power, why should it concern me?
I'm from the Rhineland.
So are my parents. What can happen to us?
On top of that, I'm an actor. No?
I go to the theater, pla y my parts, then go back home. That's all.
Some people are lea ving a country...
...where a career in the arts is now impossible.
People will think you don't care about anything be yond the limelight?
There were elections in a democratic state. One party won, that's all.
I've ne ver been interested in politics, so why now?
Don't you realize what's happening here?
Don't answer it. I'm not here, I'm sick. Sa y what you want.
Is that any solution? To lock yourself in, to hide, not be at home?
Is that all you can think of, instead of taking a definite stand?
Definite... this is my answer! Hamlet! Shakespeare!
Either we take a stand or go, if our freedom is in danger.
This is the only form of freedom for me, for an actor.
You can't hide behind Shakespeare, on the stage.
Barbara, I'm an actor. An actor in Germany at all times.
You can go awa y. Your father is a famous writer.
You can design sets anywhere, or buy antiques.
But I need the German language!
I need the motherland, don't you see?
- Who's there? - Otto.
- Who? - Otto.
- I must talk to you. - You want some coffee?
- No, thanks. - Tea?
Act with us again. It's the only reply we can give to these e vents.
An appearance by all of us, a common front.
So we don't lose our future.
You just want to divide the a udience? We must work out our tactics.
Tactics will force us to our knees.
We must fight this crushing demagogy.
It's our job to tell the hesitators: Now is the time to resist dictatorship!
Otto, in the first place, we're actors...
No, not a protest on the street. I'm talking about the stage.
Still, I think we should wait a few da ys.
We must do something immediately. Tonight.
Otto, I'd rather sta y with the reserves.
Thank God I've no performance toda y.
GERMAN REICHS-MAI L
Film contract, locations in Budapest...
...leading role. Production Manager Altenburger.
She really is a bea uty. She's sitting by the side altar.
Cut! Very good! The second one.
Now the scene where the y follow her to the Fishermen's Bastion.
What's going on?
Are we done for toda y? Can we go?
- The Reichstag was burned down. - What?
The y sa y the communists set fire to it.
Your wife wants you to join her in Paris.
She didn't dare phone you. Don't go back to Berlin. I'm mo ving to Vienna.
Many of your Berlin friends ha ve vanished lately. Otto Ulrichs is one.
We must be prepared for anything. I fear we'll ne ver be able to return.
The Nazis ha ve blacklists. Your wife and you are on them.
Please, ne ver go back to Berlin. Hendrik, promise me that.
Please!
Cheers, and many thanks!
Cheers!
To the most bea utiful actress in E urope!
When are you going home?
I'll sta y a few more da ys in Budapest.
Then I'm going to see about a contract in Vienna.
I understand you, Hendrik.
I'll tell you now, I'm not going back to Germany, either.
I signed you for this part...
...so you, too, could slip awa y, if you want to.
The film studio ga ve me your address in Budapest.
I hope my letter reaches you. I'm in Berlin now.
I've landed a part in a comedy.
During the shoot I met the actress Lotte Lindenthal.
She's friendly with a National Socialist who's very powerful now.
She's wonderful. She ne ver fla unts what great influence she has.
I told her you were abroad and didn't dare return, for certain reasons.
What's the man afraid of?
She said you were an eminent artist and saw Mephisto se veral times.
"We need such actors", she said, and she promised to speak to her friend.
This morning she said: "No matter what silly things Höfgen has done...
...when it's an eminent actor, people are tolerant."
Her friend has promised that nothing will happen to you if you return.
Hendrik, Berlin awaits you. You ha ve nothing to fear.
No one can replace you. Those who rule our lives...
...know that the theater is a shelter for me and people like me...
...in which we all feel safe and ha ve nothing to fear.
It would be that for you, too. Theater is a mission.
I n true friendship, yours, Angelika Siebert.
Name?
- Hendrik Höfgen. - Profession?
Actor.
Where?
At the State Theater in Berlin.
- Is something wrong? - No, no.
Thank you.
I don't know if you'll feel at home again here.
The spirit is different from that you were accustomed to.
Cultural Bolshe vism is o ver.
There will no longer be a chance to appear in your friend's pla ys...
...or those popular French farces. We perform German art now.
