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Hans Moser (actor)
Encyclopedia
Hans Moser was an Austria
n actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy film
s. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film
. Moser appeared in over 150 films.
, Moser very often portrayed the man in the street, typically someone else's subordinate – servant, waiter
, porter
, shopkeeper, coachman, petty bureaucrat
, etc. Also always he played honest, moral and well-intentioned people who, unable to keep cool and think clearly in crucial situations, get themselves and everyone around them into all kinds of trouble. As the father of a beautiful daughter – often widowed – he was the stubborn one who realizes only at the end of the movie, when all cases of mistaken identity have been cleared up and all secrets are revealed, that he has been terribly wrong all the time.
Moser was particularly known for mumbling indistinctly for comic effect rather than pronouncing words and sentences clearly, and also for failing to finish his sentences – which, combined with his moderate Viennese dialect, made it hard for non-native speakers of German
to understand what he was saying.
In Moser's comedy films, Paul Hörbiger
, Theo Lingen
, Oskar Sima
, and Annie Rosar
were some of his congenial partners. However Moser was also a serious actor, especially on the stage and, towards the end of his life, on television
. In many musical film
s, Moser can also be heard interpreting a Wienerlied
, more likely than not at a Heuriger.
During the Nazi regime, Moser had severe problems because of his wife Blanca (or Bianca) Hirschler, who was Jewish, but he refused to divorce her. It was only because of his great popularity that the regime allowed him to continue to appear in films. His wife eventually fled to Hungary
to avoid further trouble. After the war the couple reunited.
Hans Moser died in Vienna in 1964, aged 83. His continuing popularity is attested to by the fact that his style of speaking is still being parodied, often by very young entertainers.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
s. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film
Wiener Film
Wiener Film is an Austrian film genre, consisting of a combination of comedy, romance and melodrama in an historical setting, mostly, and typically, the Vienna of the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
. Moser appeared in over 150 films.
Biography
Born Johann Julier in ViennaVienna
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...
, Moser very often portrayed the man in the street, typically someone else's subordinate – servant, waiter
Waiter
Waiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...
, porter
Porter (carrier)
A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who shifts objects for others.-Historical meaning:Human adaptability and flexibility early led to the use of humans for shifting gear...
, shopkeeper, coachman, petty bureaucrat
Bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can comprise the administration of any organization of any size, though the term usually connotes someone within an institution of a government or corporation...
, etc. Also always he played honest, moral and well-intentioned people who, unable to keep cool and think clearly in crucial situations, get themselves and everyone around them into all kinds of trouble. As the father of a beautiful daughter – often widowed – he was the stubborn one who realizes only at the end of the movie, when all cases of mistaken identity have been cleared up and all secrets are revealed, that he has been terribly wrong all the time.
Moser was particularly known for mumbling indistinctly for comic effect rather than pronouncing words and sentences clearly, and also for failing to finish his sentences – which, combined with his moderate Viennese dialect, made it hard for non-native speakers of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
to understand what he was saying.
In Moser's comedy films, Paul Hörbiger
Paul Hörbiger
Paul Hörbiger was an Austrian theatre and film actor.-Life and work:Paul Hörbiger was born in Budapest, the son of Hans Hörbiger, an engineer who wrote Welteislehre on glacial cosmology, and elder brother of actor Attila Hörbiger. In 1902 the family returned to Vienna, while Paul attended the...
, Theo Lingen
Theo Lingen
Theo Lingen , born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, director and screenwriter. He appeared in over 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960.-Life and career:...
, Oskar Sima
Oskar Sima
Oskar Sima was an Austrian actor who is best remembered for appearing in supporting roles in countless comedy films from the 1930s to the 1960s.Born in Hohenau an der March, Lower Austria, Sima attended high school in Vienna...
, and Annie Rosar
Annie Rosar
Annie Rosar was an Austrian stage and film actress who is best remembered today for her appearances in many Austrian comedy films from the 1930s to the early 1960s...
were some of his congenial partners. However Moser was also a serious actor, especially on the stage and, towards the end of his life, on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. In many musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
s, Moser can also be heard interpreting a Wienerlied
Wienerlied
The Wienerlied or Weanaliad is a song genre which has its roots in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Traditional Viennese songs, known as Wienerlieder are centred on the theme of life in Vienna and are almost exclusively sung in Viennese...
