Marshal Forward (1932)
Marschall Vorwärts is a German feature film by Heinz Paul from 1932 with Paul Wegener in the title role as Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher .
action
Prussia at the time of the Napoleonic invasion at the beginning of the 19th century. The country can hardly hold back the attacks of the French. The battle of Jena and Auerstedt was lost in 1806, Berlin was occupied, King Friedrich Wilhelm III. and Queen Luise fled to Memel far in the northeast of the country. Near Radkau, the popular old Marshal Blücher, a veritable warrior, had to capitulate to the overpowering enemy because he ran out of food and ammunition. Since Prussia's alliance with Russia still exists, all seems not to have been lost. Blücher is exchanged for a French general. Immediately he goes to his king in Memel to ask the monarch to bundle all his strengths to attack the French aggressors. Here, however, Blücher learns that Russia has its own interests and does not show itself ready to take action against Napoleon side by side with the Prussians. Now Blücher is also giving up. After the humiliating French peace dictate of Tilsit in 1807, in which Prussia largely surrendered its independence to the French, the almost 70-year-old General Blücher withdrew to his estate, deeply disappointed.
In several incendiary letters to his king, the aged Marshal Friedrich Wilhelm urges him not to come to terms with the fate of his country imposed by Napoleon. The choleric Corsican emperor gets wind of it and forces the Prussian king to finally send Blücher into retirement. When Napoleon's fortunes in war seem to turn in the endless expanses of Russia and the French are only on the march back, the aged Blücher awakens new courage to face life. The decisive factor for him is the Prussian-Russian agreement, which is reflected in the Tauroggen Convention at the end of 1812 and de facto means that the Prussian aid organizations have left the cooperation with French troops. Blücher, now appointed by the king to lead the Prussian army, rallied his supporters, and a new strategy was discussed for how to defeat Napoleon. On the side of the Russians one experiences defeats and smaller victories; It was only when the Austrians joined the alliance that the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig succeeded for the first time in inflicting a serious defeat on Napoleon's army. Blücher's urge to move forward, his unconditional drive to his people, earned him the nickname “Marshal Forward”.
Production notes
Marschall Vorwärts was created on July 22, 1932 in the Jofa Ateliers in Berlin-Johannisthal . The film had ten acts and was 2,780 meters long. The censors released him on October 24, 1932 for the youth. The premiere took place on November 23, 1932 in Berlin's Titania Palace and in the atrium.
Producer August Mueller was also production manager, Harry Dettmann was unit manager. The film structures come from the hands of Robert A. Dietrich (design) and Bruno Lutz (execution). Composer Willy Schmidt-Gentner was also the musical director. Hermann Birkhofer set the tone. Georg von Viebahn served as military advisor.
Historical background
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher , soon popularly known as “Marshal Forward” with respect because of his forward strategy as Field Marshal General on the battlefield against the Napoleonic invaders and usurpers, was already over 70 years old when he began to play a decisive role in pushing back Napoleonic troops. At the side of the Duke of Wellington he was the military commander in chief who inflicted the final defeat on Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815 .
Reviews
“The artistic value of the film lies in the ghostly movement of the masses. The film indulges in battle images with large armies of extras: the bitter struggle for the gates of Lübeck and, above all, the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig. The fight scenes leave nothing to be desired in terms of realism and do not save with gun smoke. Major Georg von Viebahn was a military advisor. Paul Wegener is a purely human Blücher: honest and good, rumbling and gnarled, a patriot and a soldier. In his outward appearance he does not resemble the Marshal Forward, whom we know from the school primer, but in his essence. (...) No unimportant love story tries to approximate the historical events to the usual requirements of the film plot. With the film "Marschall Vorwärts", which is simple, tough, masculine, unsentimental, a new era of patriotic film begins: overcoming patriotic kitsch. "
Paimann's film lists summed up: "With no game plot a section of Prussian history, designed according to popular tradition: episodes and excerpts added to the overall picture; initially too broad, then tighter, more effective. Almost inevitable that the enthusiasm for war that emerged particularly in the dialogues, the analogies to current events are perceived as a tendency. The direction has its strength in the large-scale and plausible battle images. Wegener as Blücher convincing, human; always well-managed opponents. Suitable illustration music (Schmidt-Gentner), good photography, the same tone. With the aforementioned Restriction, a good history film .. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marshal Forward ( Memento of the original from February 26, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Paimann's film lists
Web links
- Marshal forward in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Marshal Vorwärts at filmportal.de