Furlough on Parole (1938) DVD-R

Ingeborg Theek, Iwa Wanja, Rolf Möbius, Fritz Kampers, Berta Drews, Lotte Werkmeister

Director: Karl Ritter
Print: Black and White
Runtime: 87 min.
Genre: Drama
Language: German
Subtitle: English

Germany, in the Autumn of 1918: The First World War is almost at an end. Nevertheless, more and more German reserves are being called into battle. The young and inexperienced Lieutenant Pratorius has the difficult mission of leading a replacement regiment to Brandenburg. The men’s morale is poor, because the usual leave granted to men leaving for the front has been repealed. When the unit reaches Berlin, the soldiers’ mood improves. Almost all of them are from Berlin and they’re hoping to get a few hours leave in their hometown. Pratorius ignores the warnings of his superiors, that the men will never return and sends them off on leave. They go their separate ways and have to resist the many temptations to desert. Despite being a Nazi propaganda piece about the “virtues of soldiery”, an unintended appeal for peace and a message about the futility of war can be drawn from the film’s actions.