If the Shoe Fits: Bridget von Hammersmark’s Biggest Role Yet

“She’s not a military strategist. She’s an actress.” — Archie Hicox

In theatre, actors wish each other good luck with the idiom, “break a leg.” This superstition supposes that by wishing someone bad luck, the opposite will occur. Though its origin is obscure, there is a similar German saying that may have influenced the English version: “Hals und Beinbruch.” This translates to, “break your neck and leg” and is a saying that can be traced back to Luftwaffe slang in WWII. Usually when someone tells an actor or actress to “break a leg” during their performance, they do not mean it literally.

Some actors are just unlucky.

Bridget von Hammersmark, played by Diane Kruger, is happy being at the center of attention. She is a renowned Schauspielerin in Germany during the Third Reich, comparable to names like Zarah Leander and Leni Riefenstahl. Her name precedes her, with conversations about her passing before she is even shown on screen. Lieutenant Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender), her preapproved date for Operation Kino, recognizes her name instantly when British General Ed Fenech (Mike Myers) reveals she is the Basterd’s contact in Nadine. We learn from his incredulous reaction that she is a well-known figure in German cinema. In the original script by Quentin Tarantino, her infamy goes back even further. One week after the murder of her whole family, Shoshanna meets Madame Mimieux, the owner of the La Gamaar Cinema Shoshanna would later run. On the marquee in French reads, “German Night Bridget von Hammersmark in Madcap in Mexico.” Dropping her name subtly in the background of a scene that takes place three years before Operation Kino shows how long she has been building her reputation. She is a treasured star to German film-lovers, someone above suspicion or reproach, and therefore an excellent choice to be a spy.

When she first appears on screen, she is seated at the head of a table of admiring German soldiers. She exudes a lazy superiority over the soldiers with whom she plays cards. During her first lines, the camera slowly pushes in on her until she alone fills the frame and we get the sense that her words are more intuitive than they actually are. The table applauds her pretentious speech and she accepts it with the practiced grace of someone who expects praise. Her expressive face as she converses first with the rowdy soldiers and later with the Basterds makes us believe she could easily portray any emotion, and the frequent close-ups of her allows us to dissect the truthfulness behind each look. The script says that when the three Basterds enter the tavern dressed in Nazi uniforms she very noticeably does a double take. Even to her drunk companions, her reaction is strong enough to perceive. She wears her emotions as visibly on her face as the Nazi soldiers wear their swastikas on their uniform sleeves (or, if the Basterds catch them, their foreheads.)

Yes, Bridget von Hammersmark has the success and adoration that she craves. Wilhelm (Alexander Fehling), German Sergeant and proud new father, proposes a toast to “the greatest actress in Germany,” proclaiming, “There is no Dietrich. There is no Riefenstahl. Only von Hammersmark!” To this she raises her own glass. But who are these other actresses she apparently eclipses? Perhaps they served as Tarantino’s inspiration for Bridget von Hammersmark.

Marlene Dietrich was a weltberühmt actress before WWII. She starred in both American and German films and maintained a long and successful show business career, becoming one of the highest-paid actresses of the era. She moved to America in 1933 but the Nazi party approached the actress about coming back to Germany, since she was such a beloved figure in German film. She turned them down flat and instead created a fund to help Jews and dissidents escape from Germany.

Leni Riefenstahl was an actress turned filmmaker who starred in many movies, including “Piz Palu” (which is also the film Archie Hicox references when inquired about his nationality). Hitler drafted her as his personal movie producer after realizing her talent. She released, “Triumph of Will” which followed an idealized version of Hitler’s rise to power. Though she was admired for her revolutionary film techniques, she was unwelcome in the German film industry after the war because of her close association with Hitler.

One German actress who was not mentioned but could be the closest figure to von Hammersmark’s character is Zarah Leander. She was one of the most popular actresses during the Third Reich, but was rumored to be a spy for the Russians. When confronted on her possibly double identity, she evaded the question by saying, “I would not be surprised if they claimed I were spying in Iceland on behalf of the Vatican.” Though her name was not said in Inglourious Basterds, her influence is evident enough in Tarantino’s creation of Bridget von Hammersmark. One poster of a film Bridget was in, “The Bitter Tears,” also depicts Zarah Leander as a co-star. Also, a song by Leander was featured on the soundtrack for the film. These subtle integrations of Leander’s name and works hint at her influence in the creation of von Hammersmark’s character. Although there was no proof of her being a spy, her Jewish name raised some eyebrows among Nazi film critics, most notably Joseph Goebbels.

