The Wien-Film: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Film Studio 1938-1945. Module I.

As a third main pillar of the Third Reichs film industry, Wien-Film was of particular importance: with its movies, which were primarily sentimental and melodramatic in nature, the studio could establish a trademark and secure a special position in the media world of National-Socialism. The Filmarchiv Austria possess an extraordinary stock of the Wien-Film. This includes personnel and business documents, program books and posters, advertising material and about 50 photo albums (with numerous production photos). Above all, they are the films themselves, their original screenplays and film manuscripts, and the catalogue of film music notes, which make this collection presumably the most extensive stock of a film production in National-Socialism. Despite this research premise, which can be designated as ideal, the material stock has only been processed and analyzed rudimentarily. The project therefore aims for a systematic review of the data. In the light of the abundance of sources this must be done in several modules and in an institutional collaboration, namely between the Filmarchiv Austria and the Institute for the History of Art and Music History of Austrian Academy of Sciences. The first module is based on the creation of a digital database, in which all collectable information will be converted into a filmography. On this basis, it will be possible to present the company and its production history, to trace its casting policies and to understand its interaction with Berlin. At the same time, the almost completely preserved film music legacy of the studio (in form of sheet music, orchestral parts and scores) is at the center of musicological-analytical interest. This opens up the chance to demonstrate concrete manipulative strategies, examples of which will be published as historically critical editions with extensive explanations. Publication and dissemination of the research regarding the Wien-Film music and company history from 1938 to 1945 provide insight to educational, academic and public context. The screening of so called Vorbehaltsfilme, and many other examples, lead to a responsible handling and consumption of historical and contemporary media.

Through this project, Wien-Film has been confirmed as a main pillar of the Third Reichs film industry. With the research on its movies, which were primarily sentimental and melodramatic in nature, the team was able to trace an establishment of an audio -visual trademark in the media world of National-Socialism. Through a comprehensive analysis of Wien-Film, the project was able to contribute essentially to the understanding of German cinema 1938-1945. The project was successful in advancing the notion to reassess the production in the Third Reich within, namely through the scope of one single film studio. Already during the analysis of the situational framework following the annexation of Austria, it became apparent that the nationalization of Viennese film studios occurred not through aryanisation, but through dismantling of the majority of production companies. Furthermore, all examined documents, reviewed in-depth for the first time during the project, led to the conclusion that the internal development of the Wien-Film was an account of failed production goals. This was in particular caused by war-related factors: the lack of personnel, the continuously aggregated shortage of materials at all levels of production, the ever-changing war situation which affected the creation, selection and censoring of screenplays. The project team was able to trace the internal personnel policy. The latter shows a development regarding changes in labor law and describes the restrictions caused by the total war. Finally, it has become possible to conduct a survey on the formation of Wien-Films ensembles (so-called Hausgemeinschaften) as well as the studios typecasting modes. Seeing the whole studio as an entity helped realise its strategies. Nevertheless, the agencies of individuals could not be ignored at all. So, through the methodology of close reading, both subversive and ideologically correct details of filmic representation could be distinguished. It can be therefore considered a start of a new reading into the National Socialist cinema. Using the examined documents, the production history could be worked out in the form of a filmography whose detailedness was hith erto unachievable. Also growing out of the project, an apex of the musicological research was the establishment of the series Filmmusik in historisch-kritischen Editionen in spring 2021. Following the initial volume, further four editions are in the pipe line, out of which Der Postmeister will be published in autumn 2021. Wien-Films documents and correspondences can now be retrieved via a publicly accessible database in the Filmarchiv Austria. The database developed throughout the course of the project, represents one of the first implementations of the EN 15907 metadata standard in an open -source framework. On this basis, it is possible to present the company and its production history, helping to understand the pivotal role of Wien-Film.