The headmistress is left to ponder the averted tragedy that she almost caused.ĭecades ahead of its time, Madchen in Uniform stands as a powerful plea for tolerance and has a strong anti-fascist message, a message that no doubt resonated at a time when the Nazis were first coming into prominence. Manuela is crushed and attempts suicide by nearly jumping from a fourth floor railing, but she’s rescued by the other girls. On a fateful day Manuela gets drunk and blurts out her feelings to the entire school, after which a horrified headmistress isolates Manuela from the other girls. Manuela develops a crush on her teacher, and it appears that von Bernburg might be returning her affections. In a scene which no doubt shocked 1930s audiences, Manuela, and only Manuela, is kissed on the lips. It is von Bernburg’s custom to kiss the girls goodnight at bedtime, which she usually does on the forehead. She begins to feel better after she meets Fraulein von Bernburg, a friendly and compassionate teacher who’s a far cry from the stern, unfeeling headmistress of the school and the other equally strict teachers. Though she is accepted by the other students, Manuela still feels very out of place. Hertha Thiele stars as Manuela, a lonely young girl who’s left at a rigid boarding school by an uncaring aunt. Madchen in Uniform is one of the first, if not the first, films to depict lesbian love on the screen. It was almost banned in the US, but Eleanor Roosevelt, who had just become First Lady, championed the film and it did receive a limited release stateside.
It was eventually banned by the Nazis and wasn’t shown in its native land until the 1970s. Madchen in Uniform (1931), an intense drama, did well upon its initial German release. Both films are also streaming at Kino Now, Kino’s in house streaming service. Now Kino Lorber, purveyors of classic cinema, have released both films on Blu Ray under their Kino Classics label. Both went unseen for many years but were rediscovered some years ago. Towards the end of this period, two films were produced which are now considered early classics of Queer cinema. The years before Hitler are now known as the Weimar Era. There was even an LGBT community during those years, though once Hitler and the Nazis took over it all came crashing to a horrible end. From 1918 until 1933, the year Hitler came to power, the German people enjoyed a freedom they had never experienced before. In between the two world wars Germany saw an incredible renaissance in art, literature, theater, cinema and music. Towards the end of the Weimar Era two films were produced which are now considered early classics of Queer cinema…