Besides being based on Klaus Mann's Novel, the movie was also loosely based on the life of a real German actor Gustaf Gruendgens. (http://www.rottentomatoes.comclick/movie1013735/reviews.php?critic=all&sortby=default&page=1&rid=775323). The timeline of the story extended from pre-Nazi rule to the Nazis' eventual ascent to power in Germany. The movie started with the scene of a play on a stage. Meanwhile, at the back of the stage, the main character, Hoefgen, seemed to be driven mad by frustration. He was obviously dissatisfied with how his career was faring at that time. He was tired of being a small, nameless actor who acted in insignificant, provincial theater in Hamburg. His future looked bleak in that place, he could not see himself going anywhere if he stayed there. He yearned for something much more, he wanted real stardom and success. His luck began to take a turn when he met Barbara, the daughter of an influential official. He had a lover at that time, but he married Barbara anyway in order to further his career. However, he continued his affair with his lover, who happened to be his dance teacher. This shows that Hoefgen was never a morally strict person at the first place. .
After his marriage to Barbara, he was given work in the State Theater in Berlin and later became the manager of the place. He was becoming more famous and his career was progressing upward. He really enjoyed his new success and soon became deeply obsessed with it. Success was becoming like an addictive drug to him. In everything he did, his only end was fame and acknowledgment from people. This compulsive behavior of his could be seen from scenes when he was training dancers for a play, he pushed them to dance with all might and will. He kept yelling at them for not dancing well enough according to his standard. He would then begin to dance to show those dancers how they should dance. When he started prancing and jumping, he became wild and ecstatic He seemed to be out of the real world and unconscious of his surrounding.