Frankly, I saw no great reason to recall you from abroad.
But Lotte Lindenthal wants you as her partner in her comedy debut here.
I didn't want to displease her.
The role of elegant friend and seducer shouldn't ca use you any difficulty.
I'm so cold.
I'll warm you up.
Your room isn't heated in this dreadful weather?
Is this how you anticipated my visit? Very nice of you!
There's a warm room o ver there. Come.
No, I'm in a great hurry toda y.
It would warm us up.
No, there's no point in this cold flat.
My new maid doesn't know her duties yet.
You should ha ve told her your visitor needed warmth.
But I've only just returned home.
You should ha ve returned earlier.
I'm someone you must wait for, impatiently.
If I want to meet someone in passing, I ha ve my husband. And besides...
Where did you get this new maid? She's far too pretty.
It's an honor to act with you.
It's so nice to hear a warm voice again.
I'm happy to hear you sa y that, I know you're no flatterer.
Me, a flatterer? I'm notorious for telling people the truth.
I like honest people.
If she turns, e verything will be fine. If she wa ves, I've scored a triumph.
After the Reichstag fire, I had to lea ve Hamburg.
Bonetti wears a uniform now.
He threw me out of the canteen.
"We've got you now, Böck!" he said.
The y almost beat me up, my landlady threw me out.
I had to lea ve Hamburg.
Are you upset that I've come?
When I heard you were in Berlin, I found new hope...
...and I just came. Are you angry with me?
I'm not angry with you.
Live here till things settle down, but don't tell anyone.
Just simply disappear without a word.
If I were in your position, I might well commit suicide.
I'll buy you a radio, so you'll know what's happening outside.
I've got nobody else in the world but you.
- Is Budapest bea utiful? - I don't know...
Yes, quite nice.
I could ha ve gone there. Barbara wasn't with you.
The y wouldn't ha ve let you cross the border.
I'm a German citizen, too. My father was pure German. Why can't I go out?
If you can't understand why, we'll both be in trouble.
- You're horrible. - You're an idiot!
Go to hell you... you actor!
Dear Lotte, ma y I ask a great fa vor? I ha ve to pla y Mephisto.
I'll see what I can do.
I look forward to seeing you again as Mephisto.
It's thanks to me you're pla ying Mephisto again.
Certain ministerial circles feared you might re vive your old Fa ust spirit.
The spirit of cultural Bolshe vism, as it was called.
Well, I succeeded in o vercoming those fears.
Cäsar, thank you, thank you very much.
THANK YOU!
Please give these flowers...
...to Miss Lindenthal.
- Good morning! - Good morning.
Morning, Mr. Höfgen.
Mr. Miklas! Are you still around?
- Morning. - Fine.
I've only been here a short space, I come with a humility to this place...
...to find a teacher of vocation who's held by all in veneration.
How pleasant is your courtesy! A man like many more you see.
Ha ve you looked around?
Take me as your student.
I come with courage and my youth.
I want to study with all my heart.
You've come to the right place.
I feel like going home I fear.
I n that great hall I won't like it at all.
You see no grass, you see no tree.
And in the classes we are ta ught I lose my hearing, sight and thought.
It all depends on habit.
Seeing the breast, a child might accept the gift unwillingly.
But soon it sucks in delight.
So will you, on wisdom's breast, enjo y it daily with more zest.
Around her neck I'll cling with pleasure...
...but tell me how can I find this treasure?
When you continue on your wa y, which faculty will make your da y?
Is this where the cut comes?
The art of medicine is not hard, you know.
You study the world, big and small.
And in the end you let them go when God demands it.
You'll try in vain to learn all science.
Each man just learns what he can.
But he who grasps e very chance he is the worthy man.
You are still of pleasing build with self-confidence at last instilled...
...others will ha ve confidence in you.
Especially learn the women to enthrall.
Eternal moans, a thousand ills.
There's just one place to cure them.
If you've honor to some degree one ma y allow some shared intimacy.
A title helps to make her certain your art e x ceeds that of your peers.
And ma y grant you a glimpse of which another schemes for many years.
Her pulse you must learn to feel.
And burning looks you then must steal.
Her slender hips are then embraced to see how tightly she is laced.
That's what I could care for.
Gra y, my friend is all theory. And green the golden tree of life.
That's the wa y.
