Different from You and Me

The film, based on an idea by Robert Pilchowski, was produced during an era when, in Germany, homosexual acts between men was criminal under the German Criminal Code §175. It was the aim of Hans Giese, a homosexual emancipation activist who served as scientific advisor to the film, to shift public opinion toward reforming and liberalizing the law.

It was Veit Harlan, of all people, the protégé of Joseph Goebbels and director of the classic anti-Semitic propaganda film Jud Süß (1940), who in 1957 sought to rehabilitate his reputation by taking on a particularly touchy topic: the case of a mother who successfully and even heroically "saves" her son from homosexuality only to be prosecuted for procuring. Different from You and Me was not just a remarkably frank film about homosexuality, a topic which was still highly taboo at this time, but also a moral challenge to the outmoded German law against procuring. As a result of its handling of both these issues, the film was initially banned and had to be revised.

Entitled Bewildered Youth on its initial English-language release, the film is also an interesting document of a youthful rebellion against prosperous post-war Germany.[1]

The film is based on a screenplay written by Felix Lützkendorf entitled Eltern klagen an (Parents Accuse), which was intended to serve as a warning about the dangers supposedly presented by homosexuality. In a letter to the production company, Harlan argued for a more nuanced approach: "I think what's missing in the script is the fact that there are two types of homosexuals - namely those who have been handicapped by nature, and those who criminally violate nature. The latter act based either on innate immorality or for material gain, or because of damnable weakness. The former, however, deserve our complete sympathy. If we want to be a magnanimous people, we must regard their lives as tragic, and the film must not condemn or persecute them based on any narrow-minded viewpoints. We may prosecute them only in the instances when they seduce youngsters whose nature is basically normal."[2][3]

Film title of the original, uncensored release in Austria

The film was shot between May 8 and June 3, 1957, and premiered in several Viennese cinemas on August 29, 1957, with the original title The Third Sex (German: Das dritte Geschlecht). The release in West Germany was, however, initially blocked by the West German film industry censorship and rating agency FSK, which stated that this film was overly sympathetic toward homosexuality and would be welcomed only by homosexuals, while "all the population who retain their sense of morality and justice (and this is by far the majority of people) here have their sensibilities most seriously violated."[4] Homosexuality ought instead to be portrayed as a menace to society.

Several changes were made to the film to satisfy the requirements of the FSK. These include:

• A documentary interview with psychologists and sexologists on the subject of homosexuality at the beginning of the film was entirely dropped.
• The scene in which Werner Teichmann and his brother-in-law Max Mertens question Mrs. Glatz about the relationship and whereabouts of Klaus and her son was redubbed, making Max's parting remarks less tolerant and more homophobic.
• The scene in which Werner and Christa Teichmann consult with a psychologist about their son was redubbed, making the psychologist's statements more homophobic.
• The sexual encounter between Klaus and Gerda was in part reshot, so as to expose less of her breasts.
• A scene was entirely dropped in which Boris Winkler socializes at home with a group of foreign gay friends, who speak in English, French, and Italian. Likewise entirely dropped was a scene where Winkler consults with his homosexual lawyer about how to respond to the Teichmanns' accusations that he is attempting to seduce Klaus. These scenes were objectionable because they conveyed the impression that gay men held important positions in society.
• Boris Winkler leaves for Italy in the original version but is arrested at the Bahnhof Zoo station on his way to the train in the censored version, suggesting that justice will be served when innocent youths are seduced.
• Christa Teichmann, sentenced to six months in prison for procuring in the original, receives only probation, making the court system appear more reasonable.

Film title of the American release

Under the title The Third Sex, a dubbed version of the film, translated by Frederick Laing (1905–1994), was released by David Dietz in the United States in 1958 and distributed by the D. F. Distributing Corp.[5][6] This version generally hews more closely to the original as shown in Austria than to the West German version, but certain cuts were made. As in the West German version, the opening interview with psychologists and psychiatrists was entirely dropped. The scene where the psychologist, played by Hans Schumm, consults with Klause's parents, Werner and Christa Teichmann, is replaced with a scene where the psychologist is played by a different actor (although Schumm is credited in the opening), and consulting only with the mother, Christa:

• Psychologist played by Hans Schumm, German edition: Anders als du und ich (§ 175)
• Psychologist played by Hans Schumm, German edition (with English subtitles): Anders als du und ich (§ 175)
• Psychologist played by unidentified actor, American edition: The Third Sex (this clip glitches at 54 minutes)

The sexual encounter between Klaus and Gerda was greatly shortened in comparison with either the Austrian version or the (tamer) West German version.[7]

The film also circulated under the title Bewildered Youth.[8]

In December 2006, the Munich Film Museum released the West German version of the film. The alternative scenes from the original version as screened in Austria are included in the bonus features on the DVD, allowing for a comparison to be made between the two versions of the film.

To date, the full-length version of the original film has not been re-released.