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Made in Germany, released on the 16th of November, 1927.
Gay: 9 out of 9 |
Lesbian: N/A |
Trans: N/A |
Queer: N/A |
Körner, Max, and Sivers are all openly gay.
The “Innocent but Outlawed” chapter of The Laws of Love is a shortened version of Different From the Others, which was banned in Germany in 1920 and all known copies of it destroyed. Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, the sex specialist who provided scientific advising on Different From the Others as well as acting as himself in the film, retained what was likely the last intact print in his private archive. In 1927, he used scenes from it to recreate the story in a 30 minute condensation for his ongoing The Laws of Love documentary serial. Though it too was banned, one copy did survive lost in a Ukrainian archive.
“Innocent but Outlawed” differs from Different From the Others in two major ways. First, it strips the story of all its subplots, focusing just on Körner and Bollek, with the character of Sivers greatly diminished and both of their families completely cut out. Second, it’s told linearly, starting with young Körner in school and going from there with no extended flashback sequence.
The film opens with Körner, who we’re immediately told is gay, at boarding school with his boyfriend Max. They’re caught kissing by their teacher and Körner is expelled, Max saved only because of his father’s high position in the school and the teacher’s job would be jeopardized if he tried to go after him. Later, at university, we find Körner remote and isolated from his other classmates, who attempt to involve him in their fun, dragging him to a party and introducing him to two girls. He flees when one tries to kiss him.
Körner (Conrad Veidt) becomes a violinist. After one of his concerts, Kurt Sivers (Fritz Schulz) presents himself at his home, asking to become one of his students. Körner agrees and the two begin practicing together. After Sivers leaves, Körner goes to a gay dance hall, where he meets Franz Bollek (Reinhold Schünzel). The two hit it off and Bollek accompanies Körner home. Bollek, it turns out, is an extortionist and begins blackmailing Körner, threatening to turn him in under Paragraph 175.
The next day, Körner reads the morning newspapers. They’re filled with suicide obituaries, the motives opaque to others, but Körner can immediately see why these people could no longer live. Lest he someday join them, he decides to go to an ex-gay hypnotherapist to try to ‘cure’ him of his ‘condition’. The therapist proves himself to be a charlatan and his treatment accomplished nothing. Körner next goes to see a sex specialist (Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld), who assures him that he cannot be cured because he is not sick and that what he and those like him suffer from now is of no fault of his own but rather from the condemnation of a bigoted and/or ignorant society.
Sometime later, Bollek sees Körner and Sivers walking hand-in-hand through the park, the two having falling in love during their studies. He realizes now’s his opportunity to demand more money from Körner, blackmailing both of them at once. Körner refuses to pay and Bollek breaks in while he thinks Körner and Sivers are out playing a concert. A fight breaks out when he discovers he was mistaken, during which he reveals to Sivers he was blackmailing him as well. This revelation crushes Sivers.
Körner and Bollek turn each other in, one for extortion, the other for Paragraph 175. Bollek is found guilty and sentenced to three months in prison. The judge sympathizes with Körner, but, he explains, is unable to rewrite the law himself. As long as Paragraph 175 exists, he must find Körner guilty. He’s given the minimum sentence of 24 hours.
Released on his own recognizance before his term begins, Körner finds that, while the court may have been lenient, society has not and he is shunned wherever he goes. Unable to go on, he swallows several pills and collapses in his chair, dead.
The story ends, but film isn’t quite over. Stepping out character, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld addresses the audience: “Ladies and gentlemen, with your help, someday tragedies such as this will be unthinkable. Knowledge will conquer ignorance, justice will conquer injustice, and love will conquer hate!”
Also known as
Cast and crew
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Amazon.co.uk: Not Available |
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[ Gay feature | Lesbian feature | Trans feature | Queer feature ]
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