- Mauritz Stiller
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Mauritz Stiller 
Mauritz Stiller in 1927Born Moshe Stiller
17 July 1883
Helsinki, FinlandDied 18 November 1928 (aged 45)
Stockholm, Stockholms län, SwedenOccupation Director, screenwriter, actor Years active 1912 - 1928 Awards Walk of Fame - Motion Picture
1713 Vine StreetMauritz Stiller (17 July 1883 – 18 November 1928) was a Finnish-Swedish actor, screenwriter and silent film director, who was mostly active in Sweden.
Contents
Life
Born Moshe Stiller in Helsinki, his family was of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, having lived in Russia and Poland before settling in Finland. At age four, Stiller's mother committed suicide, after which he was raised by family friends. From early on, Stiller was interested in acting. His talents did not go unnoticed, and soon Stiller was offered the opportunity to practice and display his acting skills in the theaters of Helsinki and Turku in Finland.
Drafted into the army of Czar Nicholas II -- Finland was at the time an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia—rather than report for duty he fled the country for exile, and settled in Sweden. He became a Swedish citizen in 1921.
Career
By 1912, Stiller had become involved with Sweden's rapidly developing silent film industry. He began by writing scripts, in addition to acting and directing in short films but within a few years gave up on acting to devote his time to writing and directing. He was soon directing feature-length productions and his 1918 effort Thomas Graals bästa barn (Thomas Graal's First Child), starring Karin Molander, and with Victor Sjöström in the leading role, received much acclaim.
By 1920, having directed more than thirty-five films including Sir Arne's Treasure and Erotikon, Stiller was a leading figure in Swedish filmmaking. He also directed The Blizzard starring a young Einar Hanson and based on the Selma Lagerlof novel Gunnar Hedes saga.
Stiller and Garbo
Greta Garbo and Stiller on board the S/S Drottningholm in 1925 en route to the United States
At the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, he met a young actress named Greta Gustafsson whom he cast in an important but secondary role in his film, Gösta Berlings saga (The Atonement of Gosta Berling) giving her the stage name Greta Garbo. For Stiller, the screen presence of the eighteen-year-old actress led to him bringing her and Hanson to the United States after he accepted an offer from Louis B. Mayer to direct for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
In Hollywood, Mauritz Stiller was assigned to direct The Temptress (1926) for MGM, but he could not deal with studio structure. After repeated arguments with MGM executives, he was replaced on the film by Fred Niblo and his contract with the studio terminated. Stiller was immediately hired by Paramount Pictures., where he made three successful films but was let go a second time while directing his fourth as a result of his continuing disagreements with studio bosses. Hanson died in a car accident in June 1927.
Death and legacy
Mauritz Stiller returned to Sweden in 1927 and died the following year from pleurisy at the age of forty-five. He was interred in the Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.
Stiller's contribution to the motion picture industry has since been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1713 Vine Street. In Kristianstad, a monument was erected in his honor. Originally, his star on the Walk of Fame was erroneously listed as "Maurice Diller" and wasn't corrected until the late 1980s.
Filmography
Year Film Credited as Director Writer Actor Role 1912 The Gardener (Trädgårdsmästaren) Yes Yes Passenger 1912 Mor och dotter Yes Yes Yes Raoul de Saligny 1912 I lifvets vår Yes von Plæin 1912 Den tyranniske fästmannen Yes Yes Yes Elias Pettersson 1912 De svarta maskerna Yes Yes 1913 Vampyren Yes Yes 1913 På livets ödesvägar Yes 1913 När larmklockan ljuder Yes 1913 När kärleken dödar Yes Yes 1913 Mannekängen Yes Yes 1913 The Conflicts of Life (Livets konflikter) Yes 1913 Brother Against Brother (Gränsfolken) Yes 1913 En pojke i livets strid Yes 1913 Den okända Yes Yes 1913 Den moderna suffragetten Yes Yes 1913 Barnet Yes 1914 Stormfågeln Yes 1914 Skottet Yes 1914 När svärmor regerar Yes Yes Yes Elias 1914 Kammarjunkaren Yes 1914 För sin kärleks skull Yes Yes 1914 Det röda tornet Yes Yes 1914 Bröderna Yes Yes 1915 När konstnärer älska Yes 1915 Minlotsen Yes 1915 Mästertjuven Yes 1915 Madame de Thèbes Yes 1915 Playmates (Lekkamraterna) Yes Yes 1915 Hans hustrus förflutna Yes 1915 Hans bröllopsnatt Yes 1915 Hämnaren Yes 1915 Dolken Yes 1916 The Wings (Vingarne) Yes Yes Yes Film director 1916 Lyckonålen Yes 1916 Kärlek och journalistik Yes 1916 Kampen om hans hjärta Yes 1916 Balettprimadonnan Yes 1917 Thomas Graals bästa film Yes 1917 Alexander den store Yes 1918 Thomas Graals bästa barn Yes 1919 Sången om den eldröda blomman Yes Yes 1919 Sir Arne's Treasure (Herr Arnes pengar) Yes Yes 1920 Fiskebyn Yes 1920 Erotikon Yes 1921 Johan Yes Yes 1921 Guarded Lips (De landsflyktige) Yes Yes 1923 The Blizzard (Gunnar Hedes saga) Yes Yes 1924 The Saga of Gosta Berling (Gösta Berlings saga) Yes Yes 1926 The Temptress Yes 1927 The Woman on Trial Yes 1927 Hotel Imperial Yes 1927 Barbed Wire Yes 1928 Street of Sin Yes External links
Categories:- 1883 births
- 1928 deaths
- People from Helsinki
- Finnish Jews
- Finnish film directors
- Finnish people of Polish descent
- Finnish people of Russian descent
- Swedish film directors
- Swedish Jews
- LGBT Jews
- LGBT directors
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