Alexander Kolowrat
Encyclopedia
Sasha (name)
Sasha is a female and male given name. It originated in countries of Central, Eastern and Southern Europe as a diminutive of Alexander and Alexandra. It is also found as a surname, although this is very rare...
", was an Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
of Bohemian
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
(Czech) descent. A pioneer of Austrian cinema
Cinema of Austria
Austria has had an active cinema industry since the early 20th century. Sascha Kolowrat-Krakowsky was among the Austrian pioneers of this art. Several Austrians pursued a career in pre-Nazi Germany and later in the United States, among them Fritz Lang, Josef von Sternberg, Billy Wilder, Fred...
, he was responsible for creating the first major film studio Sascha-Film
Sascha-Film
Sascha-Film, in full Sascha-Filmindustrie AG and from 1933 Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG, was the largest Austrian film production company of the silent film and early sound film period.-History:...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Life
Born in Glen Ridge, New JerseyGlen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,527. In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine....
, his father was Count Leopold Philipp von Kolowrat
Kolovrat
Kolovrat or kolowrat means spinning wheel in a number of Slavic languages : "kolo" means "wheel", "vrat" is the stem for "turning/spinning/etc." It may also be an archaic form of the East Slavic word kolovorot for "brace". Kolo symbolizes the Sun...
-Krakowsky and his mother was Nadine Freiin von Huppmann-Valbella, the daughter of a cigarette manufacturer from Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in Russia. He had three siblings: Bertha, Friedrich and Heinrich.
The reason "Sascha" Kolowrat-Krakowsky was born in the US is described in a letter of March 30, 1984 from his nephew Count Colloredo-Mansfeld to the Austrian film scholar Walter Fritz:
He studied at the Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
(present-day Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...
) in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
where he became member of the German Catholic fraternity Katholische Academische Verbindung Lovania Leuven
Katholische Academische Verbindung Lovania Leuven
Katholische Academische Verbindung Lovania Leuven is a Catholic academic fraternity, founded in 1896 at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. It is a German Studentenverbindung and is an affiliated member of the Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen. Her...
. He served in the army and was able to speak many European languages. After he had met Charles Pathé
Charles Pathé
Charles Pathé was a major French pioneer of the film and recording industries.The son of a butcher shop owner, Charles Pathé was born at Chevry-Cossigny, in the Seine-et-Marne département of France. In 1894, together with his brother Émile, he formed Pathé Records...
in Paris in 1909, he got into cinematography
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, besides his interests in motorcycle and car racing, aviation and ballooning. In 1909, he privately filmed a car racing at the Semmering Pass.
After the death of his father in 1910 and the inheritance of his estates in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Alexander Kolowrat founded the Sascha-Film
Sascha-Film
Sascha-Film, in full Sascha-Filmindustrie AG and from 1933 Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG, was the largest Austrian film production company of the silent film and early sound film period.-History:...
factory and a film laboratory at his castle Groß Meierhöfen (today Velké Dvorce) in Pfraumberg
Primda
Přimda is a town in the Czech Republic....
(Přimda). In 1912, he moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and founded the Sascha-Filmfabrik on Pappenheimgasse 2/Treustraße in Brigittenau
Brigittenau
Brigittenau is the 20th District of Vienna . It is located north of the central districts, north of Leopoldstadt on the same island area between the Danube and the Danube Canal...
. One of his first productions with Sascha-Film was the documentary Die Gewinnung des Erzes am steirischen Erzberg in Eisenerz ("The Ore Mining in the Styrian Erzberg
Erzberg mine
The Erzberg mine is a large open pit mine located in Eisenerz, Styria, in the central-western part of Austria, 60 km north-west of Graz and 260 km south-west of the capital, Vienna. Erzberg represents the largest iron ore reserves in Austria having estimated reserves of 235 million tonnes...
in Eisenerz
Eisenerz
Eisenerz is a market place and old mining town in Styria, Austria, . N.W. of Graz by rail. Pop. 6,400. It is situated in the deep Erzbach Valley, dominated on the east by the Pfaffenstein , on the west by the Kaiserschild , and on the south by the Erzberg...
"). In 1915, he took over the film branch of the k.u.k. Kriegspressequartier (War Media Quarters) in Vienna and also produced several propaganda movies during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Kolowrat-Krakowsky discovered many actors, e.g. Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
and Willi Forst
Willi Forst
Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer...
, who both performed in the 1927 silent film Café Elektric
Café Elektric
Café Elektric is an Austrian film directed by Gustav Ucicky.- Plot outline :The daughter of a wealthy industrialist falls for a pickpocket .- Cast :* Willi Forst ... Fredl* Marlene Dietrich ... Erni Göttlinger...
directed by Gustav Ucicky
Gustav Ucicky
Gustav Ucicky was an acclaimed Austrian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He was one of the more successful and acclaimed directors in Austria and Germany from the 1930s through to the early 1960s...
