Preceded by Kulturfilm: The Buildings of Adolf Hitler (1938, 16 mins). (Der alte und der junge König). The 18th-century costume drama portrays the making of a state subject, depicting how rebellious Young Fritz becomes Frederick the Great. Introduced as a missing person, in shots of an empty bed and a vacant chair, the prince denies his preordained role as heir to the Prussian throne. He undergoes harsh reeducation at the hands of his father (an alternately sadistic and sentimental Emil Jannings). The Oedipal scenario (co-scripted by Thea von Harbou) provided an object lesson in the acceptance of absolute authority. Fritz will resituate himself in a world of straight lines, uniformed masses, and unquestioned allegiances. The final sequence is riveting and shows how well the once errant prince has learned his lesson. He enters the Prussian court to assume the throne and stares at his on- and offscreen audience with a fierce, unflinching, and inexorable gaze.-E.R.