Paul Wegener

Paul Wegener

Infobox actor
name = Paul Wegener


caption = Paul Wegener in "Unheimliche Geschichten" (1932)
birthdate = 13 December 1874
birthplace = Arnoldsdorf, West Prussia, Imperial Germany
deathdate = 13 September 1948
deathplace = Berlin, Germany

Paul Wegener (11 December 1874 – 13 September 1948) was a German actor, writer and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema.

tage and Early Film Career

At the age of twenty Wegener decided to end his law studies and concentrate on acting, touring the provinces before joining Max Reinhardt's acting troupe in 1906. In 1912, he turned to the new medium of motion pictures and appeared in the 1913 version of "The Student of Prague". It was while making this film that he first heard the old Jewish legend of The Golem and proceeded to adapt the story to film, co-directing and co-writing the script with Henrik Galeen. The film met with success and firmly established Wegener's reputation. In 1917 he made a parody of the story called "Der Golem und die Tänzerin", but it was his reworking of the tale, "" (1920) which stands as one of the classics of German cinema and helped to cement Wegener's place in cinematic history.

Wegener did more for the development of the film industry in Germany than any other, and was possibly one of the first to recognise the medium's potential. Another of his early films was "Der Yoghi" (1916), in which he played the role of the yogi and young inventor, and which provided him with the opportunity to accommodate three of his interests, trick photography (it was one of the first films to feature invisibility), the supernatural and Eastern mysticism.

Later Film Career

In 1926 he appeared in his only Hollywood film, Rex Ingram's "The Magician", in which he played the Aleister Crowley-esque Oliver Haddo in an adaptation of Somerset Maugham's story. 1928 saw another of Wegener's key roles, when he starred alongside Brigitte Helm in his old collaborator Galeen's adaptation of Hanns Heinz Ewers' "Alraune", playing the Frankenstein-like Professor ten Brinken.

In 1932 Wegener made his sound debut in Richard Oswald's black comedy/horror film "Unheimliche Geschichten", in which he took great delight in sending himself up as well as the whole expressionist movie genre.

Life Under Nazi Regime

When in 1933 The National Socialists came to political prominence and theatre companies were disbanded and many of the actors and directors were arrested, persecuted or exiled, Wegener, a pacifist and unwanted by the new political power,remained in Germany and continued his work on stage and screen despite the limitation under the Nazi regime. As the war closed Wegener was one of the first to rebuild cultural life in Berlin. Despite ill-health he became president of an organisation to improve standards for it's inhabitants.

Death

Wegener last film was "Der Grosse Mandarin" (1948). In July 1948 he reprised his old role of "Nathan the Wise" at the Deutschen Theatre, but in the very first scene he collapsed and the curtain was brought down. Two months later, on 13 September 1948, he died in his sleep.

He was married six times, twice to the actress Lyda Salmonova (his co-star on several occasions), who became his widow.

External links

*
* [http://www.deutsches-filminstitut.de/dt2tp0068.htm Image of Paul Wegener]
* [http://www.missinglinkclassichorror.co.uk/wegener.htm Excellent biography with pictures]
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=1009 Photographs and literature]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Paul Wegener — Paul Wegener …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Paul Wegener — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Paul Wegener Nombre real Paul Wegener Nacimiento 11 de diciembre de 1874 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Paul Wegener — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Paul et Wegener. Paul Wegener Paul Wegener, né le 11 décembre 1874 à Bischdorf (Prusse Occidentale …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paul Wegener (Gauleiter) — Paul Wegener Paul Wegener (* 1. Oktober 1908 in Varel; † 5. Mai 1993 in Wächtersbach) war Gauleiter in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wegener — wird in folgenden Zusammenhängen verwendet: Medizin: Wegener Granulomatose, nekrotisierende Entzündung der Gefäße mit Granulombildung Unternehmen: R M Wegener, älteste Hutfabrik/Mützenfabrik Deutschlands Koninklijke Wegener NV, niederländischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wegener — may refer to: * The disease Wegener s granulomatosis * Alfred Wegener, German geologist and meteorologist * Friedrich Wegener, a German pathologist * Gerda Wegener, Danish illustrator * Mike Wegener, Major League Baseball pitcher * Paul Wegener,… …   Wikipedia

  • Wegener — puede referirse a: Personas Alfred Wegener (1880 1930), científico que desarrolló la teoría de la deriva continental; Einar Mogens Wegener (1882 1931), danés, primer transexual que registra la historia; …   Wikipedia Español

  • Wegener — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Wegener peut faire référence à : Patronyme Alfred Wegener (1880 1930), un astronome et météorologue allemand ayant posé l hypothèse de la dérive des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paul Hazard — (* 30. April 1878 in Noordpeene; † 12. April 1944 in Paris) war ein französischer Historiker und Essayist. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wegener — Wegener,   1) Alfred Lothar, Geophysiker und Meteorologe, * Berlin 1. 11. 1880, ✝ Grönland Ende November 1930, Vetter von 2); ab 1919 Abteilungsleiter an der Deutschen Seewarte und Professor in Hamburg, ab 1924 Professor in Graz. Wegener nahm… …   Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”