"Der Kaiser von Kalifornien" or "The Emperor of California" is an award-winning German black-and-white sound film from 1936, the year the Olympic Games were held in Berlin. The writer and director and lead actor is Luis Trenker who is mostly known for his mountain films and characters today, but here he delivers in an entirely different area. His work here has its 80th anniversary this year, which means that it was made during the years of Nazi Germany and just like with so many other films from that time and country, you will find the occasional propaganda element. But it is all more subtle and not as much in your face as some other films by Riefenstahl and Harlan for example. And the fact that it is in black-and-white is also not too common compared to some fictitious propaganda films. But unfortunately these slightly under 90 minutes were not a fascinating watch for any reason, neither acting, nor writing or directing. I hope Trenker did better in some of his other works as this one here does not get me curious at all about the rest of his fairly massive body of work. The story simply isn't interesting enough. Not recommended.
Der Kaiser von Kalifornien
(1936)
One of the more harmless propaganda films
30 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers