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1-24 of 24
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Born in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Wilhelm Dieterle was the youngest of nine children of parents Jacob and Berthe Dieterle. They lived in poverty, and when he was old enough to work, young Wilhelm earned money as a carpenter and a scrap dealer. He dreamed of better things, though, and theater caught his eye as a teen. By the age of 16 he had joined a traveling theater company. He was ambitious and handsome, both of which opened the door to leading romantic roles in theater productions. Though he had acted in his first film in 1913, it was six more years before he made another one. In that year he was noticed by producer/director/designer/impresario Max Reinhardt, the most influential proponent of expressionism in theater; while in Berlin, Reinhardt hired him as an actor for his productions. Dieterle resumed German film acting in 1920, becoming a popular and successful romantic lead and featured character actor in the mix of German expressionist/Gothic and nature/romanticism genres that imbued much of German cinema in the silent era. He was interested in directing even more than acting, however, and he had the iconic Reinhardt to provide inspiration. Dieterle had acted in nearly 20 movies before he also began directing in 1923, his first female lead being a young Marlene Dietrich.
With his wife Charlotte Hagenbruch he started his own film production . He was said to have tired of acting; he appeared in nearly 50 films over the course of his career, mainly in the 1920s, and in several of his films he also functioned as director. As an actor he worked with some of the greatest names in German film, such as directors Paul Leni (in Waxworks (1924) [Waxworks]) and F.W. Murnau (in Faust (1926)) and actors Conrad Veidt and Emil Jannings. By 1930, however, he had emigrated to the US--now rechristened as William Dieterle--with an offer from Warner Brothers to direct their German-language versions of the studio's popular hits for the German market. In that capacity he made Those Who Dance (1930), The Way of All Men (1930) and Die heilige Flamme (1931) (aka "The Holy Flames"). He even stood before the camera for another of these, Dämon des Meeres (1931) (aka "Demon of the Sea", a version of "Moby Dick") in 1931, in which he played Capt. Ahab. The film was directed by another European who was soon to become one of Warners' most successful directors: the Hungarian Michael Curtiz.
Having taken to the Hollywood brand of filmmaking with ease--helped by his own brilliance in defining and executing the telling of a story--into 1931, he was soon promoted to directing some of Warners' "regular" films (his first, The Last Flight (1931), is now regarded as a masterwork) and he wold average directing six pictures a year for the studio through 1934. In that year Reinhardt came to the US, the Nazi threat finally having driven him off the Continent. He arrived with a flourish, ready to stage William Shakespeare's "A Midsummers Night's Dream"--an extravaganza at the Hollywood Bowl that would become legend. It was impressive enough to interest the execs of Warner Bros. They opted for a film version in 1935 with the great Reinhardt--even studio boss Jack L. Warner knew who he was--reunited with his disciple, Dieterle, as co-director. Reinhardt knew nothing about Hollywood and had to learn via Dieterle's diplomacy the differences between the overemphasis of stage and the subtlety of the camera. He learned from other directors as well about the realities of making films, in particular ratchet down the tendency that stage directors had to let their actors perform "too" much. It was all for naught, however, as the film was a major box-office flop, but it was one of the great moments in the evolution of film. Dieterle would direct Paul Muni for Warners in three first-rate bio movies: The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and Juarez (1939) and all received Oscar nominations. After that Dieterle moved on to do The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) at RKO with Charles Laughton as Quasimodo. This was one of Dieterle's best efforts, both in its romantic style and the great dark scenes of the Parisian medieval underworld with dramatic minimal lighting that gave vent to his expressionist roots.
Through the 1940s Dieterle moved around among Hollywood's studios, turning out vigorously wrought pictures, such as his two 1940 bios with Edward G. Robinson at Warner's. He became associated with independent producer David O. Selznick and actor Joseph Cotten, first with his direction of I'll Be Seeing You (1944). His romantic fires as a director had been restoked, as it were, and kept burning in the subsequent series of films with them which included the wonderful acting talents of Selznick's soon-to-be-wife (1949), Jennifer Jones: Love Letters (1945), Duel in the Sun (1946)--for which he shared directing but not credit with King Vidor--and the ethereal Portrait of Jennie (1948). "Jennie" was one of Dieterle's masterpieces, bringing into play a fusion of all his artistic fonts. The romantic fantasy with edges of darkness from the novel by Robert Nathan was just the vehicle to challenge Dieterle. His use of light and dark and gauzed--at one point the textured field of a painting canvas--backdrops conveyed the dreamlike state and netherworld atmosphere of the story of lovers from different times. Certainly the film influenced others to follow with similar themes.
