Gustav von Wangenheim
Encyclopedia
Gustav von Wangenheim was a German
actor
, screenwriter
and director
.
, Hesse
, to parents Eduard Clemens Freiherr von Wangenheim and Minna Mengers. Both of his parents were actors; his father, who used the stage name
Eduard von Winterstein, appeared in over 200 films between 1910 and 1960.
Wangenheim made his screen debut in 1914 in Passionels Tagebuch and went on to star in many silent features. Among his works were Fritz Lang
's early science fiction
film Frau im Mond
, where he portrayed Windegger, and Karl Heinz Martin's Das Haus zum Mond. In 1921, Wangenheim was cast in what would prove to be his most enduring role, that of Thomas Hutter (Jonathan Harker) in F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu.
A member of the Communist Party of Germany
since 1921, Wangenheim founded the Communist theatre company Die Truppe '31 in 1931. Die Truppe '31 produced three plays, authored and directed by Wangenheim, before it was shut down by order of the Nazi regime in 1933.
Wangenheim fled Nazi Germany
in the 1930s and found refuge in the Soviet Union
. While living in exile, he continued writing and producing movies, such as Kampf (1936), an anti-Nazi protest film, and was the head of the German language Cabaret "Kolonne Links". In 1936, during the Stalinist Great Purge
, he denounced his colleagues Carola Neher
and Anatol Becker as Trotskyites. Becker was executed and Neher died in the Gulag
system after 5 years in prison. Wangenheim was a founding member of the National Committee for a Free Germany
. After World War II
he returned to East Germany where he worked for the DEFA as screenwriter and director.
Wangenheim was married to Inge von Wangenheim, née Franke, from 1931 to 1954, when the marriage was annulled. The couple had one son, Friedel von Wangenheim. Wangenheim died in East Berlin
on August 5, 1975.
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...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Life
Wangenheim was born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von Wangenheim in WiesbadenWiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, to parents Eduard Clemens Freiherr von Wangenheim and Minna Mengers. Both of his parents were actors; his father, who used the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Eduard von Winterstein, appeared in over 200 films between 1910 and 1960.
Wangenheim made his screen debut in 1914 in Passionels Tagebuch and went on to star in many silent features. Among his works were Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
's early science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film Frau im Mond
Frau im Mond
Woman in the Moon is a science fiction silent film that premiered October 15, 1929. It is often considered to be one of the first "serious" science fiction films...
, where he portrayed Windegger, and Karl Heinz Martin's Das Haus zum Mond. In 1921, Wangenheim was cast in what would prove to be his most enduring role, that of Thomas Hutter (Jonathan Harker) in F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu.
A member of the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
since 1921, Wangenheim founded the Communist theatre company Die Truppe '31 in 1931. Die Truppe '31 produced three plays, authored and directed by Wangenheim, before it was shut down by order of the Nazi regime in 1933.
Wangenheim fled Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in the 1930s and found refuge in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. While living in exile, he continued writing and producing movies, such as Kampf (1936), an anti-Nazi protest film, and was the head of the German language Cabaret "Kolonne Links". In 1936, during the Stalinist Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, he denounced his colleagues Carola Neher
Carola Neher
- Biography :Neher was born in Munich to a music teacher in 1900. She started to work as a bank clerk in 1917. In the summer of 1920, she gave her debut performance at the Baden-Baden theater without a specific stage education, later also working at the theaters of Darmstadt, Nuremberg and at the...
and Anatol Becker as Trotskyites. Becker was executed and Neher died in the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
system after 5 years in prison. Wangenheim was a founding member of the National Committee for a Free Germany
National Committee for a Free Germany
The National Committee for a Free Germany was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.- History :...
. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he returned to East Germany where he worked for the DEFA as screenwriter and director.
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
on August 5, 1975.
Filmography
- 1955: Heimliche Ehen (director/writer)
- 1955/1956: Lied über dem Tal (director)
- 1953/1954: Gefährliche Fracht (director)
- 1949: Der Auftrag HöglersDer Auftrag HöglersDer Auftrag Höglers is an East German drama film directed by Gustav von Wangenheim. It was released in 1950.-Plot:...
(director/writer) - 1948: ...und wieder 48! (director/writer)
- 1935: Kämpfer (Film) (director/writer)
- 1930/1931: Danton
- 1928/1929: Frau im MondFrau im MondWoman in the Moon is a science fiction silent film that premiered October 15, 1929. It is often considered to be one of the first "serious" science fiction films...
- 1923: Schatten - Eine nächtliche HalluzinationSchatten - Eine nächtliche HalluzinationSchatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination is a 1923 German silent film directed by Arthur Robison. It is considered part of German Expressionism.-Plot:...
- 1922: Das Feuerschiff
- 1922: Der Liebe Pilgerfahrt
- 1922/1923: Der steinerne Reiter
- 1921: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des GrauensNosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauensis a classic 1922 German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok...
- 1920: Das Haus zum Mond
- 1920: Der Tempel der Liebe
- 1920: Kohlhiesels Töchter
- 1919: Die Welteroberer
- 1919: Kitsch. Tragödie einer Intrigantin
- 1919/1920: Romeo und Julia im Schnee
- 1918: Ferdinand LassalleFerdinand LassalleFerdinand Lassalle was a German-Jewish jurist and socialist political activist.-Early life:Ferdinand Lassalle was born on 11 April 1825 in Breslau , Silesia to a prosperous Jewish family descending from Upper Silesian Loslau...
- 1917: Die Erzkokette
- 1916: Das Leid der Liebe
- 1916: Homunculus. 3. Teil: Die Liebestragödie des Homunculus
- 1914: Passionels Tagebuch