DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film. Zoltan Korda’s Die elf Teufel and the Cultural Transgressions of the late Weimar Republic Rebeccah Dawson University of Kentucky Abstract: By the close of the Golden Twenties, sport in Germany had experienced an exponential rise in popularity, both among the masses and the capitalistic elite� Though the cultural and technological progression of the 1920s was welcomed by many, a distinct fatigue and criticism emerged in the late years of the doomed German republic� The burgeoning cinematic realm facilitated the combination of the popularity of sport, and more specifically football, with pedagogical influence in a time of political upheaval and crisis, illuminating the cultural battlefield at the time. Zoltan Korda’s 1927 film Die elf Teufel elucidates these characteristics of early cinematic landscape in Weimar Germany� By examining the main characters and their interpersonal interactions, Korda’s film sets the stage not only for the fall of the young republic� In analyzing the star player Tommy’s role in the love triangle central to the plot as well as the variations of the “new woman” (‘Gretchen,’ ‘Girl,’ and ‘Garçonne’), this article demonstrates how Korda’s film not only highlights the progressively problematic cultural development at play in the Weimar Republic but also the purported victory of traditional German values over those of international modernity� Keywords: Weimar Germany, Football, Soccer, Modernism, Zoltan Korda, Die elf Teufel , Gender, New Woman, Gretchen, Girl, Garçonne “Fußball - der Sport des Jahrhunderts! ” So reads an early intertitle of Zoltan Korda’s Die elf Teufel . Already at the start of the film, the spectator can see the pinnacle of popularity that football had assumed in the early years of German modernity� Both cinema and football saw surprisingly similar lifespans during the Weimar years of German history: both slowly rose in prominence throughout the 1920s with their pinnacle at the tail end of the Golden Twenties, and 124 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 both became a vehicle for stardom for the individual in popular culture� The combination of the two, then, would offer a unique cultural landscape accessible to manifold corners of public consumption. Zoltan Korda was the first director to combine these two massively popular phenomena in his silent film Die elf Teufel , which premiered in October 1927 and was declared “den ersten Fußball-Spielfilm” by the Film-Kurier � 1 Not only did the film pose a fictional world of football in Germany, but it utilized actual footage of a match from Hertha BSC, which took place in 1927 (“Der Sädte-Kampf ”), 2 thus merging both imagined and real football at the core of its production� Die elf Teufel was by no means an outlier in athletically focused cinematic production, as Fritz Freisler’s Der König der Mittelstürmer premiered only a few weeks later. While Freisler and Korda’s films worked with a significantly smaller budget than other cinematic productions premiering in 1927 (e�g� Metropolis ), the cultural relevance of football cinema cannot be overlooked in their influence on German cinematic history and Weimar society� It is no coincidence that the popularity of these films coincided with the rise of organized football leagues and the sport as a mass cultural phenomenon throughout Germany and Austria� Before the end of the Weimar Republic, however, the cultural landscape that embraced these new mass phenomena would reveal a rift at the very core of society-traditional values of the conservative so-called simple life battling the “other” in its manifold forms born in the metropolitan cityscape� As the product of two massively popular cultural phenomena of the era, Die elf Teufel elucidates the societal and cultural conflict between the traditional, German values and the progressive modernity which threatened it� This article will first contextualize Korda’s film within the cultural landscape of the Weimar Republic, when sports, and more specifically football, experienced an exponential rise in popularity and capital value� Subsequently, I will show how the main characters of the film, in both their unique attributes as well as their key interpersonal interactions, reflect the combative state of Weimar culture in the final years of the 1920s. By examining the two main female characters (Linda of Sportklub Linda and femme fatale Vivian of Sportklub International) in relation to the main protagonist (Tommy), the gendered war of the Weimar Republic comes to the forefront. This article will specifically focus on Tommy’s role in the love triangle with Linda and Vivian-both of whom embody drastically different depictions of the “new woman”-but also on the protagonist’s moral crisis in choosing between his love of the game and desire for fame and money� The athletic journey Tommy embarks on showcases the battle between the two extremes of Weimar women: the traditional, conservative ‘Gretchen’ symbolic of the old German values versus the ‘Girl’ transformed into ‘Garçonne,’ who threatens the aforementioned way of life� This dynamic DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 125 combined with the highs and lows of Tommy’s football career perfectly underscore the societal chaos that accompanied the last years of the Weimar Republic� The extreme binaries presented in the film-modesty/ pompousness, work/ pleasure, honesty/ deception, proletariat/ bourgeois, good girl/ femme fatale , country/ city-illuminate the cultural war ravaging Weimar society� This article will lay bare the gendered cultural extremes of Weimar Germany in their athletic interactions as displayed in the film and subsequently reveal a ravaged society left open to the dangers, transgressions, and manipulations to come� At its core, Die elf Teufel illuminates the progressive “other” in its many forms and the threat it wields against not only traditional German values, but also German masculinity� Only by defeating this new world order can the virtuous conservative culture, and therewith Germany, survive and thrive� Using the backdrop of the football clubs Sportklub Linda and Sportklub International, the characters in Die elf Teufel reflect the character, loyalty, and morality expected of traditional German society� The working-class players of Sportklub Linda present the modest yet contented lives of Germans outside of the city center void of the capitalistic greed that accompanied the urban cultural landscape of the Weimar years� On the opposing side, the players of Sportklub International pride themselves as the elite of the football world, harnessing power from beyond the borders of Germany to dominate at any cost� Despite the massively uneven power dynamic, Sportklub Linda serves a pedagogical role in the film to viewers, reinforcing the positive value inherent in a simple life unadorned by the capitalistic greed and modern advancements of the urban elite� What’s more, the film shows an athletically fueled Faustian bargain struck between Tommy, the captain and leader of Sportklub Linda, and the management of Sportklub International, leading him to betray his football family� It is