My favorite part of this film (is this the one based on the work of Klaus
Mann?) is when the great actor, a huge success as
Mephisto, is made center stage at the Coliseum (or similarly grand arena)
and forced to play in the spotlight before the uniformed devils. The theme:
who's the devil that makes you dance, that gives you your fame, that takes
your life?
If you're not having much luck researching _Mephisto_ as film per se,
there's a good bit of scholarship on Klaus Mann, the ban on his _Mephisto_
in Germany, his suicide, the Mann family in relationship to Goethe and the
Faust story, the Mann family and film (Heinrich Mann's _The Blue Angel_ (a
story not unlike that in _Mephisto_, i.e. seduction, power, and
powerlessness), Heinrich and Thomas in Hollywood . . ., Klaus Mann as
critic). . . .
There's also an Italian work (book) called _Kaput Goes Europe_ by Malaparte
(sp) that reflects elements of _Mephisto_ and _The Tin Drum_.
JMC
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