The Kaiser's Lackey (1951)
Synopsis
Diederich Heßling is scared of everything and everyone. But as he grows up, he comes to realize that he has to offer his services to the powers-that-be if he wants to wield power himself. His life motto now runs: bow to those at the top and tread on those below. In this way, he always succeeds: as a student in a duel-fighting student fraternity and as a businessman in a paper factory. He cajoles the obese district administrative president Von Wulkow and wins his favor. He slanders his financial rivals and hatches a plot with the social democrats in the town council. On his honeymoon with his rich wife Guste, he finally finds a chance to do his beloved Kaiser a favor. And when a memorial to the Kaiser is unveiled in the town where Diederich lives and works, he delivers the address. He stands behind the lectern in the pouring rain, saluting his Kaiser. The crowd is dispersed. Everything is laid in ruins...
Release Date: 1951-08-31
Runtime: 109 minutes
Director: Wolfgang Staudte
Top Cast
- Werner Peters as Diederich Heßling
- Paul Esser as Regierungspräsident von Wulckow
- Blandine Ebinger as Frau von Wulckow
- Renate Fischer as Guste Daimchen
- Carola Braunbock as Emmi Heßling
- Emmy Burg as Magda Heßling
- Sabine Thalbach as Agnes Göppel
- Friedel Nowack as Mrs. Göpel
- Friedrich Maurer as Göpel
- Erich Nadler as Father Heßling
Soundtrack
Original Music Composer(s): N/A
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