only in his realization of the merit and camaraderie of these hard working and loyal Arbeiter from the outskirts of the city that the rivalry game can be won and the capitalistic International, in all its manifestations, can be defeated� This article will demonstrate how Korda’s film highlights not only the revered traditional cultural foundations surviving in the Weimar Republic but also the threatening power that Sportklub International and the scandalous “new woman” pose to Germany’s survival� Alongside the manifold technological and cultural advancements of the Golden Twenties, the popularity of sport began to surge at the start of the 1920s, only gaining momentum as the decade progressed� The athletic world was no exception to the excess associated with the Weimar days, and the public’s obsession with sport likewise steadily intensified as the decade surged on. With the implementation of the mandatory eight-hour workday in 1918, workers sought out 126 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 sporting events as entertainment and distraction in their free time� While football clubs began forming throughout Germany before the turn of the 20 th century (the earliest in the late 1870s), the German Football Association ( Deutscher Fußball Bund or DFB) was not officially founded until 1900, with 86 teams from across the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany� After its initial foundation, the league expanded with lightning speed� By 1905, it boasted 254 clubs and 13,000 players� In 1910, the league had grown to include 1,361 clubs with 111,000 players� Finally, by the start of World War I, the league boasted over 2,200 clubs with just under 190,000 members (Kramer 207—8)� The exponential growth rate reflects not only the overall massive popularity football had attained but also the rise of the sport as a mass phenomenon at all levels of society as evidenced by the sheer reach of the association, its professional teams, and most importantly, the star player persona now accessible to all levels of society� It was only after the First World War, however, that football’s popularity began to filter into society outside of larger cities like Vienna, Berlin, and Prague, which had drawn massive attention early on� What is more, the elite began to realize the financial windfall the sport could offer both the players and the athletic administrations� Though largely limited to the working-class pre-World War I, football became a seemingly unending source of revenue during the post-World War I years for club owners, who capitalized on the new leisure time activity for fans as well as the promise of stardom for talented players� Considering the quick and colossal popularity the sport attained in such a short amount of time, it is no surprise that the rise of football as a mass phenomenon seamlessly filtered itself into artistic and cultural production. Indeed, the newest obsession with organized leagues throughout Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia made for an ideal transformation into cinema, thereby further illuminating the cultural battle being fought outside the arena� While the phenomenal rise of professional athletics in the 1920s is indeed impressive, it pales in comparison to the mass media revolution happening during the same period� The advancement of newspapers, magazines, and radio shows provided the population with a constant stream of information that crept into every avenue of cultural life-from politics to fashion, economics to literature and stage productions, artistic and cultural production as well as, of course, the sporting world� Mass media soon moved into the realm of entertainment, with cinema assuming a prominent role in cultural production, growing exponentially as the decade progressed� By the end of the 1920s, German cinema had infiltrated nearly all areas of society, with cinemas, theater halls, and production studios cropping up all around Germany (Heinsohn 204)� Across the Atlantic, Hollywood superstars like Gary Cooper, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin dominated the cinematic world, aiding Hollywood’s iconic historical trajec- DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 127 tory into its heyday in the early 1930s� Germany, too, saw a boom in cinematic leading men, perhaps best seen in Gustav Fröhlich’s iconic role in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis , which premiered in March 1927, only months before the filming and cinematic premiere of Die elf Teufel � 3 The fervor and adoration of the Hollywood elite, composed of American and European actors alike, enchanted audiences around the world, not least in Weimar Germany� As is still the case in today’s cinematic world, athletes of Weimar Germany were known to share the screen with popular actors in feature films. Boxer Max Schmeling, for example, added acting to his portfolio with films like Liebe im Ring from 1930, Knock Out (filmed with his real-life wife, actress Anny Ondra) in 1935, and even cameos in football films like Das große Spiel (1942)� That Die elf Teufel , a film focused exclusively on football, showcased Gustav Fröhlich and could capitalize on his Metropolis fame cannot be ignored� Though his casting may be viewed as a lucky coincidence, the popularity Fröhlich attained in the months after the release of Metropolis certainly garnered attention for Die elf Teufel it might not have otherwise received as a small film production. His presence in the film, however, combined with the pinnacle of German spectatorship in football stadiums-the German national team, for example, boasted 50,000 spectators at a match in November of 1927, just weeks after the film’s premiere (Heinsohn 205)-posits Die elf Teufel as a vital example of athletically powered films, which can provide insight into the cultural landscape of the time and glean an understanding of the struggles perpetuated amongst the Weimar masses� Football was not the only cultural aspect that would undergo a makeover in 1920s Germany� The Weimar Republic saw a woman’s movement, which emphasized the emancipated role women could and furthermore would play in modern society. As Lilean Buhl explains, the “new woman” was a “complex and contingent figure of modernity who reconciled utopian promise with the omnipresent potential for decline. […] [S]he personified the contemporary understanding of crisis […] as a decisive, open-ended, and dynamic situation of conflicting possibilities.” Indeed, the “new woman” blossomed during the 1920s, and her role often featured in newspapers and magazines� Much research exists on this topic, 4 but Manfred Georg’s often cited categorization of the “new woman” of the era is especially fitting when mapped onto the female characters of Die elf Teufel . In the year the film premiered, Georg published a breakdown of the three main types of women found in Weimar Germany in the 8-Uhr-Abendblatt : the ‘Gretchen,’ ‘the Girl,’ and the ‘Garçonne�’ According to this trifecta, the ‘Gretchen’ is by far the least fearsome and is generally categorized as the young German girl with braids and knitting needles-the obedient wife and caring mother that embodies core