Albert Bassermann
Encyclopedia
Albert Bassermann was a German
stage and screen actor.
. He then spent four years at the Hoftheater in Meiningen. He then moved to Berlin. From 1899, he worked for Otto Brahm. He began work at the Deutsches Theater from 1904, and in 1909 worked at the Lessing Theatre. From 1909 to 1915, Bassermann worked with Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater Berlin.
Bassermann was among the first German theatre actors who worked in film. In 1913, he played the main role of the lawyer in Max Mack's Der Andere (The Other), after the play by Paul Lindau. He also worked with German silent film directors Richard Oswald, Ernst Lubitsch
, Leopold Jessner and Lupu Pick.
In 1933, Bassermann left Germany and lived in the United States from 1938.
Annija Simsone who played opposite Bassermann in the Neue Wiener Beuhne Theater in the 1920s wrote the following in her autobiography:"During the Hitler era, Bassermann did not perform in Germany, though Adolf Hitler personally held him in high regard; Elsa was Jewish. Bassermann was told that if he wanted to continue to perform in Germany, he would have to get divorced. He did not get divorced, but Elsa and he went to Switzerland instead."
Although his ability to speak English was very limited, he learned lines phonetically with assistance from his wife and found work as a character actor. For his performance as the Dutch statesman Van Meer in Alfred Hitchcock
's Foreign Correspondent
, Bassermann was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor in 1940. He returned to Europe in 1946. His final film appearance was in The Red Shoes.
Of him, the revered American actress Uta Hagen
had this to say in her acting textbook Respect for Acting
.:
"One of the finest lessons I ever learned was from the great German actor Albert Basserman. I worked with him as Hilde in The Master Builder
by Ibsen. He was already past eighty but was as 'modern' in his conception of the role of Solness and in his techniques as anyone I've ever seen or played with. In rehearsals he felt his way with the new cast. (The role had been in his repertoire for almost forty years.) He watched us, listened to us, adjusted to us, meanwhile executing his actions with only a small part of his playing energy. At the first dress rehearsal, he started to play fully. There was such a vibrant reality to the rhythm of his speech and behavior that I was swept away by it. I kept waiting for him to come to an end with his intentions so that I could take my 'turn.' As a result, I either made a big hole in the dialogue or desperately cut in on him in order to avoid another hole. I was expecting the usual 'It's your turn; then it's my turn.' At the end of the first act I went to his dressing room and said, 'Mr. Basserman, I can't apologize enough, but I never know when you're through!' He looked at me in amazement and said, 'I'm never through! And neither should you be.'"
His illustrious career was acknowledged when he received the Iffland-Ring
from the prominent actor Friedrich Haase
. While Bassermann himself attempted to bestow the Iffland-Ring, he outlived each of the three grantees he chose. Not wanting to be mistaken a fourth time, Bassermann deferred making a choice; instead, a group of German actors made the decision.
while on a flight from New York to Zurich. He is buried in Mannheim.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
stage and screen actor.
Career
Bassermann began his acting career in 1887 in his birthplace, MannheimMannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
. He then spent four years at the Hoftheater in Meiningen. He then moved to Berlin. From 1899, he worked for Otto Brahm. He began work at the Deutsches Theater from 1904, and in 1909 worked at the Lessing Theatre. From 1909 to 1915, Bassermann worked with Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater Berlin.
Bassermann was among the first German theatre actors who worked in film. In 1913, he played the main role of the lawyer in Max Mack's Der Andere (The Other), after the play by Paul Lindau. He also worked with German silent film directors Richard Oswald, Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
, Leopold Jessner and Lupu Pick.
In 1933, Bassermann left Germany and lived in the United States from 1938.
Annija Simsone who played opposite Bassermann in the Neue Wiener Beuhne Theater in the 1920s wrote the following in her autobiography:"During the Hitler era, Bassermann did not perform in Germany, though Adolf Hitler personally held him in high regard; Elsa was Jewish. Bassermann was told that if he wanted to continue to perform in Germany, he would have to get divorced. He did not get divorced, but Elsa and he went to Switzerland instead."
Although his ability to speak English was very limited, he learned lines phonetically with assistance from his wife and found work as a character actor. For his performance as the Dutch statesman Van Meer in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Foreign Correspondent
Foreign Correspondent (film)
Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which tells the story of an American reporter who tries to expose enemy spies in Britain, a series of events involving a continent-wide conspiracy that eventually leads to the events of a fictionalized World War...
, Bassermann was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor in 1940. He returned to Europe in 1946. His final film appearance was in The Red Shoes.
Of him, the revered American actress Uta Hagen
Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-born American actress and drama teacher. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee...
had this to say in her acting textbook Respect for Acting
Respect for Acting
Respect for Acting by actress and teacher Uta Hagen is a textbook used in many acting classes. Hagen's instructions and examples guide the aspiring actor through practical problems such as "How do I talk to the audience?" and "How do I stay fresh in a long run?" She advocates the actor's use of...
