Ida Wüst
Encyclopedia
Ida Wüst was a German
stage and film actress, whose career was most prominent in the 1920s and 1930s with Universum Film AG
(Ufa).
, and further stage productions in Bromberg, and in 1904 performed extensively in Leipzig
. In 1907 she became a member of the ensemble of the Lessing-Theater in Berlin, where she performed roles in Hosenrollen (roles in which women impersonate men in trousers), and comedies and became sought after actress.
During her years on the stage she befriended and married actor Bruno Kastner
, with whom she began writing screenplays. The couple were married in 1918 and divorced in 1924.
Wüst appeared in the four-silent serial installments of Tragödie der Liebe 1-4 in 1922 and 1923 (English
: Tragedy of Love 1-4), which also featured a young Marlene Dietrich
. Many other silent movies quickly followed and Wüst's film career of the silent era was prolific. She transitioned to the sound era of the talkie
with relative ease and appeared in many stage and film production during the 1930s.
World War II
brought a slump in Wüst's career. During the war years she played in only several film and theater roles.
Following the war, Wüst's 1946 request for denazification
was dismissed because during the Nazi regime, she was accused of denouncing fellow actors such as Eduard von Winterstein. Wüst was known to have corresponded with Adolf Hitler
throughout the war years and several of her letters to Hitler are on file at the Princeton University
Adolf Hitler Collection. Only in 1949 was Wüst classified as suitable to resume her career. During the 1950s, she made several films, often appearing as sprightly elderly ladies and comedic matronly types. Also, during the 1950s, she again returned to the stage.
During her career, Ida Wüst appeared opposite some of the most notable stars of the German cinema, such as: Heinz Rühmann
, Hans Albers
, Peter Lorre
, Paul Henckels
, Käthe Dorsch
, Hans Moser
, Käthe Haack
, Paul Kemp, Theo Lingen
and many more.
On 4 October 1958 Ida Wüst died of a stroke, following a severe lung inflammation.
As an actress
Selected theater performances
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
stage and film actress, whose career was most prominent in the 1920s and 1930s with Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
(Ufa).
Life and career
Little is known about Ida Wüst's early childhood. She discovered early the world of theater, and decided to make it her career. After attending the high school in Frankfurt am Main, Wüst took acting lessons from Thessa Klinghammer and at the age of 16 received her first engagement at the StadtTheatre of ColmarColmar
Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....
, and further stage productions in Bromberg, and in 1904 performed extensively in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. In 1907 she became a member of the ensemble of the Lessing-Theater in Berlin, where she performed roles in Hosenrollen (roles in which women impersonate men in trousers), and comedies and became sought after actress.
During her years on the stage she befriended and married actor Bruno Kastner
Bruno Kastner
Bruno Kastner was a German stage and film actor, screenwriter and film producer whose career was most prominent in the 1910s and 1920s during the silent film era...
, with whom she began writing screenplays. The couple were married in 1918 and divorced in 1924.
Wüst appeared in the four-silent serial installments of Tragödie der Liebe 1-4 in 1922 and 1923 (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Tragedy of Love 1-4), which also featured a young 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...
. Many other silent movies quickly followed and Wüst's film career of the silent era was prolific. She transitioned to the sound era of the talkie
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
with relative ease and appeared in many stage and film production during the 1930s.
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...
brought a slump in Wüst's career. During the war years she played in only several film and theater roles.
Following the war, Wüst's 1946 request for denazification
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
was dismissed because during the Nazi regime, she was accused of denouncing fellow actors such as Eduard von Winterstein. Wüst was known to have corresponded with Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
throughout the war years and several of her letters to Hitler are on file at the Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
Adolf Hitler Collection. Only in 1949 was Wüst classified as suitable to resume her career. During the 1950s, she made several films, often appearing as sprightly elderly ladies and comedic matronly types. Also, during the 1950s, she again returned to the stage.
During her career, Ida Wüst appeared opposite some of the most notable stars of the German cinema, such as: Heinz Rühmann
Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s...
, Hans Albers
Hans Albers
Hans Philipp August Albers was a German actor and singer. He was the single biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1945 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century.- Life and work :...
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, Paul Henckels
Paul Henckels
Paul Henckels was a German film actor. He appeared in over 230 films between 1921 and 1965.-Selected filmography:* Sex in Chains * Skandal um Eva * Dreyfus * The Sorceror...
, Käthe Dorsch
Käthe Dorsch
Käthe Dorsch was a German actress.-External links:*...
, Hans Moser
Hans Moser
Hans Moser may refer to:*Hans Moser , Austrian actor*Hans Moser , German movie director*Hans Moser , Swiss Olympic rider*Hans Joachim Moser , German composer and musicologist...
, Käthe Haack
Käthe Haack
Käthe Haack was a German actress. She appeared in over 200 films between 1915 and 1980.She was born Käte Lisbeth Minna Sophie Isolde Haack in Berlin, Germany and was previously married to actor Heinrich Schroth, with whom she had a daughter, actress Hannelore Schroth in 1922.-Selected...
, Paul Kemp, 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:...
and many more.
On 4 October 1958 Ida Wüst died of a stroke, following a severe lung inflammation.