traditional values� This good girl often plays the role 128 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 of a redeemer, seen as the "innocent victim […] longsuffering and faithful lover […] or as a contrast to the fringe world itself ” (Place 41—42)� Representative of the conservative, traditional values of German society, the ‘Gretchen’ stands in direct opposition to the femme fatale � The Weimar men, and ‘Gretchen’ women for that matter, are threatened by these latter two types of women� The ‘Girl’ personified materialism and excess, perhaps best exemplified by the flapper icon of the Roaring Twenties� Though she was no menace in overtaking masculinity, she posed a unique threat to traditional values in her glamour, boyish hair and fashion, consumerism, superficiality, and sexuality (Hung 55). The true antagonist amongst the categorical “New Woman,” however, was the ‘Garçonne,’ who manifested a distinct threat to the masculinity of the age� Indeed, she dressed in suits and ties, wore top hats, and ceased to have any traditional values of German society� A masculinized, rational, and independent woman, the ‘Garçonne’ entered the male dominated realms of society and represented a dangerous threat of the transgression of feminine ideals (Sutton 6)� Considering Georg’s article was published during the same year and in the same city as Korda’s film, it is perhaps unsurprising that the two women portrayed in Die elf Teufel embody all three categories over the course of the film. Indeed, the viewer follows a battle of the “new woman” via her relation to football� That the ‘Gretchen’ figure comes out victorious over the remaining two forms of modern femininity only further supports the victory of the traditional German ideals over those of the new metropolitan modernity� Die elf Teufel follows the career trajectory of Tommy, captain “des armen und unbekannten Sportklubs Linda.” 5 It is clear from the outset that the big city referred to here is Berlin (the capital and largest city of the Weimar Republic), and it is inferred that the fringes of the city are outskirts of the district of Neukölln (Heinsohn 215)� Tommy begins the story as the contented and happy leader of the working-class team Sportklub Linda, in love with the sport and with the club’s namesake, his fiancée Linda. The team-a ragtag combination of players from all walks of working life including factory workers, taxi drivers, and mechanics-gathers after work to play on their run-down, dirt-covered field. The story, however, takes a dark turn when Tommy is recruited, or better put seduced, by femme fatale Vivian Holm and Sportklub International, led by trainer Mac Lawrence and composed of professional footballers accustomed to the finer side of a commercialized game. As Tommy delves deeper into the world of big-league football, he slowly strays from both his team and his love Linda. The conclusion of his Faustian deal comes when International is slotted to play against his former club. In the happy end, Tommy returns to Linda-the club and the woman-to win the game, defeating the big city team and its modern, DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 129 capitalistic influence on sport. The film, then, can be viewed as an example of the cultural and societal challenges faced in the waning years of the Weimar Republic� By examining Tommy’s choices in his personal life and athletic career, the underlying cultural battlefield of the Weimar Republic surfaces. The juxtaposition of amateur and professional, big city and small town, wholesome Weimar good girl and Golden Twenties flapper femme fatale reveals the struggle at play in the cultural landscape of Germany as the 1920s came to a close� In the end, the film puts a typical German Arbeiter centerstage and follows his fall as well as his path to redemption. The inner conflict Tommy experiences reveals the daily struggle men faced in the waning years of Germany’s first democracy. This trajectory understood in a larger sense is representative of the struggles in everyday culture of the Weimar Republic� By mapping Tommy’s interactions with the trifecta of Weimar women onto his athletic successes and failures, a society in need of protection emerges� Only by returning to the conservative, traditional values and escaping the international, metropolitan modernity can Germany survive and succeed in the daunting future� The film’s blueprint breaks down into a familiar good versus evil straight from the start� It is important, however, to examine the details that create this black-and-white battle of morality that serves as the basis of Tommy’s athletic journey. The first reference to Tommy appears as an intertitle, referring to him as “Liebling der Vorstadtjungen.” It is not hard to see why he carries this honor, as he jokes and playfully wrestles with the young fans on his way into the locker room� This immediately conjures an image of purity, almost childlike innocence, before the audience even sees Tommy interact with the other main characters or play on the field. He is very much still an innocent child at heart like the young fans who admire him. After he enters the clubhouse, he cannot find his practice uniform but enters the pitch, donning his dress clothes from work, establishing himself on screen as not only a skilled player but also as a coach/ leader other players look to for guidance� Thus, Tommy can be understood as the stereotypical working-class athlete, who quite literally cannot separate himself from work (hence the suit rather than the football kit the others wear), but his passion for the game shapes younger players around him� Additionally, unlike the professional players seen later in the film, Tommy’s suit is noticeably oversized on his slim frame, suggesting it was not tailored to him but second hand, or simply bought off the rack. This distinguishes him as a worker when compared to the custom, tailor-made suits worn by those associated with Sportklub International� Most obvious in the initial perception of Tommy, however, is that he plays the game for fun and not for the capitalistic gains of a professional career� It is not long until this athletic innocence is tested, and Tommy must choose between 130 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 the love of the game and his fiancé Linda or the temptations of the metropolitan professional league and the allure of femme fatale Vivian� Linda and Vivian, representations of the extremes of the “new woman” in the Weimar era, can be viewed as embodiments of the teams they represent� By looking deeper into the interactions and characteristics of each woman, the true value and merit of each club can be revealed. To begin, the audience first encounters Linda (played by Evelyn Holt) in her house wearing Tommy’s practice jersey on a lark� Not only does she love the team, but she also loves football itself, so much so that she symbolically becomes a part of the team by wearing Tommy’s uniform even when he goes onto the field for practice. What is more, Linda’s home and the clubhouse for Sportklub Linda are one and the same. The locker room, bathtubs, and lounge area for the players are all contained in Linda’s meager