Anyone with even a fleeting knowledge of the life of Johannes August Suter will realise that this is an idealised portrait of the Swiss pioneer who transformed the wastes of California into a veritable 'Eden' and was eventually ruined by both the Gold Rush and the betrayal of the American government.
Realists will say that one cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs; the eggs in this case being the Native Americans who were reduced by Suter to a state of slavery with all of its concomitant abuses. Suffice to say, this particular aspect is totally absent from the film.
The character of Suter was obviously of great interest to director Luis Trenker as he was also of Swiss descent and as a film-maker he was able to indulge his passion for the great outdoors.
The two overriding questions I suppose are: does it work as a Western and does it succeed as Propoganda? The answer to the first question must surely be a resounding 'yes!' The action sequences are effectively done, notably the burning of San Francisco whilst the images of the landscape, especially that of the desert, are simply stunning, not to mention the mesmerising special effects. The introduction of the 'ghostly stranger' played by Bernard Minotti is a masterstroke and there is an extremely touching performance by Viktoria von Ballasko as Frau Suter. The thrilling score is again supplied by Dr. Giuseppe Becce.
The film's effectiveness as Propoganda is doubtful. In common with so many Nazi Propogandist films it is highly unlikely that it had much effect on the consciousness of German cinema-goers. Suter's image as a messianic leader is balanced by his Hitlerian rants. Unsurprisingly the Americans considered it anti-American whilst the Russians surprisingly viewed it as being pro-American! Eighty-five years on of course such absurdly nationalistic prejudices are both laughable and irrelevant.
Trenker was very much his own man and his honeymoon with the Nazi regime was not destined to last much longer. After the war he faced accusations of fascist opportunism but these were eventually dropped.
Although not the subtlest of directors, his films possess an indefinable, almost mystical quality of their own and of the 1,300 or so movies produced by the Third Reich this must surely be one of the most bizarre and entertaining. Despite its smaller budget and shorter running time, it is infinitely more effective than Universal's monumental misfire 'Sutter's Gold'.
Realists will say that one cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs; the eggs in this case being the Native Americans who were reduced by Suter to a state of slavery with all of its concomitant abuses. Suffice to say, this particular aspect is totally absent from the film.
The character of Suter was obviously of great interest to director Luis Trenker as he was also of Swiss descent and as a film-maker he was able to indulge his passion for the great outdoors.
The two overriding questions I suppose are: does it work as a Western and does it succeed as Propoganda? The answer to the first question must surely be a resounding 'yes!' The action sequences are effectively done, notably the burning of San Francisco whilst the images of the landscape, especially that of the desert, are simply stunning, not to mention the mesmerising special effects. The introduction of the 'ghostly stranger' played by Bernard Minotti is a masterstroke and there is an extremely touching performance by Viktoria von Ballasko as Frau Suter. The thrilling score is again supplied by Dr. Giuseppe Becce.
The film's effectiveness as Propoganda is doubtful. In common with so many Nazi Propogandist films it is highly unlikely that it had much effect on the consciousness of German cinema-goers. Suter's image as a messianic leader is balanced by his Hitlerian rants. Unsurprisingly the Americans considered it anti-American whilst the Russians surprisingly viewed it as being pro-American! Eighty-five years on of course such absurdly nationalistic prejudices are both laughable and irrelevant.
Trenker was very much his own man and his honeymoon with the Nazi regime was not destined to last much longer. After the war he faced accusations of fascist opportunism but these were eventually dropped.
Although not the subtlest of directors, his films possess an indefinable, almost mystical quality of their own and of the 1,300 or so movies produced by the Third Reich this must surely be one of the most bizarre and entertaining. Despite its smaller budget and shorter running time, it is infinitely more effective than Universal's monumental misfire 'Sutter's Gold'.