"The Devil's Mistress" is a 2016 Czech made for television film starring Tatiana Pauhofová as the real-life film star, Lida Baarova, who was Goebbels mistress.
Baarova was Czech, but became a big star in Germany and was involved with another star, Gustav Frolich. Though in the film he is not divorced, in real life, he was. She eventually became the lover of Goebbels (Karl Markovics). Hitler intervened and ordered the relationship severed, which made Baarova an outcast in the social and film scene in Berlin. She was forbidden to leave the country.
With the help of a friend, she escaped back to Prague. She worked in film there and in Italy. When the war was over, she was imprisoned by the Americans and later released. Later on, she resumed acting in Italy. After the fall of Communism, Baarova wrote her autobiography, and the 1995 film Lída Baarová's Bittersweet Memories won an award in Slovakia.
"The Devil's Mistress" deals with her life up to the time right after the war, with a quick narration about the next few years. Her two marriages are omitted. And, of course, there is some dramatic license taken with the story. For instance, while involved with Goebbels, a costar in the film version of Die Fledermaus, Friedl Czepa, was taken out of the film because she was a Jew. Lida appeals to Goebbels so she can be rehired. In real life, Friedl Czepa was a major Nazi collaborator and in no danger of being fired.
One of the reviews mentioned the love scene between Goebbels and Lida. I have to admit, it was a scream, with overly dramatic, loud music, images superimposed on the fire, and Goebbels' hilarious facial expression of ecstasy. That scene and the hair on the actor who played Hitler were over the top.
Tatiana Pauhofová is effective as Lida; Zdenka Procházková does an excellent job as the elderly Baarova. The rest of the acting is fine.
This was a very expensive production with gorgeous sets and clothes, plus the '30s-40s atmosphere. But somehow it had the stamp of TV movie all over it. Possibly it was the music or the fact that the script wasn't biting enough. At any rate, it didn't deserve the one star someone gave it here.
Baarova was Czech, but became a big star in Germany and was involved with another star, Gustav Frolich. Though in the film he is not divorced, in real life, he was. She eventually became the lover of Goebbels (Karl Markovics). Hitler intervened and ordered the relationship severed, which made Baarova an outcast in the social and film scene in Berlin. She was forbidden to leave the country.
With the help of a friend, she escaped back to Prague. She worked in film there and in Italy. When the war was over, she was imprisoned by the Americans and later released. Later on, she resumed acting in Italy. After the fall of Communism, Baarova wrote her autobiography, and the 1995 film Lída Baarová's Bittersweet Memories won an award in Slovakia.
"The Devil's Mistress" deals with her life up to the time right after the war, with a quick narration about the next few years. Her two marriages are omitted. And, of course, there is some dramatic license taken with the story. For instance, while involved with Goebbels, a costar in the film version of Die Fledermaus, Friedl Czepa, was taken out of the film because she was a Jew. Lida appeals to Goebbels so she can be rehired. In real life, Friedl Czepa was a major Nazi collaborator and in no danger of being fired.
One of the reviews mentioned the love scene between Goebbels and Lida. I have to admit, it was a scream, with overly dramatic, loud music, images superimposed on the fire, and Goebbels' hilarious facial expression of ecstasy. That scene and the hair on the actor who played Hitler were over the top.
Tatiana Pauhofová is effective as Lida; Zdenka Procházková does an excellent job as the elderly Baarova. The rest of the acting is fine.
This was a very expensive production with gorgeous sets and clothes, plus the '30s-40s atmosphere. But somehow it had the stamp of TV movie all over it. Possibly it was the music or the fact that the script wasn't biting enough. At any rate, it didn't deserve the one star someone gave it here.