I greet the learned gentleman! You made me to sweat profusely.
- What is your name? - The question's odd...
...for someone who idle talk despises.
Who, far remo ved from worldly show seeks only academic prizes.
With you, one knows your game generally by your very name.
It's e vident, Sire if one's called a liar.
Who are you?
I'm a part of that force...
...that alwa ys cra ves e vil and alwa ys creates good.
What is this riddle?
I'm the spirit who negates.
And rightly so, for all creation is worthy of annihilation.
So it were better, nothing were created.
And so e verything you've stated is sin, destruction, de vilment.
Remains my actual element.
Good e vening. The Prime Minister invites you to his bo x.
Yes.
It's all going like clockwork.
Ma y I introduce you to my distinguished colleague?
Ah, our Mephistoles.
Congratulations.
That mask is perfect, it's e vil itself. It's sacred e vil.
Yet, your e yes are so kind, your handshake so soft. It's strange...
...it seems the secret of acting is to portra y strength, yet one is weak.
I imagine you've prepared for this role for a long time.
All my life, Prime Minister.
That's the only wa y. That is the secret of greatness.
Break a leg.
Carry on the good work, Mephistoles.
Höfgen residence.
Lotte Lindenthal.
Höfgen.
- Hendrik? - Yes.
Will you come to us after tonight's performance?
There'll be just a few friends here.
With pleasure. Thank you very much.
Böck! Just a few friends will be there.
Am I not an incredible villain?
Why a villain? You're just successful, Mr. Höfgen.
To the renewal of German culture. Long live the actors.
Our theater has many elements that ha ve nothing to do with Germany.
We must set up a customs control of the mind for culture smugglers...
...to stop foreign elements poisoning German literature and theater.
This can't be left entirely to our frontier guards.
Everyone must cooperate in this control.
- Am I understood? - Yes, General.
There are many who don't understand.
Look at this painting, my Mephisto.
A masterpiece of German romanticism.
Where did I find it? At an art dealer with an foreign accent.
I had it restored. No, no...
...the future of painting doesn't belong to the Liebermanns.
Your Mephisto occupies my mind.
You've brought him alive. He's a hell of a guy.
Isn't there a little of him in all of us?
I mean, isn't there a bit of Mephisto in e very German?
Wouldn't our enemies lo ve it if we had nothing but the soul of Fa ust?
No, Mephisto is also a German national hero.
It's just something we mustn't tell people.
I must go now.
Come to my office at 10:30, the da y after tomorrow.
Some foreign journalists want to know many things.
Abo ve all, what 'Germany' means toda y, and the German culture.
I'll tell them. You can elaborate on what I sa y about theater, for e xample.
Painting, architecture, sculpture, plenty to write about.
I want them to be informed by e xperts.
Tell me, why do you ha ve such a limp handshake?
So, we meet again. How time flies! You were wonderful as Mephisto.
Now you act him more forcefully. But I liked the other one, too.
I sensed it in the seed of what can now be unfolded to the full.
I also liked you in the pla y with Lotte Lindenthal.
The ideal actress to portra y the ideal German woman.
What are we doing here? Why is he wasting his time with foreigners?
He said the y're interested in German culture. The y'll ask a few questions.
- I see. You spoke to him? - Yes.
How are you? Nice to meet you again.
The Prime Minister sent for me. I hope this doesn't last too long.
Alwa ys problems with the old statues. Shall we tear them down or not?
As if that were important for our future.
I'd like to sculpt a bust of you, Höfgen.
What sort of man are you? Your own face differs amazingly from Mephisto.
I n private life, you look rather shy.
I'll do a bust of you, but in cla y or in bronze?
- What is your face made of? - Perhaps a mixture.
I very much enjo yed your Mephisto. I only had e yes for you.
I'm preparing an e xhibition.
The General wants a pre view. Try to come. Here's my number.
If you ha ve time, give me a ring and come to my studio.
You can relax while I model you. How strange your face is.
A German face yet it changes e very moment.
That's acting. The rest is humility and hard work.
I've disco vered your secret. It's the surprise effect, right?
The une xpected.
I've been watching the wa y you appear on stage. Alwa ys different.
Sometimes quick, erratic.
Then slow, suddenly, when the a udience is lulled.
But alwa ys surprising and unpredictable.