.:
"One of the finest lessons I ever learned was from the great German actor Albert Basserman. I worked with him as Hilde in The Master Builder
The Master Builder
The Master Builder is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's most significant and revealing works.-Performance:...
by Ibsen. He was already past eighty but was as 'modern' in his conception of the role of Solness and in his techniques as anyone I've ever seen or played with. In rehearsals he felt his way with the new cast. (The role had been in his repertoire for almost forty years.) He watched us, listened to us, adjusted to us, meanwhile executing his actions with only a small part of his playing energy. At the first dress rehearsal, he started to play fully. There was such a vibrant reality to the rhythm of his speech and behavior that I was swept away by it. I kept waiting for him to come to an end with his intentions so that I could take my 'turn.' As a result, I either made a big hole in the dialogue or desperately cut in on him in order to avoid another hole. I was expecting the usual 'It's your turn; then it's my turn.' At the end of the first act I went to his dressing room and said, 'Mr. Basserman, I can't apologize enough, but I never know when you're through!' He looked at me in amazement and said, 'I'm never through! And neither should you be.'"
His illustrious career was acknowledged when he received the Iffland-Ring
Iffland-Ring
The Iffland-Ring is a diamond-studded ring with the picture of August Wilhelm Iffland ....
from the prominent actor Friedrich Haase
Friedrich Haase
Friedrich Haase was a prominent German actor and theatre director. He was born in Berlin, the son of a valet to King Frederick William IV, who was his godfather.-Career:...
. While Bassermann himself attempted to bestow the Iffland-Ring, he outlived each of the three grantees he chose. Not wanting to be mistaken a fourth time, Bassermann deferred making a choice; instead, a group of German actors made the decision.
Death
Bassermann died from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while on a flight from New York to Zurich. He is buried in Mannheim.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 1913 in film The year 1913 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* The Squaw Man, the first Hollywood feature film, is made.* December 29, Charlie Chaplin signs a contract with Mack Sennett to begin making films at Keystone Studios.* D. W... |
Der König | Provinzschauspieler | |
| Der Andere | Dr. Hallers | The Other | |
| Der Letzte Tag | Professor Osterode | ||
| 1914 1914 in film The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.-Events:*The 3,300-seat Mark Strand Theatre opens in New York City.... |
Urteil des Arztes | Dr. Erwin Hofmüller | |
| 1917 1917 in film The year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced... |
Du sollst keine anderen Götter haben | ||
| Der Eiserne Wille | |||
| Herr und Diener | |||
| 1918 1918 in film The year 1918 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Following litigation for anti-trust activities, the US Supreme Court orders the Motion Picture Patents Company to disband.... |
Dr. Schotte | ||
| Die Brüder von Zaarden | |||
| Vater und Sohn | |||
| Lorenzo Burghardt | |||
| 1919 1919 in film The year 1919 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 5 - Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists... |
Eine Schwache Stunde | ||
| Der Letzte Zeuge | The Last Witness | ||
| Das Werk seines Lebens | |||
| 1920 1920 in film The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 27 - The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks opens.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1920:U.S.A. unless stated*The $1,000,000 Reward... |
Puppen des Todes | ||
| Masken | |||
| Die Söhne des Grafen Dossy | |||
| Die Stimme | |||
| Die Duplizität der Ereignisse | |||
| 1921 1921 in film -Top grossing films :-Films released in 1921:U.S.A. unless stated*$10,000 Under a Pillow, silent film directed by Frank Moser*The Ace of Hearts, silent film directed by Wallace Worsley*Across the Divide, silent film directed by John Holloway... |
Die Kleine Dagmar | ||
| Frauenarzt, Der | Dr. Wolfgang Holländer | ||
| Brennendes Land | |||
| Die Nächte des Cornelis Brouwer | Cornelis Brouwer | ||
| 1922 1922 in film -Events:* June 11 - United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film.... |
Lucrezia Borgia | Papst Alexander VI | |
| Frauenopfer | Graf | Women's Sacrifice | |
| Das Weib des Pharao | Sothis | Pharaoh's Wife | |
| 1923 1923 in film -Events:*April 15 - Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1923:U.S.A... |
Alt Heidelberg | The Student Prince | |
| Christoph Columbus | Columbus | ||
| Erdgeist | Dr. Schoen | Earth Spirit | |
| Der Mann mit der eisernen Maske | The Man with the Iron Mask | ||
| 1924 1924 in film -Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer... |
Helena | Aisakos | Helen of Troy |
| 1925 1925 in film -Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :... |
Briefe, die ihn nicht erreichten | ||
| Der Herr Generaldirektor | |||
| 1926 1926 in film -Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film.... |
Wenn das Herz der Jugend spricht | ||
| Die Mühle von Sanssouci | Adjudant Buddenbrock | The Mill of Sanssouci | |
| 1920 1929 in film -Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors.... |
Napoleon auf St. Helena | Gouverneur Hudson Lowe | |
| Fräulein Else | Dr. Alfred Thalhof | ||
| 1930 1930 in film -Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism... |
Dreyfus Dreyfus (1930 film) Dreyfus was a 1930 film on the Dreyfus affair, based on a novel by Bruno Weil. It was translated into English as Dreyfus.-Cast:*Fritz Kortner - Alfred Dreyfus*Grete Mosheim - Lucie Dreyfus... |