. He did important pioneering work in all film genres of the time. The high points of his artistic work were the productions of monumental silent movies like Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah (1922 film)
Sodom und Gomorrha is an Austrian silent epic film from 1922...
(1922) or Die Sklavenkönigin (1924), both directed by Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
, on the Laaer Berg in Vienna-Favoriten
Favoriten
Favoriten, the 10th district of Vienna, Austria , is located south of the central districts. It is south of Innere Stadt, Wieden and Margareten...
. In 1916, he erected Austria's first huge studio in Vienna-Sievering
Sievering
Sievering is a suburb of Vienna and part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. Sievering was created in 1892 out of the two erstwhile independent suburbs Untersievering and Obersievering. These still exist as Katastralgemeinden.- Geography :...
. Together with his Sascha-Film company, he was the owner of several cinemas. He personally loved to attend the Münstedt Cinema in the Prater
Prater
The Wiener Prater is a large public park in Vienna's 2nd district . The amusement park, often simply called "Prater", stands in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the .-Name:...
park, as well as the Burgkino and the Opernkino. In the Vienna Prater, west of the Rotunde
Rotunde
The Rotunde in Vienna was a building erected for the Weltausstellung 1873 Wien .The building was a partially covered circular steel construction, 84 m in height and 108 m in diameter...
, he erected "Old London" in 1920 for film shots, similar to the "Venice in Vienna" theme park nearby, but smaller.
The count owned a large city palace on Wenceslas Square
Wenceslas Square
Wenceslas Square is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. An enthusiastic mobilist he financed the development of a lightweight sports car ("Sascha-Wagen") designed by the Austro-Daimler
Austro-Daimler
Austro-Daimler was an Austrian automaker company, from 1899 until 1934. It was subsidiary of the German Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft .-Early history:...
engineer Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche was an Austrian automotive engineer and honorary Doctor of Engineering. He is best known for creating the first hybrid vehicle , the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, as well as the first of many Porsche automobiles...
, which ran at the 1922 Targa Florio
Targa Florio
The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973...
with Alfred Neubauer
Alfred Neubauer
Alfred Neubauer was the racing manager of the Mercedes Grand Prix team from 1926 to 1955.-Biography:...
at the wheel.
Kolowrat died of cancer in 1927 in Vienna, aged 41.
Filmography
- Die Gewinnung des Eisens am steirischen Erzberg in Eisenerz (1912)
- Der Millionenonkel (directed by Hubert MarischkaHubert MarischkaHubert Marischka , brother of Ernst Marischka, was an Austrian operetta tenor, actor, film director and screenwriter.- Career :...
, 1913) - Wien im Krieg (propaganda film, 1916)
- Der Märtyrer seines Herzens (1918)
- Eine versunkene Welt (1920)
- Sodom und GomorrhaSodom and Gomorrah (1922 film)Sodom und Gomorrha is an Austrian silent epic film from 1922...
(directed by Michael CurtizMichael CurtizMichael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
, 1922) - Der junge MedardusYoung MedardusYoung Medardus is a 1923 Austrian film directed by Michael Curtiz.-Cast:* Agnes Esterhazy - Helene* Franz Glawatsch - Berger* Mari Hegyesi - Mrs...
(directed by Michael Curtiz, 1923) - Die Sklavenkönigin (directed by Michael Curtiz, 1924)
- Das Spielzeug von ParisDas Spielzeug von ParisDas Spielzeug von Paris is an Austrian silent film released in 1925 and directed by Michael Curtiz. It was the first film to feature French actress Lili Damita in the leading role.-Plot:...
(directed by Michael Curtiz, 1925) - SalammbôSalammbôSalammbô may refer to:*Salammbô , the original novel by Gustave Flaubert*Salammbô , an unfinished opera, based on Flaubert's novel, on which Modest Mussorgsky worked between 1863 and 1866...
(co-production with GaumontGaumont Film CompanyGaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
, 1925) - Café ElektricCafé ElektricCafé Elektric is an Austrian film directed by Gustav Ucicky.- Plot outline :The daughter of a wealthy industrialist falls for a pickpocket .- Cast :* Willi Forst ... Fredl* Marlene Dietrich ... Erni Göttlinger...
(directed by Gustav UcickyGustav UcickyGustav Ucicky was an acclaimed Austrian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He was one of the more successful and acclaimed directors in Austria and Germany from the 1930s through to the early 1960s...
, 1927)
Literature
- Fritz, W., & Zahradnik, M. (eds.), 1992: Erinnerungen an S. Kolowrat (Schriftenreihe des Österreichischen Filmarchivs 31)
- Hübl, I. M. & S. K., 1950: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der österreichischen Kinematographie