Different from the Others

Different from the Others (German: Anders als die Andern) is a 1919 feature film from the Weimar Republic. The film was directed and produced by Richard Oswald who also co-wrote the film with Magnus Hitschfeld. Hirschfeld had partially funded the film through his Institute for Sexual Sciences. The film stars Conrad Veidt and Fritz Schulz in the leading roles with Anita Berber, Reinhold Schünzel and Magnus Hirschfeld in supporting roles.

The film was one of the first to show a sympathetic portrayal of a homosexual relationship in the history of the cinema. Censorship laws were enacted due to the release of films such as Different from the Others, with viewings being restricted to doctors and medical researchers until 1933 when the Nazis came to power in Germany with all but one copy of the film being burned. The surviving copy of the film is incomplete with the plot held together by additional inter-titles and still images.

The film is based around Paragraph 175 (known formally as §175 StGB), a provision of the German Criminal Code from May 15, 1871 to March 10, 1994. It made homosexual acts between males a crime and, in early revisions, also criminalized bestiality, forms of prostitution and underage sexual abuse. 140,000 men were convicted under the law, which also applied to homosexual women who were targeted less.

Plot
The film opens with Paul Körner (Conrad Veidt) reading the daily newspaper obituaries, which are filled with vaguely worded and seemingly inexplicable suicides. Körner, however, realizes that Paragraph 175 is hidden behind all of the suicides.

Körner is a successful violinist who is admired by Kurt Sivers (Fritz Schultz) who successfully approaches Körner about becoming his student. The two begin lessons shortly after and, during them, fall in love. Both experience the disapproval of their parents with Sivers' parents (Wilhelm Diegelmann and Clementine Plessner) disliking the attention being paid to be his studies with Körner while Körner's parents (Leo Connard and Alexandra Willegh) do not understand why he has not attempted to find a wife.

Körner sends his parents to his mentor, credited as The Doctor, who reveals to his parents that he is a homosexual. After coming out, Körner and Sivers begin seeing each other more openly. One day, while walking through a park hand in hand, they are seen by Franz Bollek (Reinhold Schünzel), who recognizes Körner and visits him later in the day demanding money to keep his secret. Körner pays him but does not tell Sivers. Bollek's demands eventually become too great and Körner refuses to pay.

Bollek decides to break in to Körner's home while they are performing but is found when they return with a fight breaking out. During this, Bollek reveals to Sivers that he has been blackmailing Körner. Sivers runs away to the outskirts of the city and struggles to survive on his own. A dejected Körner begins to remember parts of his past.

His first memory is of boarding school when he and his boyfriend Max are discovered kissing by a teacher, who gets Körner expelled. His next memory is from his time at university where he leads a lonely life attempting to keep his homosexuality a secret. The third memory is visiting an ex-gay hypnotherapist before finding him to be a charlatan. He next meets the Doctor who explains that 'Love for one of the same sex is no less pure or noble than for one of the opposite'. The last memory is of meeting Bollek for the first time at a gay dance hall. Bollek leads Körner on before blackmailing him over his homosexuality.

The film returns to the present day with Körner taking Else (Anita Berber), Kurt's sister, to see a lecture by the Doctor about sexuality and gender identity. Körner then reports Bollek for blackmailing and has him arrested. Körner, however, is also arrested for being a homosexual. The Doctor testifies on behalf of Körner at the trial. The judge finds Bollek guilty and sentences him to three years for extortion and, despite his reluctance, is forced to find Körner guilty but gives the minimum sentence of one week.

Körner is allowed to go home before serving his time but finds himself shunned by his family and society, with his father saying there was only one honorable way out. He is also fired from his job. Körner swallows a handful of pills, taking his own life. Having heard of his death, Sivers rushes to Körner's side as he lies dead. Sivers is blamed for what has happened by Körner's parents but Else harshly rebukes them. Sivers then attempts to end his own life but is stopped by the Doctor who explains that he must continue living 'to change the prejudices by which this man has been made one of the countless victims'.

The film ends with an open German law book, turned to Paragraph 175, as a brush crosses it out.

Cast

 * Conrad Veidt as Paul Körner
 * Fritz Schulz as Kurt Sivers
 * Reinhold Schünzel as Franz Bollek
 * Anita Berber as Else
 * Magnus Hirschfeld as Arzt ( German for Doctor )
 * Leo Connard as Körner's Father
 * Ilse von Tasso-Lind as Körner's Sister
 * Alexandra Willegh as Körner's Mother
 * Ernst Pittschau as Sister's Husband
 * Wilhelm Diegelmann as Sivers' Father
 * Clementine Plessner as Sivers' Mother
 * Helga Molander as Mrs. Hellborn
 * Karl Giese as a young Paul Körner

Trivia

 * The film refers to Hirschfeld's theories of cross-dressing, which have subsequently been discredited.
 * The film was shipped across the Weimar Republic with forty different copies made. Only one is now known to exist.