The Sovereign (1937)
Der Herrscher (The Sovereign) was based on Before Sunset, a play by Gerhart Hauptmann. The great Emil Jannings stars as Mathias Clausen, a self-made businessman who is forced to do a great deal of soul-searching when his wife unexpectedly dies. Determining to start life anew, he falls in love with his secretary Inken (Marianne Hoppe) and impulsively takes a vacation to Italy. Clausen's selfish grown children, not wishing to share their father's affections -- nor his money -- with his new wife-to-be, go to court demanding that Clausen be declared mentally incompetent. Upon finding this out, Clausen flies into a rage, leaving the audience to wonder whether or not he really as gone off his trolley. Der Herrscher was directed by Veit Harlan, more famous (or notorious) for his viciously anti-Semitic Jud Suess (1940).
- Released
- 1937-03-17
- Genres
- Drama
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Status
- Released
- Directed / written by
- Veit Harlan, Thea von Harbou, Curt J. Braun
- TMDB rating
- 5.7/10 from 3 votes
Cast
- Emil Jannings as Matthias Clausen
- Marianne Hoppe as Inken Peters
- Hilde Körber as Bettina Clausen
- Käthe Haack as Ottilie Klamroth
- Herbert Hübner as Direktor Erich Klamroth
- Maria Koppenhöfer as Klothilde Clausen
- Paul Bildt as Diener Winter
- Heinrich Schroth as Direktor Hofer
- Max Gülstorff as Sanitätsrat Geiger
- Harald Paulsen as Rechtsanwalt Hanefeld
- Paul Wagner as Professor Wolfgang Clausen
- Hannes Stelzer as Egert