Different from You and Me
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Different from You and Me (§175) (Template:Lang-de) is a 1957 feature film on the subject of homosexuality directed by Veit Harlan. The film was subject to censorship in Germany, and several scenes had to be altered before it could be released.
Plot
Different from You and Me (§175) centers around the well-to-do Teichmann family in Berlin. Klaus, the 17-year-old son of Werner and Christa Teichmann, has begun to lead a life that increasingly worries his parents. Although he is an outstanding student, Klaus spends most of his free time with Manfred, a low academic achiever raised by a relatively poor single mother. The two boys share an interest in the arts, and Manfred has just published a poem in the local newspaper. Klaus has to protect Manfred from classroom bullies who attack him for his effeteness.
The Teichmanns become even more concerned when they learn that Manfred has introduced Klaus to the antique dealer Boris Winkler, who hosts decadent all-male get-togethers at his home, featuring avant-garde electronic music and freestyle wrestling by scantily clad young men. When Werner and Christa Teichmann get wind of this, they visit a psychologist, who cautions them that their son is in danger of being turned into a homosexual and that his parents should encourage him to socialize with girls his age.
When Werner Teichmann tries to ground his son, Klaus sneaks out through the bedroom window. His father searches for him, first at Manfred's apartment, then at Winkler's place, and finally at a demimonde club featuring a drag performance. Werner Teichmann finally confronts Winkler in a meeting with him in his home.
Not to be outdone, Christa Teichmann takes matters into her own hands. With the help of their housemaid, Gerda, she devises a plan to seduce Klaus and turn him from his homosexual ways. The plan is put into motion when Mr. and Mrs. Teichmann go away on a weekend trip, leaving Gerda and Klaus home alone. Gerda successfully seduces Klaus and in effect turns him straight.
All does not end well, however: at the instigation of Boris Winkler, Christa Teichmann is taken to court where she is charged with and found guilty of procuring the relationship between Gerda and Klaus.
Cast
- Christian Wolff as Klaus Teichmann, a schoolboy
- Paul Dahlke as Werner Teichmann, Klaus' father, a bank director
- Paula Wessely as Christa Teichmann, Klaus' mother, a housewife
- Hans Nielsen as Max Mertens, Christa Teichmann's brother
- Ingrid Stenn as Gerda Böttcher, the Teichmanns' housemaid
- Guenther Theil as Manfred Glatz, a schoolboy
- Hilde Körber as Mrs. Glatz, Manfred's mother, a widowed seamstress
- Friedrich Joloff as Dr. Boris Winkler, an antiques dealer
- Paul Esser as Police Commissioner
- Otto Graf as Chief Justice
- Herbert Hübner as Defender Dr. Schwartz
- Siegfried Schürenberg as Prosecutor
- Hans Schumm as Psychologist
