The Blue Swords

The Blue Swords (Die blauen Schwerter) is a 1949 East German historical drama film directed by Wolfgang Schleif and starring Hans Quest, Ilse Steppat and Alexander Engel. It sold more than 3,299,432 tickets. The film portrays the life of Johann Friedrich Böttger, an alchemist of the early eighteenth century who was held prisoner by the Elector of Saxony in order to discover the secret of gold production. Failing to accomplish this, which he knows to be impossible, he instead works to develop porcelain. The title refers to the symbol of Meissen, a pair of crossed swords. His story had previously been turned into a 1935 film The King's Prisoner, released during the Nazi era.

The sets were designed by the art directors Karl Schneider and Erich Zander. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in East Berlin.

Cast

 * Hans Quest as Johann Böttger
 * Ilse Steppat as Frau von Tschirnhausen
 * Alexander Engel as Herr von Tschirnhausen
 * Herbert Hübner as Nehmitz
 * Willy A. Kleinau as August der Starke
 * Marianne Prenzel as Katharina
 * Paul Wagner as König Friedrich I.
 * Werner Pledath as Kreisamtmann von Wittenberg
 * Klaus Miedel as Laskari
 * Rolf Weih as Leutnant Menzel
 * Albert Bessler as Finanzminister
 * Siegfried Dornbusch as Köhler
 * Hans Emons as Wildenstein
 * Hans Fiebrandt as Gehilfe von Dünnbrot
 * Harry Gillmann as Hauknecht im "König von Portugal"
 * Sonja Hartke as Maitresse
 * Alfred Maack as Wirt "König von Portugal"
 * Margarete Schön as Frau Zorn