The Devil's General (1955)
"Des Teufels General" (original title)

1941, the Third Reich seems to be winning the war. Luftwaffe (air force) general Harry Harras enjoys the good life as highly respected technician and Berlin ministry/ HQ official. However ... See full summary »

Director:

Helmut Käutner

Writers:

George Hurdalek, Helmut Käutner,

Stars:

Curd Jürgens, Marianne Koch, Viktor de Kowa

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Curd Jürgens	...	Gen. Harry Harras
Marianne Koch	...	Dorothea 'Diddo' Geiss
Viktor de Kowa	...	SS-Gruppenführer Schmidt-Lausitz
Karl John	...	Ingenieur Karl Oderbruch
Eva Ingeborg Scholz	...	Waltraut 'Pützchen' Mohrungen
Harry Meyen	...	Leutnant Hartmann
Bum Krüger	...	Hauptmann Lüttjohann
Paul Westermeier	...	Otto Korrianke, Fahrer von Harras
Camilla Spira	...	Kammersängerin Olivia Geiss
Erica Balqué	...	Anne Eilers
Albert Lieven	...	Oberst Friedrich Eilers
Karl Ludwig Diehl	...	Generaldirektor Hugo Mohrungen
Beppo Brem	...	Hauptmann Pfundtmayer
Werner Fuetterer	...	Baron von Pflunck
Joseph Offenbach	...	Kriminalrat Zernick

Storyline

1941, the Third Reich seems to be winning the war. Luftwaffe (air force) general Harry Harras enjoys the good life as highly respected technician and Berlin ministry/ HQ official. However his outspoken critical attitude at social occasions awakes hopes from opposition and suspicion from the Nazi party. He suddenly finds himself approached and arrested by the Gestapo, who psychologically torture him. Next his position is threatened by technical aircraft trouble he'll be blamed for but may result from sabotage.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | luftwaffe | party | nazi uniform | world war two | 

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Taglines:

They bought his soul and put him in command of Hell!

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

23 February 1955 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Devil's General

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Real-Film GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Klangfilm-Stereocord

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bomber planes depicted in this movie are Ju-86s (aka Junkers 86), a little-used bomber plane in World War II. After the war they were bought by the Spanish Air Force of Gen. Francisco Franco.

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Connections

Version of Des Teufels General (1997)

User Reviews

A great movie with one great actor.

Curd Juergens, Germany´s famous actor of the fifties and sixties, here playing a part that made him a star: The Devil´s General is an airforce general with extraordinary success in building new warplanes for the luftwaffe in ww2. At the same time, he is definitely not a nazi, not a bureaucrat but a party animal and a human being with a certain sense that everybody should be treated as human beings. This makes him an enemy to the high ranks of the SS and at the same a potential partner for people of the german resistance. In the end, he pays the bill for being part of a system, he never really said "no" to. A great movie with one great actor.