Harry Piel
Encyclopedia
Born Hubert August Piel, Harry Piel (12 July 1892 Düsseldorf
- 27 March 1963) in Munich
, Germany
was a prolific German actor
, film director
, screenwriter
and film producer
who was involved in over 150 films.
Piel became a director in 1912, turning out such box-office successes as Mann Gegen Mann (1928), Achtung! - Auto-Diebe!
(1930) and Artisten (1935). His last directorial effort was 1953's Gesprengte Gitter (Elephant Fury, aka Panic), which he also produced, wrote, and starred.
in 1909 on a sailing ship, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth. In 1911, however, he finished his cadethood and moved to Berlin
in 1912 where he created the "Art Film Publishing House Company" and made, as a director, screenwriter and producer, his first feature Black Blood (1912) with Curt Goetz
in the lead role. Further films followed, based on adventure and action.
Soon Piel received the nickname "the dynamite director" because of his penchant for including explosion sequences in his films. These were authentic: Piel had befriended a demolition engineer who was often commissioned to dynamite bridges and other condemned structures slated for demolition. The engineer notified Piel of these assignments in advance: Piel filmed the explosions, then inserted the footage into his films.
In 1915, Piel became too bored with just standing behind the camera and he started to act. The first film with him as a leading actor, The Large Bet (Die Grosse Wette), was a Science Fiction adventure, where he had to deal with robots. Into Under Hot Zone (Unter heißer Zone, 1916) included for the first time scenes with wild animals, which were used by him afterwards in other films, and partly trained by him.
This was followed by a number of films between 1918–1919, in which he played the detective "Joe Deebs" eight times and with the film To the Large Unknown Quantity (1919) began to be credited by the name "Harry Peel" internationally.
In 1927 he cast himself in a double role with Marlene Dietrich
together in the film His Greatest Bluff. Also in 1927 Piel married the actress Dary Holm (1897–1960), who appeared in several of his films
In 1930 he directed the comedy Him or Me (1930), but still had many successful adventure films to follow, such as Shade of the Underworld (1931), Johnny Steals Europe (1932), The Ship Without a Port, The Call of the Jungle (1935) and His Best Friend (1937).
Then however difficulties began with the Nazis, and his film "Panic" (1940–43) was banned for showing too-realistic air attacks. Seventy-two negatives of his films, nearly all his silent movies, were destroyed in an air attack. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Harry Piel, who had been a sustaining member of the SS, and had at first concealed this, was sentenced to six months detention and five years professional disqualification. After his denazification, he founded "Ariel Film" in 1950 in Hamburg with which he had only moderate success.
Piel's film Panic depicted a German hero who traps wild animals in Africa for German zoos. At the film's climax, an air-raid on a German city frees the zoo animals from their cages; when they run loose in the streets, the people are terrified and only the heroic trapper can recapture the beasts. During World War Two, this film was suppressed by Reich
censors who did not want the German people to believe that Germany was in danger from aerial bombardments.
After one of his last films, Gesprengte Gitter (Elephant Fury, 1953), Piel withdrew from movie-making business and died ten years later in 1963.
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
- 27 March 1963) in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
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...
was a prolific German 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...
, film 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:...
, 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 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...
who was involved in over 150 films.
Piel became a director in 1912, turning out such box-office successes as Mann Gegen Mann (1928), Achtung! - Auto-Diebe!
Achtung! - Auto-Diebe!
Achtung! Auto-Diebe! is a 1930 German crime film directed by Harry Piel and written by Hans Rameau. The film starred Harry Piel and Leopold von Ledebur.-Cast:*Harry Piel as Harry Palen, Auto-Verkäufer*Charly Berger...
(1930) and Artisten (1935). His last directorial effort was 1953's Gesprengte Gitter (Elephant Fury, aka Panic), which he also produced, wrote, and starred.
Biography
After attending elementary school in Benrath and High School, Piel became a cadetCadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
in 1909 on a sailing ship, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth. In 1911, however, he finished his cadethood and moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1912 where he created the "Art Film Publishing House Company" and made, as a director, screenwriter and producer, his first feature Black Blood (1912) with Curt Goetz
Curt Goetz
Curt Goetz , born Kurt Walter Götz, was a Swiss-German writer, actor and film director. Curt Goetz was regarded as one of the most brilliant comedy writers of his time in the German-speaking world. Together with his wife Valérie von Martens he acted in his own plays and also filmed them...
in the lead role. Further films followed, based on adventure and action.
Soon Piel received the nickname "the dynamite director" because of his penchant for including explosion sequences in his films. These were authentic: Piel had befriended a demolition engineer who was often commissioned to dynamite bridges and other condemned structures slated for demolition. The engineer notified Piel of these assignments in advance: Piel filmed the explosions, then inserted the footage into his films.
In 1915, Piel became too bored with just standing behind the camera and he started to act. The first film with him as a leading actor, The Large Bet (Die Grosse Wette), was a Science Fiction adventure, where he had to deal with robots. Into Under Hot Zone (Unter heißer Zone, 1916) included for the first time scenes with wild animals, which were used by him afterwards in other films, and partly trained by him.
This was followed by a number of films between 1918–1919, in which he played the detective "Joe Deebs" eight times and with the film To the Large Unknown Quantity (1919) began to be credited by the name "Harry Peel" internationally.
In 1927 he cast himself in a double role with 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...
together in the film His Greatest Bluff. Also in 1927 Piel married the actress Dary Holm (1897–1960), who appeared in several of his films
In 1930 he directed the comedy Him or Me (1930), but still had many successful adventure films to follow, such as Shade of the Underworld (1931), Johnny Steals Europe (1932), The Ship Without a Port, The Call of the Jungle (1935) and His Best Friend (1937).
Then however difficulties began with the Nazis, and his film "Panic" (1940–43) was banned for showing too-realistic air attacks. Seventy-two negatives of his films, nearly all his silent movies, were destroyed in an air attack. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Harry Piel, who had been a sustaining member of the SS, and had at first concealed this, was sentenced to six months detention and five years professional disqualification. After his denazification, he founded "Ariel Film" in 1950 in Hamburg with which he had only moderate success.
Piel's film Panic depicted a German hero who traps wild animals in Africa for German zoos. At the film's climax, an air-raid on a German city frees the zoo animals from their cages; when they run loose in the streets, the people are terrified and only the heroic trapper can recapture the beasts. During World War Two, this film was suppressed by Reich
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
censors who did not want the German people to believe that Germany was in danger from aerial bombardments.
After one of his last films, Gesprengte Gitter (Elephant Fury, 1953), Piel withdrew from movie-making business and died ten years later in 1963.
Filmography
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Achtung! - Auto-Diebe! Achtung! Auto-Diebe! is a 1930 German crime film directed by Harry Piel and written by Hans Rameau. The film starred Harry Piel and Leopold von Ledebur.-Cast:*Harry Piel as Harry Palen, Auto-Verkäufer*Charly Berger... (1930) Master of the World (1934 film) The Master of the World is a German science fiction movie made in 1934 . Its themes are the replacement of human labor with robotic replacements, and the threat to humanity by robots used as war machines... (1934) Artisten Artisten is a German circus movie from 1934/1935 starring Susi Lanner, Hans Junkermann, Hilde Hildebrand and Harry Piel, who also acted as director. The screenplay was written by Max W... (1935) |