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Oh, you're going to be infamous, boy, take my word for it. And do you know what such a scandal can do? It never goes away. Not for you, not for your parents. And besides, lying to judges and reporters isn't as easy as you think. You'd have to be brilliant. Can you do that? I know I can.
~ Dussander threatening Todd.

Kurt Dussander is the main antagonist in the Stephen King novel Apt Pupil as well as the 1998 film adaptation of the same name.

He is portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen, who also portrayed Magneto in the X-Men films, Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code, Horatio P. Huntington in Animal Crackers, The Toad in Flushed Away, Roy Courtnay in The Good Liar, and the title character in the 1995 film adaptation of Richard III.

Biography[]

Dussander is a former Nazi who commanded the Patin concentration camp. Under his watch the death count at Patin went from two thousand a day to 3500 a day before the camp was liberated, causing Heinrich Himmler to deem him an "expert in efficiency." When items were confiscated from inmates, he was under orders to send the spoils to Berlin, but often withheld the spoils for himself, using forged documents to prevent his superiors from finding out. He was also pleased with himself for inventing more refined ways of torturing inmates, such as bringing them into his private office and showing them a delicious stew that he kept out of reach, which tormented them into revealing information.

He now lives under the name of Arthur Denker, leading a very private life so as not to bring attention to his true identity. For years, he has feared being discovered, having nightmares of his former victims taking revenge on him. However, Dussander's 16-year old neighbor Todd Bowden, an emerging sociopath who is fascinated by Nazism, gathers clues about him and discovers who he really is. He blackmails Dussander into telling him gruesome stories about his work at the extermination camps by threatening to otherwise turn him in to the police, and Bowden later acquires an SS uniform from a costume shop which he forces Dussander to wear. Despite claiming he was just following orders, Dussander finds himself becoming excited by his former atrocities as he is forced to remember them. Bowden visits Dussander more and more often but at the same time, he begins to do badly at school and his social life begins to wither. When Dussander realizes that Bowden's grades are rapidly dropping, he poses as his grandfather to attend a meeting at Bowden's school, telling the guidance counselor that Todd's poor grades are due to problems in the home, and arranging for Bowden to constantly study in his presence in order to restore his grades. Knowing Dussander would tell his parents about his recent delving into Nazism, Bowden is forced to comply.

Dussander later gets drunk and cooks a cat alive by throwing it into his gas oven, but in the film it attacks him and manages to escape. In the book, he also begins murdering homeless men by luring them into his home and butchering them in his kitchen. However in the film, he is spotted by a homeless man whilst wearing the SS uniform and eventually tries to kill him by stabbing him in the back before locking him in his cellar. During the act, Dussander suffers a heart attack and immediately phones Bowden, telling him to come to his house and call for an ambulance. When Bowden arrives, Dussander locks him in the cellar with the homeless man, who wakes up in a startled manner but is quickly killed by Bowden with a shovel. An ambulance then arrives and carries Dussander to the hospital, where he shares a room with another man who happen to be a death camp survivor. The man recognizes Dussander as the Nazi responsible for the death of his family and, after initially breaking down, has Dussander arrested. Realizing that his true identity has been exposed and that he will soon be extradited to Israel, Dussander commits suicide by giving himself an air embolism (pumping air into his heart). However in his last moments, he realizes to his horror that in death he will never be free of his nightmares. The doctors and nurses desperately attempt to revive him, to no avail.

In the book, Todd's guidance counselor sees an article about Dussander's death and realizes he had posed as Todd's grandfather. He goes to confront Todd, who murders him before going on a five-hour shooting spree and is killed by police. In the film, however, Todd is interrogated by the police about his relationship with Dussander, with Bowden successfully convincing them that he was completely oblivious to Dussander's criminal past. His guidance counselor confronts him, but Todd gets him to back off by threatening to accuse him of rape.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Despite being a Sturmbannführer during the war, the reproduction uniform Todd bought Dussander had the rank insignia of an Obersturmbannführer.