Col. Picquart | The Dreyfus Case |
| Alraune | Privy Councillor ten Brinken | Daughter of Evil | |
| 1931 1931 in film -Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... |
Voruntersuchung | Dr. Konrad Bienert | |
| 1914, die letzten Tage vor dem Weltbrand | Count Hollweg | ||
| Gefahren der Liebe | Dr.Ringius | ||
| Kadetten | Cadets | ||
| Zum goldenen Anker | Piquoiseau | The Golden Anchor | |
| 1933 1933 in film -Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded.... |
Ein Gewisser Herr Gran | Tschernikoff, Kunsthändler | |
| 1935 1935 in film -Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:... |
Letzte Liebe | Last Love | |
| 1939 1939 in film The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate... |
Le Héros de la Marne | Col. von Gelow | |
| 1940 1940 in film The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released.... |
Moon Over Burma | Basil Renner | |
| Escape | Dr. Arthur Henning | ||
| A Dispatch from Reuter's | Franz Geller | ||
| Knute Rockne, All American Knute Rockne, All American Knute Rockne, All American is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach. It stars Pat O'Brien, Ronald Reagan, Gale Page, Donald Crisp, Albert Bassermann, Owen Davis, Jr., Nick Lukats, Kane Richmond, William Marshall and William Byrne. It also... |
Father Julius Nieuwland | ||
| Foreign Correspondent Foreign Correspondent (film) Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which tells the story of an American reporter who tries to expose enemy spies in Britain, a series of events involving a continent-wide conspiracy that eventually leads to the events of a fictionalized World War... |
Van Meer | nominated: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... |
|
| Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet | Dr. Robert Koch | ||
| 1941 1941 in film The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:... |
The Shanghai Gesture The Shanghai Gesture The Shanghai Gesture is a 1941 American United Artists film noir motion picture starring Gene Tierney and Walter Huston, with Victor Mature and Ona Munson.... |
Van Elst | |
| New Wine | Ludwig van Beethoven | ||
| A Woman's Face | Consul Magnus Barring | ||
| 1942 1942 in film The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:... |
Reunion in France Reunion in France Reunion in France is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford, Phillip Dorn, and John Wayne in a story about a woman who, suspecting her well-heeled lover has Nazi connections, aids a downed American flyer. The screenplay by Jan Lustig, Marvin Borowsky and Marc Connelly was based... |
General Hugo Schroeder | |
| Once Upon a Honeymoon Once Upon a Honeymoon Once Upon a Honeymoon is a 1956 musical sponsored film about a couple wishing for a new home. It starts off with a group of angels who decide to help a couple have a honeymoon. The husband tries to write a song, while the wife daydreams about a new home, and imagines what it would be like to have... |
Gen. Borelski | ||
| The Moon and Sixpence The Moon and Sixpence (film) The Moon and Sixpence is a 1942 film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel of the same name. George Sanders stars as a London stockbroker who gives up his career, wife and children to become a painter... |
Dr. Coutras | ||
| Desperate Journey | Dr. Ludwig Mather | ||
| Invisible Agent Invisible Agent Invisible Agent is a 1942 science fiction film from Universal. This movie was a war-time propaganda production that was part of a Hollywood effort to boost morale at the home front. It loosely echoed a series of formula war-horror films produced during this period that typically featured a mad... |
Arnold Schmidt | ||
| Fly-by-Night | Dr. Storm | ||
| 1943 1943 in film The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films.... |
Madame Curie Madame Curie (film) Madame Curie is a 1943 biographical film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sidney Franklin from a screenplay by Paul Osborn, Paul H. Rameau, and Aldous Huxley , adapted from the biography by Eve Curie.... |
Prof. Jean Perot | |
| Good Luck, Mr. Yates | Dr. Carl Hesser | ||
| 1944 1944 in film The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released.... |
Since You Went Away Since You Went Away Since You Went Away is a 1944 film distributed by United Artists, a big-budget epic about the American home front during World War II. It was directed by John Cromwell and adapted and produced by David O. Selznick from the novel Since You Went Away: Letters to a Soldier from His Wife by Margaret... |
Dr. Sigmund Gottlieb Golden | |
| 1945 1945 in film The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins.... |
Strange Holiday | The Day After Tomorrow | |
| Rhapsody in Blue Rhapsody in Blue (film) Rhapsody in Blue is a 1945 fictionalized screen biography of the American composer and musician George Gershwin . Starring Robert Alda as Gershwin, the film features a few of Gershwin's acquaintances playing themselves... |
Prof. Franck | ||
| I Was a Criminal | Wilhelm Voight, a Shoemaker | ||
| 1946 1946 in film The year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a... |
The Searching Wind | Count von Stammer | |
| 1947 1947 in film The year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25... |
Escape Me Never | Prof. Heinrich | |
| The Private Affairs of Bel Ami The Private Affairs of Bel Ami The Private Affairs of Bel Ami is a 1947 drama film which stars George Sanders as a ruthless cad who uses women to rise in Parisian society... |
Jacques Rival | ||
| 1948 1948 in film The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :... |
The Red Shoes | Sergei Ratov | |