home. That is to say that it is nearly impossible to separate Linda from Sportklub Linda. The two are infinitely intertwined. Linda, then, can be seen as the ideal representation of a working-class, German football woman: she lovingly supports her fiancé and his teammates in their play but also loves the game so much that she supports the team with her own hearth and home� Introduced via intertitle as “der Engel der elf Teufel,” Linda is revered by the entire club, especially by Tommy� Not only is she introduced as the angel amongst the devils, but she also has pale, fair skin that radiates light, giving her an angelic look� She dresses conservatively, wearing long-sleeve dresses with high collars, while her long, light-colored hair is always pulled back out of her face and never flowing loosely. She does not reflect the stereotypical femme fatale of the Roaring Twenties, but rather a good girl ideal, who supports her man as he works to earn a living and plays football for fun with his friends, while caring for the neighborhood children� Indeed, her personality and actions align with the ‘Gretchen’ detailed in popular culture of the Weimar years, which would subsequently be idealized during the Third Reich� As the obedient wife and nurturing mother often praised by more traditional, conversative pockets of Weimar society, ‘Gretchen’ is sexually powerless and overall passive, yet boasts an optimistic outlook on life� Considering her role in the home (Sportklub Linda) caring for the male players and neighborhood children, Linda appears to fulfill the role of a traditional, conservative ‘Gretchen’ posited amongst the options for the “new woman” in Weimar society� She is even specifically referred to as an angel-the most innocent of beings-and fulfills a stereotypical angelic ideal in her physical appearance. The notion that Linda can be understood as fulfilling the positive, traditional ‘Gretchen’ role for her football club is only furthered when the etymological roots of the name Linda itself are analyzed to elucidate manifold meanings which support the core conservative value that she holds in Tommy’s life and career� DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 131 Perhaps today most associated with the Spanish meaning “beautiful,” the name Linda takes root from the old Germanic word linde , which translates roughly to “tender, soft, or gentle” (Kluge 520)� The name also mimics the German verb lindern , meaning “to soothe or alleviate�” This is precisely the role that Linda plays in the film. She is the ideal representation of a Weimar ‘Gretchen’: a tender, soft spoken woman who soothes the men around her, keeping them fed and taken care of� Indeed, the good girl, in contrast to the femme fatale , plays the role of the “redeemer” and often fills the role of the “innocent victim” (42). As will be discussed below, it is Linda who is victimized when Tommy chooses Vivian over her, yet she immediately comes to his aid when he is injured� This notion of the ideal German woman is only further cemented with the fact that the old Germanic linde is also the etymological root of the iconic Linden tree, which has long been associated with marital love and fertility, yet also with strength� 6 Additionally, perhaps the most famous association to the word is the famous street Unter den Linden , which runs through the center of Berlin� The Linden tree was also a symbol of jurisprudence and justice, as sentences in trials were typically delivered under the Linden tree, which were typically planted at the very center of any German town, as with Unter den Linden in Berlin� Further still, the tree, with its heart shaped leaves, also carries an association with love and lovers, which relates in part to the aforementioned marital love and fertility� Considering the multitude of meanings associated with the name, it can be no coincidence that the guiding light representing loyalty, modesty, and honesty, the nurturing soul of the players and fans, the source of all things good for the Sportklub, the love of Tommy’s life and future bride bears the name Linda. She, then, provides the team, and Tommy specifically, with exposure to the epitome of Germanic roots: not only is she a symbol of marriage and family, but she also bears the name of justice and strength-all of which Tommy, and the team, will need to harness to beat the heavily favored Sportklub International� Furthermore, her name takes root in the same word as the Linden tree, with all of its vital and viral associations with the mystical Germanic past� While Linda represents the ‘Gretchen’ role in her almost proto-militaristic conservative German values in both her name and appearance, Vivian Holm (played by Lissi Arna), the female representative of Sportklub International, posits none of the mental or physical traits associated with her Sportklub Linda counterpart� Rather than described as an angel, Vivian’s intertitle declares her “eine begeisterte Anhängerin des Sports und der Sportler.” Unlike Linda, she is not directly involved with the game, but she is an enthusiastic fan of the sport and, more importantly, the players� As the description notes, she quite literally hangs onto the sport (not the game) and team� Rather than comforting and nurturing the players of International, she proclaims to her paramour 132 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 (star midfielder Biller) that he should never be jealous because she will always simply do whatever she feels like doing. Vivian, in stark contrast to Linda, can be understood in her appearance, demeanor, and etymological nomenclature as representative of the modern, internationalized world that endangers the Gretchen ideology. Unlike Linda, Vivian fluctuates between the ‘Girl’ and the cosmopolitan ‘Garçonne’-both of which sit in direct opposition to the conservative, traditional norms of the ‘Gretchen’ ideals of the Weimar “new woman�” Vivian accompanies Mac Lawrence on an outing when they stumble upon Sportklub Linda’s practice. Arriving in a chauffeured automobile, a symbol of luxury in the 1920s, the initial impression of Vivian, Lawrence, and Sportklub International is one of wealth and opulence� This prosperity comes in stark contrast to the ramshackle field and clubhouse of Sportklub Linda. While Vivian and Lawrence approach the field, Tommy plays and coaches his teammates oblivious to their arrival. She wears a bowler hat typical of flappers and is not dressed in attire expected for a football match-a short dress with a jacket that cuts especially low in comparison to Linda’s high collars. Her makeup is dark and heavy, accentuating her dark hair, chopped short in a bob, and pale complexion. In contrast to the angelic depiction of Linda who cares for the team and the neighborhood boys in her initial appearance, Vivian appears as a temptress, immediately plying Tommy with compliments, smirks, and caresses. The flirtation she initiates is so obvious and extreme that Linda, who peers from the kitchen of the clubhouse where she cooks for the neighborhood boy Pips, can tell something is amiss� In her first appearance on screen as well as her first interaction with Tommy, Vivian posits a combination