Tannenberg (film)

Tannenberg is a 1932 Swiss–German war film directed by Heinz Paul and starring Hans Stüwe, Käthe Haack and Jutta Sauer. The film is based on the 1914 Battle of Tannenberg during the First World War.^[1] It focuses on German landowner Captain von Arndt and his family.

Tannenberg
Directed by	Heinz Paul
Written by	Paul Oskar Höcker Georg von Viebahn Heinz Paul
Produced by	Lazar Wechsler
Starring	Hans Stüwe Käthe Haack Jutta Sauer Hertha von Walther
Cinematography	Georg Bruckbauer Viktor Gluck
Music by	Ernst Erich Buder
Production companies	Paul-Filmproduktion Praesens-Film
Distributed by	UFA
Release date	8 September 1932 (1932-09-08)
Running time	105 minutes
Countries	Germany Switzerland
Language	German
Budget	500,000 RM (equivalent to 2 million 2021 €)

Production

It was shot on location in East Prussia and at Terra Film's Marienfelde Studios and UFA's Babelsberg Studios during the summer of 1932.^[2] It cost over half a million reichsmarks to make and employed 8,000 people. The film focused on a notable German victory and was in sharp contrast to recent anti-war films such as Westfront 1918. Tannenberg served as a national symbol in Germany, and was re-issued in 1936 during the Nazi era.^[3] The Producers made an effort to make the film as historically accurate as possible, and portrayed the Russian commanders respectfully.^[4] It was due to be released on 26 August 1932, the eighteenth anniversary of the battle, but was delayed by the censors acting on a request from the German President Paul von Hindenburg who was unhappy with his portrayal in the film and the premiere was pushed back until certain scenes had been cut.^[5]

Cast

• Hans Stüwe as Gutsbesitzer Rittmeister von Arndt
• Käthe Haack as Grete von Arndt
• Jutta Sauer as Inge von Arndt
• Hertha von Walther as Schwägerin Sonja
• Erika Dannhoff as Schwägerin Lita
• Hannelore Benzinger as Lisbeth, Arndt, Magd
• Karl Klöckner as Gutsverwalter Puchheiten
• Franziska Kinz as Gutsfrau Frau Puchheiten
• Rudolf Klicks as Fritz Puchheiten
• Alfred Döderlein as Leutnant Schmidz
• Wolfgang Staudte as Husar Franke
• Karl Körner as Paul von Hindenburg
• Henry Pleß as Generalmajor Ludendorff
• Hans Mühlhofer as Oberstleutnant Hoffmann
• Friedrich Franz Stampe as Generalmajor Grünert
• Alfred Gerasch as Generalmajor Graf von Waldensee
• Graf Schönborn as Hauptmann Fleischmann von Theißruck
• Edgar Boltz as General von Scholz
• Georg H. Schnell as General der Kavallerie Shilinski
• Sigurd Lohde as General der Kavallerie Samsonow
• Carl Auen as Generalmajor Postowski
• Georg Schmieter as Oberst Gerwe
• Aruth Wartan as Stabstrompeter Kupschik
• Fritz Arno Wagner as Militärattaché Oberst Knox
• Ernst Pröckl as General der Artillerie Martos
• Erwin Suttner as General der Infanterie Kljujew
• Fritz Alberti as Generalleutnant Mingin
• Valy Arnheim as Oberstleutnant Fjedorow
• Viktor de Kowa as Rittmeister Fürst Wolgoff
• Friedrich Ettel as Kosakenwachtmeister