Leontine Sagan's Mädchen in Uniform (1931) is a groundbreaking German film that showcases women’s agency and desire behind and in front of the camera.
Adapted from Christa Winsloe's lesbian play, the story follows Manuela, an orphan in a boarding school for impoverished Prussian nobility. When she declares her love with her female teacher, the oppressive principal punishes her, leading to a desperate suicide attempt.
Barbara Mennel's compelling study firmly establishes Mädchen in the Weimar cinema canon. Mennel contextualises the film in 1920s theories of sexuality and the conventions of modernist cinema. She contrasts its international success to the extensive censorship battles that surrounded it. The film’s unique transnational and fragmented history results from the exile of many of its makers during the Nazi regime. By attending to the many remakes throughout the 20th and 21st century, Mennel underscores the film's timeless impact that continues to resonate with contemporary audiences.
By:
Barbara Mennel Imprint: BFI Publishing Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 190mm,
Width: 135mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g ISBN:9781839024177 ISBN 10: 1839024178 Series:BFI Film Classics Pages: 112 Publication Date:30 May 2024 Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments Notes about Titles Introduction 1. Staging the Third Sex 2. Sagan Directs a Hit 3. International Success and Censorship Battles 4. The Nazi Film Industry and Routes of Exile 5. Remakes, Rediscoveries and Remixes Conclusion Notes Bibliography Credits
Barbara Mennel is a Professor of Film Studies and German Studies at the University of Florida, USA. She is the author of Su Friedrich (2023) and Women at Work in Twenty-First-Century European Cinema (2019).