of the ‘Girl’ and ‘Garçonne’ of the Roaring Twenties in complete contrast to the traditional ‘Gretchen�’ True to the description of such “new women” of Weimar, Vivian’s appearance represents the progressive feminine mindset rampant in metropolitan Germany. Throughout the film, she is seen wearing dark-colored dresses, which show much more skin than the traditional ones Linda wears, and even masculine slacks, a button-down dress shirt, and tie� Indeed, her depiction onscreen is from the onset one of a masculine vamp, threatening not only the male power in society, but also the honest, loyal hardworking love cultivated by her female counterpart� Indeed, Vivian fits the description of a flapper, as posited by Sumiko Higashi, perfectly. “The flapper looked boyish and acted mannish. According to Victorian standards, women as moral superiors elevated men to the level of their pedestals� The flapper reversed gears and acted like a man, thus making herself more accessible to the opposite sex� She smoked, drank and petted” (112)� This description falls in line with both the ‘Girl’ and ‘Garçonne’ of Weimar� Vivian’s initial appearance solidifies her role as the vamp, and her actions throughout the film-she DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 133 does indeed smoke, drink, and pet regularly-cement her as the dangerous “new woman�” Even in Vivian’s early moments on screen, she conjures the image of the scandalous Weimar woman, simultaneously seducing and threatening the masculine in society with her dress, demeanor, and interactions� Like Linda, the etymology of Vivian’s name symbolizes her influence on Tommy’s life and career� The name Vivian, a distinctly non-Germanic name, comes from the Latin “vivus,” meaning living or to live and is ultimately linked to the Roman name Vivianus (Frier 477)� This is an appropriate name for her considering that what she offers Tommy is a new life with Sportklub International in an entirely new and lively world of professional football� It comes as no surprise that when Tommy does indeed join International, he initially feels more alive than ever before. He begins a new life through the temptation offered to him by Vivian, Lawrence, and International. It soon comes to pass, however, that this new life is an unwelcome change and not at all what Tommy expected or desired in his athletic life and proves this new existence to be one of dangerous transgressions� Like his female counterpart Vivian at International, the trainer Lawrence (played by Fritz Alberti) enters the film as the ultimate temptation, offering Tommy a metropolitan life and athletic career far from the simple life at Sportklub Linda. His name, Mac Lawrence, immediately invokes the image of a distinctly foreign “other�” As is the case with Vivian, the name points towards the UK or even America as its source� Whatever his heritage, he stands in direct contrast to the team at Sportklub Linda, appealing to Tommy not through camaraderie or loyalty, but superficial monetary gain and fame. In the audience’s first encounter with him, he appears at the field of Sportklub Linda in a tailored three-piece suit, complete with a gold pocket watch and jewelry to match� He later brings Tommy via chauffeur to the Sportklub International headquarters in the city center. From the start, Lawrence establishes himself as a cutthroat businessman, trying to buy Tommy with a “fabelhaften Vertrag.” Lawrence, much like Vivian, can be understood as the metropolitan, professional yet corrosive influence in society, sent to tempt Tommy away from the love of the game as well as the loyalty and camaraderie he represents at Sportklub Linda. Alongside Vivian, Lawrence embodies the devil of consumerism to whom Tommy sells his athletic soul for a professional career� The etymology of the name Lawrence likewise reveals more about the trainer’s character in relation to Tommy’s career. The name Lawrence derives from the Latin laurus , meaning “laurel.” The Laurel tree, of course, culls images of ancient Greece and Rome, where laurel wreaths were worn to represent victory or achievement in sport� It is no coincidence, then, that the trainer of the professional team bears the name synonymous with victory in athletic endeavors� 134 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 His first name, Mac, is generally associated with the Scottish, meaning “son of.” When combined, his name quite literally means “son of athletic victory�” Not only does he offer Tommy a “fabelhaften Vertrag,” but his character embodies the dream of all athletes: victory� With each of these characters pulling him in a different direction, Tommy faces a crossroad in the early portion of the film where he makes a Faustian deal of sorts� Even his name clues the viewer into the unstable status of his morality from the start� Tommy, of course, is a form of the name Thomas� While Tommy was not necessarily a common German name of the time, Thomas certainly was� Generally speaking, Tommy is traditionally used as a nickname for a young boy, whereas Thomas is a formal, proper name for an adult. That Tommy specifically goes by the shortened, informal version, suggests that he has perhaps not matured into the courageous, loyal, masculine role model expected of men at the time� In fact, it posits him as an impressionable young man, who can either be nurtured by the loving and loyal ‘Gretchen’ or intimidated into a certain role by the ‘Girl’ or ‘Garçonne’ of Weimar women. He is pliable and finding his footing in life, much like society of the Weimar Republic� The decisions he makes will determine if he grows into the respectable and traditional German man, Thomas, or a foreign influenced and dominated Tommy in the grip of Vivian, Lawrence, and the professional moneymaking Sportklub International. As such, a naïve and young Tommy can and, as is the case in the film, will be tempted by a lively existence without passion or substance� It is how he deals with the repercussions of his decision that will determine what kind of man Tommy/ Thomas becomes� Tommy begins the film as the epitome of a working-class football player. He comes to the field each evening and even plays in his work suit. His loves are obvious at the start: the game of football and the angelic Linda. When Lawrence sends for Tommy to discuss and offer him a fabulous contract, his response is simply: “Ich bin Sportsmann aus Begeisterung—�” Quite simply, he plays for no other reason or motivation than his love of the sport. Lawrence then offers him a 1000 Mark bonus, which Tommy refuses, stating simply, “Ich gehöre zu meinen elf Teufeln�” Tommy, thus, has twice refused the monetary enticements from the professional league. However, as he leaves Lawrence’s office, he quite literally gets lost trying to find the building’s exit. In his attempt to leave, he stumbles unwittingly to Vivian’s room. While he has not fallen victim to Lawrence’s lucrative offer, Tommy has become lost in the labyrinth of the opulent metropolitan athletic world� Subsequently, this maze only has one exit, namely into the web of a Weimar vamp, who makes the third and final offer to Tommy to join the team, which he does not