Through the 1950s Dieterle's work--two more with Joseph Cotten--though sturdily in the director's hands, came off like good Hollywood fare, but were inspired more by the films' tight shooting schedules than by any artistic pretensions. His output during that decade was small, and that was partly due to bane of McCarthyism. He was never blacklisted as such, but his film Blockade (1938) was too libertarian to keep him completely away from the shadow of suspicion as a "socialist" / "communist" sympathizer. In 1958 he returned to Germany and directed a few films there and in Italy before retiring in 1965.
Though regrettably not as well known as his German and European directorial compatriots in Hollywood, he had great artistic style and worked with much energy in providing some of Hollywood's and the world's crown jewels of cinematic art.- Producer
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
Philipp A. Barnett was born on 22 December 1979 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Philipp A. is a producer and production manager, known for Euphoria (2019), Counterpart (2017) and True Story (2021).- Ute Kittelberger was born on 7 October 1958 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She was an actress, known for Zwei im 7. Himmel (1974), Ludwig Ganghofer: Der Edelweißkönig (1975) and Schloß Hubertus (1973). She was married to Thomas Hensel and Bernd Clüver. She died on 4 September 2021 in Wachenheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Wolfgang Güllich was born on 24 October 1960 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is known for Cliffhanger (1993). He died on 29 August 1992 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.- Helmut Kohl earned his place in history by securing the successful reunification of Germany after the collapse of communism. His 16 years in office made him the longest-serving German chancellor since Bismarck and he was once described as the greatest European leader in the second half of the 20th Century. He was a passionate supporter of greater European integration and was one of the main architects of the Maastricht Treaty. Yet the end of his career was marred by economic problems in the old East Germany and a financial scandal within his own CDU party. Helmut Josef Michael Kohl was born on 3 April 1930 into a conservative, Catholic family, His political outlook was shaped by his experiences in his hometown of Ludwigshafen in the Rhineland during World War Two. Because of its huge chemical works, the town was heavily bombed and, at the age of 12, the young Helmut found himself helping to recover the charred bodies of his neighbours from the rubble. What he once described as "the blessing of a late birth" freed him from any taints of Nazism.
After studying politics and law at Heidelberg University, Kohl entered politics in the German federal system where, in the Rhineland Palatinate, he rose to become the youngest Land [federal state] minister-president at the age of 39. He built up a large network of political allies and forced through important changes, among them the law that outlawed denominational schools unless 80% of the parents approved. Three years later, Kohl became national chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the dominant post-war West German political party. He was the CDU's candidate for chancellor in the 1976 election, but was defeated by the Social Democrat/Free Democrat coalition of Helmut Schmidt. Four years later, Kohl looked on as another CDU candidate, and great rival, the Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss, also went down to defeat by Schmidt. A bear of a man, Kohl was often ridiculed for his love of food - one nickname being "Birne" or pear - and for his often clumsy provincial manner. Beyond this, Kohl's critics relentlessly mocked him for what they said was his lacklustre oratory and apparent lack of vision. But many underestimated his ability to wield power, which he managed through a complex, but highly effective, network of patronage and political cronies.
In 1982, after the Free Democrats had left the ruling coalition, he took over as chancellor from Helmut Schmidt, and would go on to win the next four general elections, staying in power for 16 years. The 1980s witnessed a golden age of German economic and political power. Together with his closest ally, France's President Mitterrand, Kohl shaped the federal ideal of the European Union and laid the groundwork for the creation of the single currency. In 1987 there was a groundbreaking visit to West Germany by the East German leader, Erich Honecker. It was part of Kohl's policy of detente with the East, something his party had firmly rejected just 20 years before. Two years later, the Berlin Wall came down and Kohl began the negotiations that would lead to reunification.
Having realised that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts to reform communism would fail, Kohl persuaded him to withdraw from East Germany, while allowing a reunited Germany to remain a member of Nato. The 350,000 Soviet troops based in the East were sent home, the costs borne by the West German government. On 3 October 1990, East Germany ceased to exist with its five historical states becoming part of the new federal republic. Kohl's drive for reunification was not welcomed by everyone, with Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir publicly opposing it. While broadly welcomed by the West, there were concerns, notably in Britain and Poland, that a strong unified Germany would come to dominate the continent.