Thus you create the feeling of something original...
...e ven if the spectator knows your lines by heart.
And your glib tongue, your deliberate pa uses, your precise emphasis.
I think I'm learning from you.
It's important to be unpredictable.
Spectators needn't know what my ne xt step is or where I'm going.
- The y're not prepared, it's a shock. - Exactly.
Yet it was only a change of pace, or a slightly longer pa use.
I n the theater it's the others who make the king a king.
Building the role is all important; pianissimo alternating with fortissimo.
Naturally, you need a certain flair, artistic talent...
...and as I usually sa y, a high degree of culture.
When I hear the word culture, I reach for my re volver.
Bourgeois nonsense! Bolshe viks preach it to win o ver school teachers.
To sa y nothing of artists. Isn't that so?
I wasn't untouched by Bolshe vik trends, either.
And I must admit that for a while I flirted with the left.
Well, anyone can get involved in some folly.
Those were troubled times. Let's ha ve a drink.
General, other deserving artists committed the follies I did.
I don't forget those pa ying for sins for which I've been generously pardoned.
I'm pleading for a certain person, for a friend.
I guarantee he's reformed. I'm pleading for Otto Ulrichs.
Otto Ulrichs? Who's he?
He ran the communist cabaret, 'The Storm-Bird'.
Well... he must be a pretty bad fellow.
No, he's not bad.
A bit rash, I admit. A bit thoughtless, but not bad.
If anything, he's too decent. Once he gives his word, he keeps it.
I'm back at the State Theater.
The funny thing is, I simply can't belie ve it.
Just as I can't belie ve I'm here with you by the window.
I know it's reality, but I don't feel it.
- Great. - Magnificent, really.
A German work of art.
Not e very German artist is capable of such work.
It is a courageous work.
Come, Mephisto.
You sign, too.
What did I prophesy? The e xhibition is a success.
You rascal, so you make secret visits here.
If I ma y add something personal, it is a courageous work.
Courageous, beca use it captures our time...
...the bea uty of strength without bourgeois snobbery.
Contrasting the degenerate taste...
...of the loud-mouths of culture.
We see muscles and clear-cut features mankind wants to see.
Strong and bea utiful in his strength.
Warrior-like and victorious in his struggle.
Hello Hendrik. That was a wonderful speech.
- You know each other? - Very well.
You're in Berlin? Since when?
I'm here beca use I want to dine with you.
I ha ven't seen you for so long.
So where will we go?
Your choice. How's Hamburg? Surviving without me?
I'm in Berlin to ha ve dinner with you. Hamburg is history.
You're out of touch. Kroge's in Switzerland. He just vanished.
Didn't e ven tell his girl. Simply went.
Kroge is a traitor.
Why must you appear with them?
Beca use the y asked me to.
The y ask others, too. You needn't go.
You can't refuse, none of us can. If anyone sa ys the y do, the y're lying.
Besides, the General's a nice chap and he knows a lot about the theater.
He's not so closed minded as most others.
A well beha ved bo y who wants to enjo y the rewards for good beha vior.
- Yes, I like to be well beha ved. - Beca use you're afraid.
- I like it. - Then you should.
It will be difficult to sta y with me and maintain good beha vior.
Damned black woman, right?
I can't help being different from what's allowed here.
People can spit in my face in the street.
Only I can't do anything about it.
My nose, my hair remain the same e ven if I want something else.
Yet, I'm German, a German Negro. German is my mother tongue.
What am I supposed to do? Where should I go?
I don't know. I don't e ven know what will become of me.
You think only of yourself.
And like an idiot, I dreamt of us ha ving a child.
That's all we need.
Is the child to be to blame, for she might ruin her father's career?
That's enough now!
- That's enough of that now! - Now it is enough?
I can see why your wife couldn't stand living with you.
Here... I pinched a photo of you once. Look at it!
Do you recognize yourself?
I must speak to you.
To tell me what you've said behind my back?
I don't know what you mean.
Höfgen would bury his mother alive. Didn't you sa y that?
I won't dispute that I dislike you.
- What do you want? - I want you to sign this.
My signature? What for?
You want a raise? Or do you collect signatures...
...beca use theater safety regulations are a bit unsafe?
From a moral standpoint much seems unsafe. And I don't mean the theater.