refuse� DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 135 From examining the names and appearance of the main characters, the division is clear between the traits embodied by Linda (both the woman and the club): modesty, honestly, loyalty, resilience, courage, comradery, hard work, love, athletic passion� Conversely, the new, modern, and dangerous transgressions in the metropolitan mindset of those associated with Sportklub International illuminate players bought and sold like commodities with no loyalty or substance� To be sure, the moral code of the Sportklub International puts the traditional working-class team who play for the love of the game in danger, as personified by Tommy’s fall from grace in his Faustian deal with Lawrence� When the duality of the innocent, loyal yet passionate German society as portrayed by Linda is juxtaposed with those of the vamp Vivian, a distinct battlefield is drawn, where Tommy must choose between the modest yet loyal lifestyle he knows and the international fame and wealth the modern Sportklub International affords. The internal battle plays out through key scenes of the film involving Tommy and the female leads� A close analysis of these pivotal scenes exposes the core values promoted by Sportklub Linda and the threat that Sportklub International poses to their modest yet happy way of life� Tommy’s recruitment symbolizes the beginning of his fall from grace. As aforementioned, Lawrence brings Tommy and Linda via chauffeur from the outskirts of town to the International headquarters. Linda, enamored with the luxurious car sent for her fiancé, insists on accompanying him� After driving through the bright lights and modern cityscape, they pull up in front of the International high-rise� Upon arrival, however, Linda is told to remain in the car, while Tommy goes to speak with Lawrence. That is to say that after traveling into the modern metropolis in a wealthy, chauffeured car, Tommy leaves the nurturing, traditional embodiment of his club in the vehicle that brought him into the metropolis� Only he is allowed into the den of modernity within the offices of Sportklub International. Without the loyalty and love Linda represents, Tommy becomes vulnerable to the temptations of the modern city� Though he remains strong during the meeting, twice refusing Lawrence’s attempt to buy his talent, Tommy succumbs to the modern labyrinth as he attempts to leave� Searching for the exit, Tommy wanders through dark shadows into corners, struggling to free himself from the hold of Sportklub International� The only door that opens leads to Vivian’s apartment� Once Vivian sees Tommy in her room, he is unable to resist, succumbing entirely to the power Vivian holds� Though he balks towards the door, his decision to stay with Vivian is made and he leaves Linda, in all her manifestations, behind. This is solidified when Vivian, noticing the door ajar, closes it and therewith any chance Tommy had of resisting her� 136 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 When Vivian appears on screen, she is the epitome of the Weimar flapper ‘Girl” persona� She wears a dark dress with a plunging neckline, a hem that hits above the knees, dark hair cut into an angular bob, and her makeup is dark and heavy on her pale skin� Tommy appears just as she primps herself to go to a nightclub with the International players� Indeed, the new ‘Girl’ of Weimar was known to frequent clubs and bars, wear scandalous clothes, and sport short, bobbed hair� In fact, according to Georg, the ‘Girl’ is “sexy without sizzle—rather coolly calculating” and she always succeeds whenever she encounters a man she wants� Indeed, this describes Vivian perfectly� She is able to catch Tommy in her web, convincing him to stay by her on the other side. Like the ‘Girl,’ she succeeds in her encounter with Tommy where Lawrence could not. While Tommy stumbles through the shadowy hallway and is eventually drawn into Vivian’s room, the doorman downstairs tells Linda, without Tommy’s knowledge, that she should return home without him� Refusing the luxuries of the International club she admired earlier in the night, she exits the car and declares that she would prefer to walk the long distance back to Neukölln� She waits briefly for Tommy under a lone streetlight, illuminating her as the only bright spot in the darkness of the city street. That is to say that Linda is the sole light that can lead Tommy back to the “right” side of sport, morality, and life� He does not, however, glance out of the window in time, and she returns to the Sportklub Linda clubhouse, continuing to wait for him while comforted by the loyal Sportklub Linda players. She has not lost hope, as evidenced by her adamant declaration to the rest of the team that Tommy will return� Indeed, Linda becomes the “innocent victim” of the femme fatale . As Linda leaves, the ‘Girl’ has won over the ‘Gretchen,’ which will only lead to hardships in Tommy’s life and career� Rather than follow the light to Linda, Tommy remains with International, and more specifically with Vivian, causing him to miss work, practice, and Linda’s birthday� Even with his recent promotion at the factory, his absence results in being fired, severing the last connection to the Arbeiter on the outskirts of the city entirely. The influence of Vivian, and therewith International, has already caused upheaval in Tommy’s life� The job, promotion, and his engagement all evaporate within the span of a day after accepting the contract with the metropolitan, urban football club� Professional sport as well as the ‘Girl’ of the “new women” clearly show the threat to the ideals that Sportklub Linda holds high. Indeed, the emancipation of women like Vivian combined with the commercialization and excess of the Weimar city culture menace the very foundation of the hardworking and passionate working-class team as well as the faithful ‘Gretchen’ waiting at home� DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 137 The next time the audience sees Vivian, she informs Lawrence that Tommy will play for International, but he does not know against whom the team will play� As Vivian tells the trainer of Tommy’s decision, she interrupts the morning practice session and stands in the center of the screen surrounded by the men of International� In this scene, she has transformed into the ‘Garçonne’-wearing riding pants, carrying a riding crop (which she slaps against her hand as she grins), high boots, a white button-down blouse with a black tie� Her short, black hair remains nearly invisible under the wide brimmed hat� She controls the fate of the men on screen. Indeed, she fulfills the character that Hung describes as: “the masculinized, rational and independent female, embodying women’s supposed intrusion into formerly male-dominated spheres such as sport, technology, intellectual debate and sexual agency, challenging men on their own territory” (55)� Vivian has invaded the athletic world not just in her role with the Sportklub International but also by seducing Tommy to their club� The ‘Garçonne’ role she embodies here elucidates not only the power but also the threat that such women hold on society-when the club could not lure