292 SOLDIER OF ORANGE [dutCH: SOLDAAT VAN ORANJE]
Netherlands and follows the lives of a number of Dutch students who assume dif-
fer ent roles in the war.Background
Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (1917–2007) was a Dutch writer who became a much
decorated re sis tance fighter and Royal Air Force (RAF) pi lot during World
War II. In 1970 he published Het Hol Van De Ratelslang (The Cave of the Rattlesnake),
a memoir of his war years that was later retitled Soldaat Van Oranje (Soldier of
Orange), denoting Roelfzema’s association with the Dutch royal family (he was
Queen Wilhelmina’s personal assistant). The book became an international
bestseller and cemented Roelfzema’s stature as Netherlands’ greatest hero of the
Second World War. A few years later the Dutch filmmaking team of Rob Houwer
(producer), Paul Verhoeven (director- screenwriter), and Gerard Soeteman (screen-
writer) secured the rights to the book. Verhoeven, Soeteman, and Kees Holierhoek
collaborated on a screen adaptation, and Houwer eventually raised part of a pro-
duction bud get of 3.5 million guilder ($9.25 million). A then- unknown Rutger
Hauer was cast as Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (called Erik Lanshof in the film). The
real Hazelhoff Roelfzema was on the set as a con sul tant, and he and Verhoeven
became lifelong friends. Prince Bernhard, Prince Consort to the Dutch Queen Juli-
ana, and the Inspector General of the Dutch armed forces at the time of the shoot,
became the film’s patron, arranging for military support, temporary road closings,
and other logistical necessities.Production
Even with full government support, the shoot proved complicated and grueling.
Lots of WWII- era weapons and 50 period autos were procured, 3,000 costumes
and uniforms were made for extras, a modern Leopold I tank was disguised to
look like a German Panther tank, and the correct model seaplane was found in
Norway— but after seven weeks in the fall of 1976, the production had to be sus-
pended for five months when it ran out of money. It resumed in the spring of 1977
after Houwer signed a deal with The Rank Organ ization and a Dutch tele vi sion
com pany (Excelsior) to provide additional financial support, under the condition
that the material also be adapted into a four part mini- series, which was retitled
For Koningin en Vaderland (For Queen and Fatherland). The second half of the shoot
wrapped up seven weeks later.Plot Summary
Before the opening credits, the film begins with mock black and white newsreel
footage, narrated in voice- over, showing the Netherlands’ Queen Wilhelmina
(Andrea Domburg), accompanied by her personal assistant, Erik Lanshof (Rutger
Hauer), arriving home from London shortly after the end of World War II. After the
newsreel, the film starts in the late 1930s in Leiden, where freshmen university stu-
dents submit to fraternity hazing. Thereafter the film follows the lives of some of
these six affluent students: Erik Lanshof (Rutger Hauer), Guus LeJeune ( Jeroen
Krabbé), Jan Weinberg (Huib Rooymans), and Alex (Derek de Lint). Robby Froost
(Eddy Habbemal) is a friend of Erik, and Esther (Belinda Meuldijk) is Robby’s