Der Kaiser von Kalifornien (1936) Deutsch

Director: Luis Trenker Writer: Luis Trenker Stars: Luis Trenker, Viktoria von Ballasko, Werner Kunig The film follows the life story of Johann Augustus Sutter, the owner of Sutter’s Mill, famous as the birthplace of the great California Gold Rush of 1849. While the basic story of Sutter’s life is retained, the producers inserted some notable changes reflecting the political environment of the film’s creation: though Sutter was a Swiss-German, the film emphasizes his German ethnicity and though he changed his name to John Sutter when he came to the United States, throughout the film he retains the name Johann Sutter. The film opposes the “easy“ money of gold-digging with the wealth and values created by hard work, as the Gold Rush eventually destroys Sutter’s fortunes and creates social disintegration and the loss of solidarity and companionship.