What do you protest against?
Against a leadership that disregards our rights.
But you were in the Nazi party, back when you were in Hamburg.
I'm lea ving the party.
That's your business.
I'd like to ask you to read our protest and sign it.
Regardless of my opinion, you are toda y's leading German actor.
Let me sa y that I won't e ven read this thing.
Be careful not to get yourself and others into real trouble.
Miklas, you can go to hell.
I won't let a dirty pig like you pro voke me.
Dear God.
Congratulations, my dear Höfgen.
You put it precisely. Some elements must go to the de vil.
If you were a soldier, I'd promote you. I'm very pleased.
By the wa y, you needn't be afraid.
For the fun of it, I checked your horoscope. It's e x cellent.
- Best of luck, Höfgen. - Thank you.
Did something happen?
Good morning.
Get walking!
The management regrets that Hans Miklas has died in a car accident.
How awful, such a young fellow.
But, frankly, there was something disquieting about him...
...don't you think?
Disquieting...
That was no car accident.
He must ha ve come to you, too, with that protest.
Are you insane? How can you talk such nonsense?
Why shouldn't it ha ve been a car accident?
The go vernment would stage a car accident...
...all for some unknown actor?
We're not in some tenth-rate melodrama.
People shouldn't cross roads in hea vy traffic.
I've great plans for you. We're alone. You can refuse and remain an actor.
But then you can't do as much for our ca use as you could.
Your speech was good. I realized you're not only an actor.
You put the essence into words. Write your own biography, Hendrik.
Submit it to me, as soon as possible. Höfgen...
...you will manage the Prussian State Theater. Your task is easy:
A full house and a wildly enthusiastic, a udience for you.
Do you understand?
No need to enlarge upon those matters in Hamburg.
Nor need we mention the Re volutionary Theater.
Just mention some of your roles there.
What did you really imagine in Hamburg?
How could you ha ve conceived...
...promoting Russian Bolshe vism? You, a German. I ncredible!
- Where is your wife now? - I n Paris, I belie ve.
No, she's in Amsterdam, working against her Motherland.
The y're publishing a newspaper.
You don't correspond with her?
We ha ve no contact at all.
You'll get a divorce easily. I'll see to that.
German citizens who ha ve left Germany...
...couldn't wipe us out, so the y signed their own death sentence.
Where weakness perishes, humanity becomes healthy.
Politics, like theater, is a fight.
Just as e very rebuild is the start of a new war.
But we're not talking about this now.
Hamburg... "I n a harbor town by the river..."
Lots of foreigners, night clubs, bars. I understand you perfectly.
But in the Reich's capital? No offense, we're men, but...
What's this Hamburg souvenir doing here? Juliette Martens.
Is she kept by you?
You once, rightfully, said...
...Professor Bruckner was not a man of the future.
And, e ven more rightly, you parted from his da ughter.
If you ha ve such a good instinct for a healthy, clean attitude...
...what's this Negro-woman doing in Berlin?
Mephisto...
...it defies racial purity. Don't e ven keep her picture at home.
General...
Wait, I ha ven't finished.
I hope you completely understood me.
- Yes. - So?
- She's not to come to any harm. - Lea ve that to me.
I'd like to request, Prime Minister...
...that she'd be allowed to lea ve Germany unharmed.
Agreed. She'll be taken to the frontier and good-bye. That's what we'll do.
And you'll hold a press conference, giving information about the theater.
The repertoire, plans and your performances.
I n October there'll be a big cultural e vent in our Paris embassy.
I'd like you to attend it.
Böck. I bet the y know about him, too.
Böck, Böck, my note-book.
Böck sta ys.
- Here it is. - Give it to me.
I ha ve to call friends. I urgently need a friend.
- Find me a friend. - But you've so many friends.
Friends...
Call Miss Nicoletta von Niebuhr. Find the number and call her.
Shall I make coffee, or tea?
Shall I become manager? Yes or no?
Can I? Ma y I? Must I?
Is it my duty? Can I make myself useful?
I mean, can I help anyone? And if so, should I?
Or shall I look at it as a new role?
Or shall I emigrate to America?
I can earn as much in films as Dora Martin.
If I accept such an office of this go vernment, then...
Do I want to, at all?
The y need me.
I was about to emigrate...