Navigation[]

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Novels/Novellas
Carrie: Carrie White | Mortimer Snerds (Chris Hargensen, Donna and Mary Lila Grace Thibodeau, Helen Shyres, Heather Shyres & Tina Blake) | Margaret White | Billy Nolan | Ralph White
Salem's Lot: Kurt Barlow | Richard Straker | Marsten House
The Shining: Overlook Hotel | Jack Torrance | Hotel Caretaker | Grady Sisters | Lorraine Massey
Children of the Corn: Children of the Corn (Isaac Chroner & Malachai Boardman) | He Who Walks Behind the Rows
Rage: Charlie Decker | Mr. Decker
The Stand: Randall Flagg | Barry Dorgan | Bobby Terry | Harold Lauder | Julie Lawry | Lloyd Henreid | Nadine Cross | The Kid | The Rat Man | Trashcan Man | Whitney Horgan
The Long Walk: The Major | Gary Barkovitch
The Dead Zone: Greg Stillson | Frank Dodd
The Mist: Adrian Garff Mrs. Carmody | The Mist
Firestarter: Captain Hollister | Doctor Herman Pynchot | John Rainbird
Roadwork: Barton George Dawes | Sal Magliore
Cujo: Cujo | Joe Camber | Stephen Kemp
The Running Man: Damon Killian | United States of America
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: Samuel Norton | Byron Hadley | Sisters (Bogs Diamond) | Elmo Blatch
Apt Pupil: Kurt Dussander | Todd Bowden
The Body: The Cobras (John "Ace" Merrill, Richard "Eyeball" Chambers, Billy Tessio, Charlie Hogan, Vince Desjardins, Jack Mudgett & Norman "Fuzzy" Bracowicz)
Christine: Arnie Cunningham | Christine | Repperton Gang | Roland D. LeBay
Pet Sematary: Wendigo | Church | Gage Creed | Rachel Creed | Timmy Baterman
Cycle of the Werewolf: Lester Lowe
The Tailsman: Morgan Sloat
Thinner: Billy Halleck | Tadzu Lempke | Cary Rossington | Duncan Hopley | Gabe Romani | Gina Lempke | Richie Ginelli
Dolan's Cadillac: Jimmy Dolan
It: It | Bowers Gang (Belch Huggins, Henry Bowers, Marcia Fadden, Patrick Hockstetter, Peter Gordon & Vic Criss) | Alvin Marsh | Butch Bowers | Richard Macklin | Tom Rogan | Christopher Unwin | Webby Garton
Misery: Annie Wilkes
The Tommyknockers: Tommyknockers | Nancy Voss
The Dark Half: George Stark
Secret Window, Secret Garden: John Shooter
The Langoliers: Craig Toomey | Langoliers | Roger Toomey
Needful Things: Leland Gaunt | John "Ace" Merrill | Danforth Keeton III | Brian Rusk | Wilma Jerzyck | Nettie Cobb | Hugh Preist | Father Brigham (Father Meehan) | Reverend Rose
Gerald's Game: Gerald Burlingame | Moonlight Man | Tom Mahout
Dolores Claiborne: Joe St. George
Insomnia: Atropos | Crimson King
Rose Madder: Norman Daniels
The Green Mile: William Wharton | Percy Wetmore
Desperation: Tak | Sheriff Collie Entragian
The Regulators: Tak
Bag of Bones: Max Devore | Sara Tidwell | Roggete Whitmore
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: God of the Lost
Dreamcatcher: Byrus | Mr. Gray
Black House: Charles Burnside | The Crow Gorg | Mr. Munshun
From a Buick 8: The Buick
Cell: Phone Crazies | Raggedy Man
Lisey's Story: Andrew Landon | Jim Dooley | Long Boy
The Gingerbread Girl: Jim Pickering
Duma Key: Perse | Undead Victims
Under the Dome: Jim Rennie | Junior Rennie | Phil Bushey | Leatherheads
1922: Wilfred James | Henry James | Shannon Cotterie
Big Driver: Lester Norville | Ramona Norville
A Good Marriage: Robert Bob Anderson
11/22/63: Lee Harvey Oswald | Frank Dunning
In The Tall Grass: Ross Humboldt | Cal Demuth
Doctor Sleep: The True Knot (Rose the Hat, Crow Daddy, Grandpa Flick, Barry the Chink & Snakebite Andi) | Andy Hallorann
Bill Hodges Trilogy: Brady Hartsfield | Morris Bellamy
Gwendy's Button Box: Richard Farris
The Outsider: The Outsider
Fairy Tale: Gogmagog | Elden | Petra | Kellin | Hana | Red Molly | Peterkin | Christopher Polley