During WWII, Joseph Goebbels attempted to distract the German folk from dwelling on war tragedies by flooding the cinema with light-hearted films. He produced romances, comedies, dramas, anything to keep the German people preoccupied. He attempted to develop a “star system,” which would keep the same actors and actresses in rotations of movies to produce an idol for the German population to admire. This led to Goebbels constantly hanging around popular young actresses, which is how his character would likely know Bridget von Hammersmark. She could even be one of his pet protégé.

Despite her widespread fame, her believability as an actress is still in question. It seems that when her acting ability was finally put to a test that really matters, her performance fell flat. Yet it is the one thing in which she had the most pride. She carefully kisses the napkin that she signs for little Maximillian and raises her glass during the toast to herself. She interrupts Gestapo Major Dietrich Hellstrom (August Diehl) to vouch for Archie Hicox, chuckling as she says, “…if my word means anything” because she expects that it does. Her form is out of focus in the fore-ground as she says this, with Major Hellstrom crisp and centered in the shot showing his unchanging expression. He, unlike Bridget, does not give anything away. After the big shootout in La Louisiane tavern, in which everyone but Bridget von Hammersmark is killed, she laments the possible loss of her leg. She angrily exclaims, “Bye-bye, acting career. Fun while it lasted!” She could be losing her leg and her first thought is of her career, showing her skewed priorities. The Basterds wake a doctor to have him tend to her bullet wound, which is a role she has played before in her movie “Fräulein Doktor.” But she is not a real doctor, she just plays one on TV; she is incapable of helping herself.

On the night of Operation Kino, with Bridget von Hammersmark’s well-laid plans in shambles, she and the Basterds attempt to pull off the stunt anyway. The camera tracks Hans Landa, who knows much more than the Basterds could know, as he spots Bridget and her companions and comes down the stairs behind her. She is dressed in a glamorous sequined dress that flows around her ankles, one of which is bound in a high-heeled cast. He quickly begins inquiring about the story behind her injury and the camera begins a 360 rotation around the two as they talk. The rotation is dizzying, spinning as quickly as Bridget spins her lies. When the camera settles it follows Hans Landa as he steps away to laugh uproariously. Settling on him shows that he is in control; he was not thrown off by the whirling lies and stayed grounded in his suspicion.

Her performance while she lied to him was as convincing as Aldo Raine’s (Brad Pitt’s) Italian accent. She was hesitant and unprepared, losing her character some credibility. Yet she still appeared to think that he would believe her preposterous tale. Bridget had too much confidence in her ability as an actress to recognize his skepticism. She treated her role as a spy as if it was scripted and so the events of the evening would follow the plan. Her domain is on the screen, where movie magic can hide any flaws in her performance. Movie magic can make anything happen, almost like a fairytale. And her life (and death) certainly had aspects of fairytales to it — most obviously Cinderella. However, her story is not a Disney-fied version, but closer to the bloody original written by the Grimm Brothers. Her Cinderella story begins at the tavern, where the bartender, Eric, drops a line akin to Cinderella’s fairy godmother. When she orders drinks for the Basterds, Eric replies, “Your wish is my command.” Later, the camera faces Hicox and Hellstrom as they discuss the guns they have aimed at each other, with Eric in the background between them. This angle comes from the seat where Bridget is sitting, so she would be in Eric’s direct line of sight. He sees the situation and fingers a gun behind the bar counter when he see there may be trouble. The young, new father also shares a name with one of the Grimm Brothers, serving as a reminder of the original story. When Bridget shoots Wilhelm, she is severing any chance that she could realign her story to be a happier version. Her forgotten, fashionable slipper is another blatant allusion to the classic fairytale, as well as Hans Landa’s search for the foot it belongs to. When he slides the slipper onto her foot and it claps against her heel, she drops the character she’d spent so long cultivating and asks, “Now what?”

Hals und Beinbruch. Why stop at just the leg? She is German after all. Hans Landa goes for her throat. He chokes her to death as the camera watches from his point of view. Tarantino alternates between shots of Landa’s hands around Bridget’s throat and one looking past Bridget’s feet and up her legs to where Landa is straddling her chest. Her heeled cast and single bare foot are in focus as she struggles against Landa, driving home the Cinderella imagery.

Bridget von Hammersmark’s role as a spy was the biggest role she would ever play. The stakes were at their highest, with no chances for a second take. Her confidence in her own ability to play the role was her downfall, assuming her status or fairy godmother could protect her. When she breaks character after Landa fits the shoe to her foot, she is instantly punished. It was a role she was not able to sell and it cost her her life.