, more likely than not at a Heuriger.
During the Nazi regime, Moser had severe problems because of his wife Blanca (or Bianca) Hirschler, who was Jewish, but he refused to divorce her. It was only because of his great popularity that the regime allowed him to continue to appear in films. His wife eventually fled to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
to avoid further trouble. After the war the couple reunited.
Hans Moser died in Vienna in 1964, aged 83. His continuing popularity is attested to by the fact that his style of speaking is still being parodied, often by very young entertainers.
Select filmography
- Die Stadt ohne Juden (The City Without Jews) (19241924 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...
) (based on the novel by Hugo BettauerHugo BettauerHugo Bettauer , born Maximilian Hugo Bettauer, was a prolific Austrian writer and journalist, who was murdered by a Nazi Party follower on account of his controversial views...
) - Red HeelsDas 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:...
(19251925 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 :...
) - Himmel auf Erden (Heaven on Earth) (19351935 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:...
) - Ungeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehnUngeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehnUngeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehn , also known as Wer zuletzt küsst... is a 1936 Austrian comedy film. The screenplay was written by Fritz Koselka, the title song was composed by Robert Stolz, and the movie was directed by E. W...
(19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) (alongside Liane HaidLiane HaidLiane Haid was an Austrian actress who has often been referred to as Austria's first movie star.Born in Vienna, Haid trained both as a dancer and singer and became the epitome of the Süßes Wiener Mädel and a popular pin-up throughout the 1920s and 30s...
) - Anton, der Letzte (19391939 in filmThe 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...
) - OpernballOpernballOpernball may refer to:*Der Opernball, an 1898 operetta by Richard Heuberger*Opernball , a 1995 novel by Josef Haslinger...
(19391939 in filmThe 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...
) - Rosen in Tirol (19401940 in filmThe 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....
) (alongside Johannes HeestersJohannes HeestersJohan Marius Nicolaas "Johannes" Heesters is a Dutch actor, singer and entertainer with a -year career, almost exclusively in the German-speaking world. In Germany and Austria, Heesters is mainly known for his acting career...
) - Wiener G'schichten (Vienna Tales) (19401940 in filmThe 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....
) - Abenteuer im Grandhotel (19431943 in filmThe 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....
) - SchrammelnSchrammeln- Cast :*Marte Harell as Die Fiakermilli*Hans Holt as Joseph Schrammel*Hans Moser as Anton Strohmayer*Paul Hörbiger as Hans Schrammel*Fritz Imhoff as Georg Dänzer*Paula Pfluger as Theresa Schrammel*Inge Egger as Barbara Strohmeyer*Helli Servi as Franzi...
(19441944 in filmThe 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....
) - Der Hofrat Geiger (19471947 in filmThe 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...
) - Jetzt schlägt's 13 (19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - Hallo Dienstmann (19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) (a typical AntelFranz AntelFranz Antel was a veteran Austrian filmmaker.Born in Vienna, Antel worked mainly as a film producer in the interwar years. After World War II, he began writing and directing films on a large scale...
movie) - OpernballOpernballOpernball may refer to:*Der Opernball, an 1898 operetta by Richard Heuberger*Opernball , a 1995 novel by Josef Haslinger...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - Hallo Taxi (19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - Die FledermausDie FledermausDie Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
) (playing the non-singing role of Frosch, the drunken jailer) - Geschichten aus dem WienerwaldWienerwaldThe Vienna Woods are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The long and wide hill range is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area with the Viennese....
(Tales from the Vienna Woods) (19641964 in televisionThe year 1964 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1964.For the American TV schedule, see: 1964-65 American network television schedule.-Events:...
) (based on the play by Ödön von HorvathÖdön von HorváthEdmund Josef von Horváth was a German-writing Austro-Hungarian-born playwright and novelist...
)