Joan of Arc (1935 film)


Joan of Arc is a 1935 German historical film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Angela Salloker, Gustaf Gründgens and Heinrich George. It depicts the life of Joan of Arc, and is the first female embodiment of the Nazi Fuhrer figure in film. The press in Germany and abroad detected direct parallels between the presentation of France in 1429 and the situation in Germany in 1935.
It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Robert Herlth and Walter Röhrig.

Cast

Reception

Writing for The Spectator in 1935, Graham Greene criticized the film for historical inaccuracies, as well as for what he called its "Nazi psychology". Greene described the overall effect to be dull and noisy, and described the direction as "terribly sincere, conveying a kind of blond and shaven admiration for poor lonely dictators who have been forced to eliminate their allies."