But Kohl was able to convince Gorbachev and US President George HW Bush that a united Germany would not destabilize or threaten Europe in the way Hitler's Germany had done. "George Bush was for me the most important ally on the road to German unity," he said. Kohl also made the political decision to grant East Germans immediate economic parity, even though his central bankers told him of the massive economic dislocation this would incur. They predicted correctly that Germany's economy would be badly affected for a decade. Even so, Helmut Kohl had pulled off a remarkable political coup that might not have occurred had he dithered. But the huge economic repercussions of reunification robbed him of some of the popularity he might have expected, particularly in the former East where, during one visit, he was pelted with eggs. Under his rule, the East suffered an economic collapse, with high rates of poverty and unemployment the norm. And the costs of reunification led to an economic downturn throughout Germany.
He was slow to respond when neo-Nazis burned down the homes of immigrant Turkish families and hostels for refugees from Africa. He sometimes pushed aside the concerns of smaller nations to the east, like the Czechs and the Poles. And he had a strained relationship with the UK and other countries that did not share his vision of a federal Europe. Chief among Kohl's perceived antagonists was Margaret Thatcher. In a revealing volume of autobiography, published in 2005, he alleged that her anger boiled over in December 1989 after she was obliged to sign a communique supporting German reunification
"I will never forget Margaret Thatcher's angry observation: 'We have beaten the Germans twice. Now they're back.'" After he lost power in elections in 1998, it was revealed that Kohl had accepted, for his party, millions of dollars of secret political donations. Despite refusing to name the donors, and despite his destroying much potentially incriminating evidence before he left the chancellery, he was spared possible corruption charges out of respect for his years of leadership. But his reputation was badly damaged. To his opponents, Helmut Kohl could be insensitive and a bully. The suicide of his wife, Hannelore, in July 2001, seemed to exemplify his political and personal eclipse. In 2010, an ailing Helmut Kohl joined Chancellor Angela Merkel in celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of German reunification, something that will be seen as his greatest achievement. "I have been underestimated for decades," he once said. "I have done very well that way." - Director
- Writer
- Editor
Ingo Hillenbrand was born on 13 August 1984 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He is a director and writer, known for Die Legende von Derdriu und Noisi (2009), Die Felsen: Land (2010) and Knautschzone (2009).- Actor
- Writer
Sebastian Brummer was born in 1982 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He is an actor and writer, known for Bauchlandung (2013), Across the Mile (2012) and Am Ende des Weges (2012).- Hermann Schreiber was born on 9 August 1929 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He was an actor, known for Drei Schwestern made in Germany (2006), Die Frau, die im Wald verschwand (2009) and Lebensläufe (1978). He was married to Marion Schreiber-Kellermann and Jutta Temme. He died on 11 April 2020 in Germany.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Heinrich Fürst was born on 9 December 1906 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He was an actor, known for Ein Mann namens Harry Brent (1968), Oscar Wilde (1972) and Tatort (1970). He died on 23 December 2001 in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Bernhard Echte was born in 1958 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Susanne Kurz was born on 1 October 1974 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. She is a cinematographer and producer, known for Not Far from Me (2015).- Norbert Bolz was born on 17 April 1953 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
- Ernst Bloch was born on 8 July 1885 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Kingdom of Bavaria [now Rhineland-Palatinate], Germany. He was married to Karola Piotrkowska, Linda Oppenheimer and Else von Stritzky. He died on 4 August 1977 in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- Director
- Editor
- Actor
Volker Michel was born on 12 August 1969 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is a director and editor, known for Doppelmord (1996), Rockpalast (1974) and Kreator: Enemy of God Revisited (2006).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Mark Kuhlmann was born on 26 December 1994 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Mark is a director and writer, known for Köpfer (2020).- Manfred Kaltz was born on 6 January 1953 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Director
Holger Badura was born in 1966 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is a writer and director, known for Nos Petites Morts (2017), Unter dem Eis (2005) and Benzin im Blut (1999).- Christoph Michel was born in 1964 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is an actor, known for Schlafende Hunde (2010), Notruf Hafenkante (2007) and Tatort (1970).
- Mark Weigel was born on 27 August 1969 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is an actor, known for Science Fiction (2003), RTL Samstag Nacht (1993) and Das Amt (1997).
- Kurt Biedenkopf was born on 28 January 1930 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He was married to Ingrid Biedenkopf. He died on 12 August 2021 in Dresden, Saxony, Germany.
- Anna Eger was born in 1977 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She is an actress, known for Wo es weh tut (2010), Flemming (2009) and Kaiserschmarrn (2013).
- Fausta Giordano was born on 21 August 1992 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
- Hans Reffert was born in 1946 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He was a composer, known for Der Onkel vom Meer (2000), Fritz lebt - Geheimtäter und Viehlosoph (1994) and Frohe Zukunft (2008). He died on 22 February 2016 in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- Ulli Ziegenfuß was born on 11 May 1978 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He is an actor, known for Das Kommando (2004).