Tommy away with money and fame, she was able to coax him away from the simple traditional life he had� Not only has she lured Tommy away from his team, but she has also broken him from the loyal, loving relationship with Linda, the idealized representation of the ‘Gretchen’ in society� Thereafter, the audience witnesses Tommy’s deep dive into the excess the modern, metropolitan world of Sportklub International boasts� Having abandoned Linda (both the club and the woman), he is now fitted with custom suits and tuxedos (unlike his frumpy suit from the earlier scenes), goes out to clubs, drinks champagne from crystal goblets, and has seemingly forgotten his former club and love entirely. The birthday gift he originally bought for Linda, an expensive chain-link bracelet, is commandeered by Vivian, who assumes it is a present for her� In other words, he is now chained to Vivian and International without any hope of return to his former life� The dangerous threat brought about by Vivian as both ‘Girl’ and ‘Garçonne’ combined with the new lifestyle of Weimar modernity has taken hold, leaving Tommy a helpless victim to his own fate� Vivian holds power over Tommy and dictates his actions so much so that he is lost without her� Indeed, the message is clear here that Vivian’s femme fatale role poses a clear threat to the strong masculinity of Weimar society� Tommy’s betrayal comes to its precipice when Linda, worried for her fiancé who does not attend her birthday party, tracks him down to a club in downtown Berlin� As she enters, she witnesses Tommy, drunk and stalking Vivian around the dancefloor while she dances with his rival Biller. Tommy’s wild eyes and disheveled appearance reveal just how far he has fallen from the proper, traditional, and contented gentleman introduced at the beginning of the film. When 138 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 asked if he knows Linda, Tommy despondently responds simply with “nein,” as Vivian smirks, leading him back to his new team� At this moment, Tommy has fallen completely into the vices of his new team and new woman� Utterly disavowing his old life, Tommy has made a deal that will earn him money, fame, and fortune; however, he is noticeably unhappy and uninspired� The childlike, carefree innocence from the first scene has evaporated completely, leaving a shell of the athletic star. Indeed, after Linda and Vivian leave, Tommy sits alone, pours himself a glass of champagne only to throw the glass to the ground, shattering it� This only further cements that the glitz and glamour of the modern urban football scene, though tempting, are not the path to success� In fact, they pose a threat to the key ideals that define Sportklub Linda and succumbing to their allure leads only to dangerous transgressions� The joy that accompanied Tommy at the start of the film is gone and, in its place, a morose player who dreads the news of his first opponent. The identity of his first opponent is intentionally kept from Tommy until the game is set to begin� Once he is told he is to play his former teammates, he refuses to participate, instead sitting in the locker room, occasionally peering through a window at the battle ensuing on the field. That is to say that the original Tommy, the one beloved by the neighborhood children and who played for the love of the game, has not been entirely eradicated by the influence of the ‘Girl’/ ’Garçonne’ and the professional football world� On the contrary, he does not even entertain the notion of playing against them� In the epitome of a Faustian moment, Lawrence holds up the signed contract to remind Tommy of what he agreed to. In the scene, Lawrence stands between Tommy and the window to the game-his face snarled in a demonic grin� Fighting back against the professionalized athletics, Tommy rips the contract into pieces, signifying his disavowal of the momentary greed and lust he felt for modern urban life� That is to say, he resists the draw of the new society he discovered in favor of the one he knew with Linda. Ostracized by both the former team he left behind and the rich, professional team he has renounced, Tommy sits forlorn in the locker room while the battle rages on outside� The match unfolding is brutal, and International eventually leads 1-0 via a questionable penalty kick, much to the dismay of Linda supporters, who begin to chant “Tommy! ” Eventually, his Linda kit is snuck to him, and he enters the pitch, much to the delight of the fans, his team, and, perhaps most importantly, Linda. It does not take Tommy long to even the score at 1: 1� However, after his goal, Biller, the midfielder Tommy originally replaced and Vivian’s love interest, commits a brutal and intentional foul, injuring Tommy’s head and leaving him weak, woozy, and bleeding� As the fans call for a red card, Tommy intervenes and tells the referee that it was an accident, and no charge should be given� Even in an DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 139 injured state, Tommy’s decency, fair play, and leadership of Sportklub Linda surfaces� The foul, however, causes Tommy to faint, and he is carried from the field to the locker room, where he is joined first by Linda and then by Vivian in the climactic moment symbolic of the two paths Tommy must ultimately choose between and the two women representing the extremes of the new Weimar woman� In the locker room, Tommy lays lifelessly on the bench, still bleeding from his head. Linda kneels next to the bench and throws her upper body protectively over him� True to the core of her name ( lindern ), Linda attempts to protect and heal Tommy, soothing his pain� Vivian then enters the room and stands at the foot of the bench, towering over both Tommy and Linda. The dynamic at play here takes on an interesting form� Vivian, and therewith the professional league and modern life in the urban metropolitan lifestyle she represents, quite literally towers over the underdog couple� She is dressed in a fur-lined coat with a hat that splits into two at the crown, mimicking two devil horns� The embodiment of the ‘Girl’ of Weimar society, she wears expensive clothes, dark, dramatic make-up, and a bucket hat that reveals only the tips of her bobbed black hair� She initially has no physical interaction with Linda or Tommy as she takes in the scene. As Tommy lies unconscious on the bench under a protective Linda, Vivian realizes she has lost Tommy� She returns the bracelet, the chain holding Tommy to her and International, to Linda, telling her: “Das Armband war für Sie bestimmt�” With the contract in pieces and the chain holding him to Vivian gone, Tommy regains consciousness, beginning his new life with Linda and the team he was meant to be on� He returns to the game to score the winning goal, resulting in the underdog defeating the professional favorites International� The victory Tommy achieves is only possible when the influence of professional, modern life-as portrayed here by both the monetary influence of Lawrence and the cultural dominance of Vivian-releases its hold over his life and career. True to the cultural association of the Linden tree, the values associated with Linda (modesty, honesty, loyalty, passion, love) act