Titanic is a 1943 German propaganda film made during World War II in Berlin by Tobis Productions for UFA, depicting the catastrophic sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. Despite the fact that there already was a German silent film produced in 1912 just f…
Titanic is a 1943 German propaganda film made during World War II in Berlin by Tobis Productions for UFA, depicting the catastrophic sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. Despite the fact that there already was a German silent film produced in 1912 just four weeks after the sinking and a British company had released a German-language film about the disaster in 1929, the film was commissioned by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels with the intent of showing not only the superiority of German filmmaking, but also as a propaganda vehicle which would show that British and American capitalism was responsible for the disaster. The addition of an entirely fictional heroic German officer to the ship's crew was intended to demonstrate the superior bravery and selflessness of German men as compared to the British officers.
The film's original director, Herbert Selpin, was arrested during production after making disparaging comments about the German army and the war in the east. He was found hanged in prison, and the film was completed by Werner Klingler, who was not credited.
Although the film had a brief theatrical run in parts of German-occupied Europe starting in November 1943, it was not shown within Germany by order of Goebbels, who feared that it would weaken the German citizenry's morale instead of improving it, as heavy Allied bombing raids made a film depicting mass panic and death unappealing. Goebbels later banned the playing of the film entirely, and it did not have a second run.
The film was the first on the subject which was simply titled Titanic, and the first to combine various fictional characters and subplots with the true events of the sinking; both conventions went on to become a staple of Titanic films.
Titanic (1943 film)
From Wikipedia
Titanic
Directed by Herbert Selpin
Werner Klingler (uncredited)
Written by Walter Zerlett-Olfenius
Herbert Selpin
Harald Bratt (uncredited)
Hansi Köck (uncredited)
Screenplay by Herbert Selpin
Walter Zerlett-Olfenius
Produced by Willy Reiber
Starring Sybille Schmitz
Hans Nielsen
Cinematography Friedl Behn-Grund
Edited by Friedel Buckow
Music by Werner Eisbrenner
Production
company
Tobis Filmkunst
Distributed by Deutsche Filmvertriebs
Release date
10 November 1943
Running time
85 minutes
Country Germany
Language German
Budget 4 million ℛℳ (Approximately US$15 million in 2020 terms)