...and the Prussian Minister asks me to rescue his theater.
Tomorrow morning I must give him an answer.
Hea ven e vidently has great plans for me.
Then you've won.
Would you help me?
I'd be proud of you.
Yes, I'll help you Hendrik.
If only one could live fore ver.
Here's your passport for France. You ha ve five minutes to pack.
Yes, but why?
We're waiting. Hurry up.
You needn't thank me for this raise.
I made it a condition for taking o ver this job.
Everything's co vered with dust.
If you don't clean the dressing rooms as well as all the others...
...you ma y ha ve to look for another job.
I hope we'll get along. If you ha ve any problems, come to me.
I would like to treat you all to coffee.
Allow me to give you the mone y. I'm sorry I can't come with you.
Joachim would like to speak to you.
Wait, Hannelore!
So, now he can enter.
Please consider decent roles for me. You're not like the other managers.
You're an actor yourself. You understand.
I must act as if he's sa ying something important.
When you talk to actors, you must put them at ease. That goes for me, too.
No, I don't like Premieres. All night one has to wear a big, frozen smile.
I hate that.
You think it's a good costume? I don't! I think it's terrible!
Good morning, Mr. Kappelmüller. How are you?
- Good. - How's the family?
So your da ughter graduated as a hairdresser. Ma ybe we can use her.
Good morning.
Ha ven't you noticed? New suit, new shoes, new manager, no? Well.
...e x-Bolshe vik Höfgen, manager of the Prussian State Theater...
...is letting his former comrade appear in his production of Hamlet.
Hannelore! Was the cast list for Hamlet posted yet?
Not yet.
Good. Let's wait another two da ys. Thank you.
I must offer them more than old comrades.
You must cultivate connections. That's the essence of the system.
Let me tell you, yesterda y I went to the Prussian State Theater...
...it was Fa ust and the name of some white-faced clown was Mephisto.
What a joke! And Mephisto by some man called Höfgen, it was terrible!
I'd rather go to the Ba varian People's Theater. Goodbye then.
Why am I doing all this?
Beca use I enjo y it.
I must enjo y amateur pla ys and use actors that are blonde not talented.
Most are totally untalented.
A Frankfurt a udience appla uded Marquis Posa's...
...'Give us freedom of thought'. Performance stopped, pla y withdrawn.
I n Munich, 'The Robbers', withdrawn. Schiller, our national poet!
The y want to produce pla ys by German a uthors. But what a uthors?
Those who ha ven't emigrated aren't allowed to write, or won't.
It's simply impossible to offer theater worthy of the name.
Unless I dig up a couple of old farces. All Rococco wigs and white faces.
The joke is that the regime now sees Shakespeare as one of our own.
Let's do 'As You Like lt', 'Where the Banished Return.'
Show the opponents of dictatorship that the will for freedom still lives.
I didn't hear that! I can't possibly ha ve heard that!
Am I not an incredible villain?
Isn't what I'm doing insane?
"Fürst and Niklisch, both on the staff of your theater...
...on grounds of German racial purity... dismiss them."
- Good morning. - Good morning.
- Well, how are you? - Fine.
- And you? - Everything all right.
The stage-hands that are concerned, Fürst and Niklisch...
...are indispensable...
...and the loss of their services...
...would jeopardize the theater's work. Date. Heil! Signature.
Germans! Don't tolerate Nazi oppression.
Embassy of the German Reich
Did you bring me anything from Germany? A leather coat, at least?
- Leather coat? - Yes.
It's the fashion for men. Those who took me to the frontier had them.
Your e yes are so dead, how do the y look?
- Empty? - No, dazed.
Yes, that's how I felt these past da ys.
You see? You were ne ver like that.
I've thought a lot about you. I belie ve I should be grateful.
Without you, I'd be in a concentration camp, or already dead.
If you still like being with me, then sta y here.
I'll look after you. You needn't lea ve the house, not at first.
Then we'll find jobs. You're so gifted.
- I could ha ve gone to America. - There you go.
I think I really was gifted.
But also a terrible coward.
What do I do elsewhere? Be an e xtra, a stage-hand, a technician?
Do you think these hands were made for manual labor?
I'll pro vide for you. What else do you want?
Success.
Hendrik Höfgen, just imagine... you'd belong to me.
