Jud Süß (1940)

Director:

Veit Harlan

Writers:

Lion Feuchtwanger (novel) and
J.R. George (novel)

Release Date:

7 February 1941 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In this notorious Nazi propaganda historical costume melodrama, a conniving, ambitious Jewish businessman...

Plot Keywords:

Jew | Propaganda | Nazi Propaganda | Anti Semitism | Demagogy

Cast

Ferdinand Marian	...	Joseph Süß Oppenheimer
Werner Krauss	...	Rabbi Loew / Levy, Oppenheimers Sekretär
Heinrich George	...	Karl Alexander, Herzog von Württemberg
Kristina Söderbaum	...	Dorothea Sturm / Faber
Eugen Klöpfer	...	Landschaftskonsulent Sturm
Hilde von Stolz	...	Herzogin von Württemberg
Malte Jäger	...	Aktuarius Faber
Albert Florath	...	Obrist Röder
Theodor Loos	...	Von Remchingen
Walter Werner	...	Herr Fiebelkorn
Charlotte Schultz	...	Frau Fiebelkorn
Anny Seitz	...	Minchen Fiebelkorn
Erna Morena	...	Frau des Konsistorialrats
Jakob Tiedtke	...	Konsistorialrat
Else Elster	...	Luziana

Also Known As:

Jew Süss

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Norway:16 (1941) | West Germany:(Banned) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:(Banned) | Sweden:(Banned) | Portugal:(Banned) (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Terra-Filmkunst

Trivia:

Leading actor 'Ferdinand Marian' first refused to play Oppenheimer, but was forced to relent when Nazi propaganda minister 'Joseph Goebbels' threatened the safety of his stepson, who was half Jewish.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Aktuarius lays the dead body of Dorothea on the doorsteps and puts his head on her chest, her right eyelid clearly moves for a few seconds.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Island at War" (2004)

Disturbing mix of entertaining camp and deadly propaganda

There's a histrionic death scene in "Jude Suess" in which the corrupt Duke, finally realizing his mistake in trusting his Jewish treasurer, makes grand theatrical gestures before collapsing to the ground. It's a moment as goofy as anything in Sergei Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible," and really very unintentionally funny. Evil sneers and clenched fists abound in this ridiculous historical melodrama--allegedly based on "fact" if you believe Josef Goebbels, he of the big lie--and as such it's something of a bizarre guilty pleasure. This is all very disturbing of course because this is a film that the German public in 1940 took with dead earnest seriousness. Along with the abhorrent propaganda "documentary" "The Eternal Jew" of the same vintage, this is the kind of film that manipulates and fabricates historical fact in the service of genocidal hatred. If you can put the film in proper historical perspective, understanding its socio-political implications, it is fascinating and perversely entertaining. With "Birth of a Nation" and a few others, it's certainly a notable addition to the cinema of hate. Its cracked dialogue includes such dubious gems as: "No, Jews aren't more clever--just more cunning."