Free showing of Karl May’s movie Winnetou

Join Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Kirk Ellis as he introduces a free showing of the German movie Winnetou, based on characters created by Karl May, whose legacy is explored in the exhibition Tall Tales of the Wild West: The Stories of Karl May. The showing is at 6 pm on Friday, Nov. 30, in the History Musem Auditorium.

Selections of the film are shown throughout the day during the exhibition's run, but this is the only full screening of the movie, starring Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand and Croatia as New Mexico.

A brief synopsis of the movie:The construction of the Great Western Railroad creates heavy conflict between the railway company and neighboring Indian tribes. Worse, criminal gang leader Santer sets his eyes on a gold mine located on holy Indian land and influences the construction supervisor to re-route the planned railroad straight through Apache land. Old Shatterhand, who works as a measurement technician, discovers the evil plan and searches contact with the Apaches in an effort to avert war.And here’s one reviewer’s opinion:Arguably the start of the notable German Western cycle of the '60s, along with Treasure of the Silver Lake (…). In this early adaption of the tremendously successful Karl May novels which formed the backbone of the series, Ex Tarzan Lex Barker, blonde hair slicked back in vague echo of Kirk Douglas, plays Old Shatterhand. French actor Pierre Brice is Winnetou, good Apache, his Indian blood brother. Unlike the cynicism of the Spaghetti Westerns which followed shortly afterwards, the German version is backward looking – nostalgic, perhaps, for the more simplistic and romantic version of the genre, common in Hollywood before the psychological complications wrought by the '50s. Thus Shatterhand and Winnetou are more Lone Ranger and Tonto than Trinità and Bambino. The present film is fully equal of its rivals elsewhere on the continent in recreating the old west in mid Europe, wagon trains marauding indians and all. Winnetou 1 [Apache Gold] also has the distinction of a marvelous score by Martin Bottcher, its sweeping main theme instantly memorable and looks superb in the widescreen transfer. (…) [N]ote that the English dialogue/subtitling is not consistent; (…) minor characters and small scenes often lapse back into German – not a problem when the plot is relatively straightforward (…).  Mention “Winnetou” or “Old Shatterhand” almost anywhere in Europe, and you’ll be met with smiles. Created by May (rhymes with "my"), Winnetou and Old Shatterhand are two of the most popular fictional characters of the 19th and 20th century. In a series of novels, they served as trail guides to the mystique of the American West and even today are celebrated in European festivals and theme parks.

May’s books have outsold those of Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey combined and were beloved by the likes of Albert Einstein, Herman Hesse, Fritz Lang, and Franz Kafka. All of that makes the author (who died in 1912) something of an authority on cowboys, Indians, Rocky Mountains, saloon girls, soldiers, and banks ripe for robbing.

But there’s a hitch: May never saw the West. “In 1908, he made his only visit to the United States and he went as far west as Buffalo, New York,” said Tomas Jaehn, librarian for the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library.

Curated by Jaehn (another product of Germany), Tall Tales of the Wild West (through Feb. 9, 2014) in the museum's Mezzanine Gallery includes first-edition and foreign-language versions of May’s books, along with photographs illustrating his life. On loan from the Karl May Museum is Silberbüchse, Winnetou’s name for his rifle. May said he took the weapon from the Indian’s grave in Wyoming for safekeeping. In fact, the rifle was manufactured in Radebeul as a nonworking prop. Its visit to the exhibition will mark the first time it has been seen in the land where it was purportedly made.

Born in 1842 in Ernstthal, May cast about as an adult, failing first as a teacher, then earning enough accusations of forgery, fraud, petty theft and impersonating police officers and doctors to draw prison terms. While incarcerated, he nurtured a love of writing, emerging with tales that, by 1886, made him the most widely read author in Germany.

“Karl May is such a fascinating character – millions of copies of his works sold, telling millions of readers about the American West, and yet he is not known in this country,” said Jaehn, who grew up reading May’s books and wrote the 2005 book, Germans in the Southwest, 1850-1920 (University of New Mexico Press). “His successful efforts to make his readers believe that he experienced all these adventures appear funny and humorous today.  Still, Karl May is an important figure in German literature although critics are still debating his impact – some calling him an imposter, others calling him a genius.”

Across Europe, special events have marked the centennial of May’s death this year. Tall Tales of the Wild West is the first—and only—U.S. exhibition dedicated to him. The exhibition is generously supported by the Herzstein Foundation, the German Consulate General in Houston, and a grant from the New Mexico Humanities Council.