Juliette, I ha ve to go now.
- Shall I see you again? - I don't know.
- Can I see you off at the station? - No, you don't fit into the picture.
All right, forget the station. Just do what you want.
I do.
That's why I'm here.
Juliette, don't write anymore. It's no good.
There aren't many people in this café.
Would you prefer to sit in the sun? You like that.
No. Though I ha ven't had much sunshine lately.
Ma y I ask you something? Do you still live alone?
No, I've got friends. And you?
Friends... in times like these? It's difficult.
How can you still live in Berlin? What keeps you there?
Barbara, I live in the theater.
And that is in Berlin?
I don't think you can judge from Paris.
You're more than an actor now. You took an oath. You're a manager.
I didn't take the oath, I just mo ved my lips.
Someone has to sa ve our values for a better world.
I'm pla ying Hamlet, whether those in power like Shakespeare or not.
Shakespeare is their ornament to pro ve "we're not as bad as you think."
You can't sta y in Berlin.
I ha ve a family in Berlin. You know I'm married to the theater.
I can help people who are ha ving a hard time.
If I lea ve, nothing better will replace me.
Words!
It's alwa ys the same with you.
Your method of self-deception is still intact.
Don't you see? Whoe ver you sa ve, it's only a gesture to your friends.
You're in a show-case, legalizing these people will be attached to you.
We can't choose when and where we're born.
An entire people can't emigrate.
As an actor I'm obliged to live in my country, to observe and portra y it.
And I can tell you, there are decent people among them.
I hate coffee shop intellectuals and I hate such resistance-fighters, too.
The really valuable, such as theater and art can rise abo ve e verything.
That's my conviction.
Why did you want to meet me?
Well, I don't really know why.
It might e ven be dangerous for you.
Tell me, Barbara, did you e ver...
...really lo ve me?
Why did I come here toda y? If you'd been listening, you wouldn't ask that.
If you don't accept what's happening in Germany...
...why do you still live there?
What does freedom mean for you?
Do you need it to live? Or do you just need to be successful and lo ved?
I'm satisfied with success. It means many lo ve me.
And the fury of the envious does me good.
Don't make me responsible for the impotence of your friends.
- Mr. Höfgen. - Mr. Da vidson, this is a surprise.
The check, please.
Ha ve I come too early?
Farewell, Barbara.
Ma y I pa y?
What could I do here?
Freedom...
What for?
Oberon and Titania.
Congratulations!
I greet our wonderful and truly tantalizing German bride and groom.
Two young, yet mature people...
...of purest race and noblest blood, who ha ve enchanted us...
...and who serve our new society!
- Thank you. - All the best.
General, nice of you to come.
The y can sa y what the y want. For me, the world is Grunewald.
I'll remain a German artist and patriot, no matter who ma y rule my land.
Grunewald is my fa vorite place...
...and what other country brews such good beer?
Cäsar, nice to see you.
You can hold your rehearsals in this villa.
We're very proud of the wa y you spoke in Paris.
The wa y you simply answered all the questions...
...and said quite frankly and honestly what it's like here.
Carry on dancing.
Good e vening.
Now, that's a surprise! I won't sa y no to that.
- Congratulations, my Mephisto. - Thank you.
Now, as old Admiral Tirpitz said: "Target sighted! Full speed ahead!"
I'm looking forward to your Hamlet, my Mephisto.
Your interview in Paris made a good impression on all of us.
Congratulations! And lots of healthy German bo ys!
Thank you.
Madam?
Bea utiful.
Yes, very much to my taste.
Very lo vely.
Thank you, Madam.
Cheers!
We ha ve no working hours, just work.
I'm sorry, I must go now.
Be happy together... Hamlet.
Lately I've been wondering whether we actually deserve all this.
If I'm forced to answer, then I must sa y "Yes."
If not we, who represent individuality and art...
...who else should, can and must rise abo ve all that happens in the world?
That's why we're an e xample and encouragement to others.
No matter how filthy the world is...
...true art alwa ys remains pure and true, doesn't it?
I'm married to the theater.
And so are you.
I can't contact Otto Ulrichs. I sent a messenger to his flat...
...but he was told that two men took Ulrichs awa y two da ys ago.
Call the Prime Minister and connect me with him.
If he's not there, ask for an appointment as soon as possible.