Short Stories
Cain Rose Up: Curt Garrish
The Mangler: Bill Gartley | The Mangler
The Boogeyman: The Boogeyman
Trucks: Westway Refrigerated Truck | Bulldozer
The Ledge: Cressner
Jerusalem's Lot: Philip Boone | James Boon | The Worm
Quitter's Inc.: Mr. Donatti | Quitters Inc.
The Crate: Crate Beast
Crouch End: The Children | The Goat with a Thousand Young
The Monkey: The Monkey
The Raft: Lake Blob
Word Processor of the Gods: Richard Hagstrom | Roger Hagstrom
Gramma: Gramma Bruckner
The Night Flier: Dwight Renfield
Low Men in Yellow Coats: Harry Doolin
Blind Willie: Raymond Fiegler
Why We're In Vietnam: Ronnie Malenfant
Lunch at the Gotham Café: Guy

Films
The Shining: Overlook Hotel (Lloyd, Lorraine Massey & Hotel Caretaker) | Jack Torrance
Creepshow: Creepshow Creep | Crate Beast | Nathan Grantham | Richard Vickers | Upson Pratt | Wilma Northrup
Cat's Eye: Cressner | Mr. Donatti | Quitters Inc. | Troll
Maximum Overdrive: Bubba Hendershot | Camp Loman | Happy Toyz Truck | Ice Cream Truck | M274 Mule | Vending Machine
A Return to Salem`s Lot: Judge Axle
Creepshow 2: Creepshow Creep | Creepshow Bullies | Lake Blob | Sam Whitemoon | The HitchHiker
Sleepwalkers: Charles Brady | Mary Brady | Sleepwalkers
Pet Sematary 2: Gus Gilbert | Renee Hallow | Clyde Parker | Zowie
The Mangler Trilogy: Bill Gartley | The Mangler | Lin Sue | The Mangler Virus
The Rage: Carrie 2: Rachel Lang | Mark Bing
Creepshow 3: Creepshow Creep | Rachel
The Dark Tower: Randall Flagg
It: Part One: It | Bowers Gang (Henry Bowers, Vic Criss | Belch Huggins & Patrick Hockstetter)
Pet Sematary (2019): Ellie Creed
It: Part Two: It | Henry Bowers | Tom Rogan
Doctor Sleep: The True Knot (Rose the Hat, Crow Daddy, Grandpa Flick, Barry the Chink & Snakebite Andi) | Overlook Hotel (Jack Torrance, Hotel Caretaker & Lorraine Massey)
The Boogeyman: Boogeyman

TV Series
The Stand: Randall Flagg | Harold Lauder | Julie Lawry | Nadine Cross | The Rat Woman | Trashcan Man
The Shining: Overlook Hotel | Jack Torrance | Hotel Caretaker | Lorraine Massey
Storm of the Century: André Linoge
Rose Red: Professor Joyce Reardon | Ellen Rimbauer
Under the Dome: Big Jim Rennie | Junior Rennie | Phil Bushey | The Kinship (Christine Price & Dawn Sinclair-Barbara)

Other
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: Ellen Rimbauer

See Also
The Dark Tower Villains

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