as a symbolic shield for Tommy in his weakened state� The ‘Girl’ (and the ‘Garçonne’ very obviously hidden within Vivian) no longer threaten the traditional values of German culture, and the capitalization of the city league have been conquered� As such, Tommy becomes revitalized, playing with the happiness and passion he exuded while playing on the ramshackle fields of Sportklub Linda at the start of the film. Victory with these weapons comes easily to Tommy and to his team of Arbeiter � Indeed, the return to the simple life reveals the resilience, camaraderie, and hard work needed to combat the transgressions of modernity� This notion is only further supported by the trophy ceremony at the culmination of the film. 140 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The final scene begins with an intertitle that reads: “Ich überreiche Ihnen diesen Pokal als Zeichen der Anerkennung für Ihr Zusammenhalten, das der schönste Beweis von Kameradschaftlichkeit in Gefahr und Kampf war�” That is to say that the very qualities that are highlighted as the source of victory for Sportklub Linda are those valued in traditional German society. In fact, the phrasing here even emphasizes the proto-militaristic fashion in which the values are honored by Tommy, Linda, and their team. The moral battlefield Tommy encountered in his athletic and personal lives transformed into a war, which could only be won by harnessing the qualities and camaraderie of a traditional, noble German working man rather than those of modernity in the metropolitan football realm. Likewise, the support of a traditional, angelic German ‘Gretchen,’ must also arise victorious over the temptations of the modern, Weimar ‘Girl’ and ‘Garçonne’ embodied by Vivian� The battle of Weimar culture is clearly laid out in Tommy’s career trajectory and further scaffolded by the juxtaposed forms of Weimar femininity� Rather than an obsession with money and fame, Tommy and Linda are content to work hard, support each other, and play football for the sake of playing football� In the end, the threat of the modern athletic landscape, in all of its manifestations, is defeated by the traditional values at the core of the conservative, traditional, courageous German life� Perhaps the most significant moment in the victory of the amateur club is that Linda specifically receives the trophy. This is particularly poignant, considering the role that Linda played not only for the team and neighborhood youth but for Tommy specifically. She was the key component in holding the team together and keeping her faith that Tommy would indeed see the error in his ways� She is the epitome of a traditional German ‘Gretchen,’ who “embodied the ideal of the obedient wife and caring young mother (Hung 55)�” She nursed Tommy back to health and unwaveringly supported him in returning to the traditional, moral life away from lust and temptation of modernity� Vivian, on the other hand, is not seen after the game, while Linda is praised at the center of the stadium� Although both women are present for the remainder of the match in the stands, it is Linda who joins the team on the field to celebrate their victory� To be sure, there is little doubt as to who has won the battle of Weimar feminine culture, and the implications of this victory can be used to understand the status of the societal and political upheaval that was boiling over in the late Weimar Republic� Korda’s film not only reflects the famed status of football in popular culture during the late 1920s, but it also lays bare the fatigued cultural landscape at play in the waning years of the Weimar Republic: a metaphorical battle between upper and lower society, adventurous and traditional gender roles, modern, and romantic notions of how society should be� By examining the challenges, DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 The First German Football Film 141 choices, and victories Tommy experiences in both his athletic and personal life, the film dictates the trials and tribulations German society was subjected to throughout the Weimar Republic� Seduced by the thrills of the wealthy, modern, urban, and professionalized life, Tommy abandons his traditional, working-class morals to capitalize on his football prowess, wooed by the exotic ‘Girl’ turned ‘Garçonne�’ He is consumed by this new world, until the one he left behind is glimpsed through the window of the arena� That Tommy not only refuses to play against his old team but subsequently joins them and defeats the goliath rivals, injured no less, unveils the idealized values at play. The film ends with the victory of the old world over that of the modern, bourgeois, athletic society, suggesting that the key to success in the future of Germany resides not in urban modernity, but in the traditional values forgotten in the glitz and glamor of 1920s culture� By returning to those, Germany can be made victorious again, and the hard-working German proletariat can be “der schönste Beweis von Kameradschaftlichkeit in Gefahr und Kampf�” Notes 1 While the film did not reach its peak popularity in society until two years later in 1929, it is still today considered the first feature film to focus exclusively on football� 2 The Film-Kurier makes note of the filming in September 1927, stating “Der Städte-Kampf Hamburg-Berlin, [d]er am letzten Sonntag auf dem Fußballplatz des B�S�C� Hertha ausgetragen wurde, wurde von dem Regisseur Zoltan [C]orda benutzt, um eine Reihe technisch interessanter Aufnahmen für den ersten Fußball-Spielfilm ‘Die elf Teufel’ zu machen […].” 3 Metropolis premiered on March 13, 1927� Korda’s Elf Teufel utilized a short filming period during the summer of 1927 and subsequently premiered on October 20, 1927 (Pflaum). That the film boasts Gustav Fröhlich in its main role as Tommy cannot be overlooked as a source for the attention it garnered� 4 For an extensive overview, see Kathleen Canning’s “Women and the Politics of Gender” and Ute Frevert’s Frauen-Geschichte: Zwischen bürgerlicher Verbesserung und neuer Weiblichkeit , specifically pp. 146-99. 5 Quoted directly from the intertitles of the film. 6 The Linden tree is traditionally associated with protection as a result of the utilitarian value the wood had in making shields for Germanic tribes� This connotation continues its association with the Linden tree in German culture (Green 70)� 142 Rebeccah Dawson DOI 10.24053/ CG-2024-0007 Works Cited Buhl, Lilean. “The Space Between: Literature and Culture, 1914-1945.” Searching for the Modern Girl 18 (2022)� https: / / scalar�usc�edu/ works/ the-space-between-literature-andculture-1914-1945/ vol18_2022_buhl�18 06 April 2024� Canning, Kathleen� “Women and the Politics of Gender�” Weimar Germany � Ed� A� McElligott� Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009� 146—74� Die elf Teufel � Dir� Zoltan Korda� Munich: Edition Filmmuseum, 2006� “Der Städte-Kampf Hamburg-Berlin�” Film-Kurier , Vol� 9, Nr� 211� 07 September 1927� Frevert, Ute� Frauen-Geschichte: Zwischen bürgerlicher Verbesserung und neuer Weiblichkeit � Frankfurt/ Main: Suhrkamp, 1986� Frame, Lynne. “Gretchen, Girl Garçonne? 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