- Hello? - Give it to me.
Höfgen.
- Hello. - Do come in.
Well, what's going on?
Recently you helped me, on behalf of a colleague.
Now I ha ve to ask again for help.
The thing is...
...a few da ys ago, Otto Ulrichs was taken from his apartment.
- Is this why you've come? - Yes, Ex cellency.
I'm fed up with you, Höfgen. These matters are outside your jurisdiction.
Keep your nose out of this affair.
I'll give you some good advice: Stop meddling.
You'd do better minding your own business...
...so you won't get crushed like a bug! Think you matter?
Ulrichs was involved in dirty work.
My State Theater manager ought not show such interest in a traitor.
Now go.
I told you to go.
Get out, actor!
I know how much I and the theater owe to the General.
I also know that to a great e xtent we owe it to you.
Dear Lotte, that's why I ask you to intervene for Ulrichs.
- I'm so worried. - Worried? But he's dead.
Didn't you know? As far as I know, he committed suicide.
Suicide.
He knew the risks he ran. I think he's more to be envied.
The Prince of Denmark renounces rank, youth and lo ve.
He is the sa vior of the North.
The lonely knight with lofty ideals, the ideal of purity of blood and race.
Hamlet is a comple x character, too. A great and simple man.
Despite repeating myself so soon: He is a man of the North.
He kills. And in his self-destructing battle...
...he shows us the wa y to the future.
He commands us to lead a pure life. That is his bequest to us toda y.
He is not weak, yet actors ha ve often portra yed him as neurotic...
...a pathological re volutionary, thus as a decadent type.
Hamlet is a hard man.
You will see him as an energetic, resolute hero.
He is also a hazard for the Germans. We constantly analyze too much.
For the hour demands actions, not only thoughts.
Least of all corruptive reflection.
Hamlet is the tragic conflict between action and inaction.
Between hesitating, thinking and doing.
And we, the bearers of German culture...
...know what to make of that.
Hamlet is a populist drama.
Neither religious, aristocratic, nor bourgeois...
...but a work like the Greek tragedies.
So we'll abolish the barrier between a udience and actor.
Space, light, mo vements, sounds are e verything...
...and e ven the spectators merge into one great, common effect.
We must bring about total theater.
A theater that shocks and mobilizes.
It cost 60,000 marks to decorate the theater for tonight...
...and five da ys loss of takings.
A nice birthda y party. And we ha ve to participate in this circus.
- Good e vening. - Good e vening.
The only place you will find a party like this is in Berlin.
Dearest Bella, we ha ven't met in ages.
Are you well? Not homesick?
I'm sure you're fantastically well and your great son is flourishing.
Dear Höfgen, how are you? How is the party going?
People seem to enjo y it.
Your Hamlet was magnificent. The boss was quite taken.
After the premiere he spoke only of you and the theater.
Success is strange. Sometimes you ha ve it, sometimes not.
No, dear Höfgen, you give people something, you create.
Here the y come.
- How are you, Mephisto? - Very well, Your Ex cellency.
I ha ven't told you, how wonderful your Hamlet was.
I'm very glad. Allow me to sa y a few words.
Mr. Prime Minister, Madam, ladies and gentlemen.
We are proud to be able to celebrate this da y with you in this theater.
Since I ha ve the honor...
...of greeting you on behalf of e veryone present...
...I salute the statesman and soldier...
...friend and generous patron of the arts.
We admire him as our role model, lo ve him as our friend...
...obe y him as our master...
...for without patrons, art is a bird with broken wings.
As the poet sa ys: "Ma y the gods protect you...
...and ma y the heart of Rome beat for your aims."
The Prime Minister wishes to speak to you outside, in his car.
You alone.
Nicoletta will take you home. I won't be long.
Well, Mephisto, what power is looking down on you here.
Do you feel it?
This is theater! Look at this arena. It's almost ready. Wonderful, isn't it?
This is where I'd stage a performance.
Don't blink, Hendrik, look history in the e ye. What an echo.
Hendrik Höfgen!
We shall rule E urope and the world. A thousand-year empire.
Hendrik Höfgen!
Go! Get going!
Into the middle!
Well, how do you enjo y this limelight?
This is the real light, isn't it?
What do the y want of me? After all...
...I'm only an actor.