| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Ferdinand Marian | ... | Joseph Süß Oppenheimer | |
| Kristina Söderbaum | ... | Dorothea Sturm / Faber | |
| Heinrich George | ... | Karl Alexander, Herzog von Württemberg | |
| Werner Krauss | ... | Rabbi Loew / Levy - Oppenheimers Sekretär / Schächter Isaak / seniler Alte (as Werner Krauß) | |
| Eugen Klöpfer | ... | Landschaftskonsulent Sturm | |
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Albert Florath | ... | Obrist Röder |
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Malte Jaeger | ... | Aktuarius Faber |
| Theodor Loos | ... | Franz Joseph Freiherr von Remchingen | |
| Hilde von Stolz | ... | Herzogin von Württemberg | |
| Else Elster | ... | Luziana | |
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Walter Werner | ... | Herr Fiebelkorn |
| Jakob Tiedtke | ... | Konsistorialrat | |
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Otto F. Henning | ... | Vorsitzender des Gerichts (as Otto Henning) |
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Emil Heß | ... | Schmied Hans Bogner |
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Charlotte Schultz | ... | Frau Fiebelkorn |
In this notorious Nazi propaganda historical costume melodrama, a conniving, ambitious Jewish businessman, Süß Oppenheimer, snares a post as treasurer to the Duke of Wurttemburg by showering the corrupt duke with treasure and promises of even greater riches. As the Jew's schemes grow more elaborate and his actions more brazen, the dukedom nearly erupts into civil war. Persuaded by the Jew, the Duke all but scuttles the constitution and alienates the assembly by lifting the local ban on Jews in Stuttgart. In a final outrage, the Jew rapes a wholesome German girl and tortures her father and fiancée. When the Duke succumbs to a sudden heart attack, the assembly of Elders try the Jew and sentence him to death for having "carnal knowledge of a Christian woman". Written by Kevin Rayburn <kprayb01@gwise.louisville.edu>
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."