Filmography
As a screenwriter- Nur ein Diener (1919)
- Der König von Paris Teil 1 & 2 (1920)
As an actress
- Tragödie der Liebe Teil 1-4 (1923–1924)
- Die Puppenkönigin 1924 (1924)
- Kammermusik (1925)
- O alte Burschenherrlichkeit (1925)
- Die vertauschte Braut (1925)
- Die Strasse des Vergessens (1925)
- Die Königin des Weltbades (1926)
- 1926 Die dritte Eskadron (1926)
- Ledige Töchter (1926)
- Die Bräutigame der Babette (1927)
- Das Heiratsnest (1927)
- Unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit (1927)
- Heimweh (1927)
- Venus im Frack (1927)
- Im Luxuszug (1927)
- Feme (1927)
- Mein Freund Harry (1927)
- Der letzte Walzer (1927)
- Königin Luise (1927)
- Der Bettelstudent (1927)
- Der Fall des Staatsanwalts M... (1928)
- Die Königin seines Herzens (1928)
- Großstadtjugend (1928)
- Der Raub der Sabinerinnen (1928)
- Herr Meister und Frau Meisterin (1928)
- Das brennende Herz (1929)
- Vater und Sohn (1929)
- Tagebuch einer Kokotte (1929)
- Fräulein Fähnrich (1929)
- Madame X, die Frau für diskrete Beratung (1929)
- Zwischen vierzehn und siebzehn
- Ruhiges Heim mit Küchenbenutzung (1929)
- Die Kaviarprinzessin (1929)
- Die Nacht gehört uns (1929)
- Der Walzerkönig (1930)
- Die Lindenwirtin (1930)
- Ein Burschenlied aus Heidelberg (1930)
- Drei Tage Mittelarrest (1930)
- Die Firma heiratet (1930)
- Die Scikosbaroness (1930)
- Der keusche Joseph (1930)
- Bockbierfest (1930)
- Das alte Lied (1930)
- Namensheirat (1930)
- Zweierlei Moral (1930)
- Die Marquise von Pompadour (1930)
- Man braucht kein Geld (1931)
- Wenn die Soldaten... (1931)
- Der Stumme von Portici (1931)
- Das verlorene Paradies (1931)
- Elisabeth von Österreich (1931)
- Bomben auf Monte Carlo (1931)
- Mein Leopold (1931)
- Der verjüngte Adolar (1931)
- Schützenfest in Schilda (1931)
- Hurrah - ein Junge! (1931)
- Schön ist die Manöverzeit (1931)
- Zwei himmelblaue Augen (1931)
- Die Nacht ohne Pause (1931)
- Zu Befehl, Herr Unteroffizier (1931)
- Der Sieger (1932)
- Es war einmal ein Walzer (1932)
- Peter Voss, der Millionendieb (1932)
- Melodie der Liebe (1932)
- Aus einer kleinen Residenz (1932)
- Das Lied einer Nacht (1932)
- Ballhaus goldener Engel (1932)
- Zwei glückliche Tage (1932)
- Ja, treu ist die Soldatenliebe (1932)
- Das schöne Abenteuer (1932)
- Das Testament des Cornelius Gulden (1932)
- Mieter Schulze gegen alle (1932)
- Wie sag' ich's meinem Mann? (1932)
- Friederike (1932)
- Ich bei Tag und Du bei Nacht (1932)
- So ein Mädel vergisst man nicht (1932)
- Keinen Tag ohne Dich (1933)
- Ein Lied für Dich (1933)
- Kind, ich freu' mich auf Dein Kommen (1933)
- Kleiner Mann - was nun? (1933)
- Lachende ErbenLachende ErbenLachende Erben is a 1933 German comedy film. The premiere was on March 6, 1933....
(1933) - FlüchtlingeFlüchtlingeFlüchtlinge is a 1933 German film depicting Volga German refugees persecuted by the Bolsheviks on the Sino-Russian border in Manchuria in 1928.The film was directed by Gustav Ucicky and starred Hans Albers, Käthe von Nagy and Eugen Klopfer...
(1933) - Fräulein Hoffmanns Erzählungen (1933)
- Die Wette (1933)
- Der Zarewitsch (1933)
- Des jungen Dessauers grosse Liebe (1933)
- Einmal eine grosse Dame sein (1934)
- Annette im Paradies (1934)
- Frühlingsmärchen (1934)
- Freut Euch des Lebens (1934)
- Die Czardasfürstin (1934)
- Der kühne Schwimmer (1934)
- Jungfrau gegen Mönch 1934
- Die Liebe und die erste Eisenbahn (1934)
- Warum lügt Fräulein Käthe? (1935)
- Die blonde Carmen (1935)
- Liselotte von der Pfalz (1935)
- Kater Lampe (1935)
- Die ganze Welt dreht sich um Liebe (1935)
- Wenn die Musik nicht wär (1935)
- Eine Seefahrt, die ist lustig (1935)
- Herbstmanöver (1935)
- Eine Nacht an der Donau (1935)
- Die lustigen Weiber (1936)
- Kater Lampe (1936)
- Der Bettelstudent (1936)
- Nachtwache im Paradies (1936)
- Ein Hochzeitstraum (1936)
- Der lustige Witwenball (1936)
- Heiratsinstitut Ida & Co. (1937)
- Husaren, heraus (1937)
- Fremdenheim Filoda (1937)
- Wenn Du eine Schwiegermutter hast (1937)
- Der Biberpelz (1937)
- Es leuchten die Sterne (1937–1939)
- Diskretion - Ehrensache (1938)
- Das Verlegenheitskind (1938)
- Kleines Bezirksgericht (1938)
- Rote Mühle (1939)
- Die kluge Schwiegermutter (1939)
- Zwei Welten (1939)
- Die unvollkommenen Liebe (1940)
- WunschkonzertWunschkonzertWunschkonzert is a 1940 German drama propaganda film by Eduard von Borsody. After Die grosse Liebe, it was the most popular film of wartime Germany, reaching the second highest gross.-Background:...
(1940) - Sein Sohn (1941)
- Hauptsache glücklich (1941)
- Geliebter Schatz (1943)
- Die beiden Schwestern (1943)
- Das Gesetz der Liebe (1944)
- Die Brüder Noltenius (1945)
- Wenn Männer schwindeln (1950)
- Es begann um Mitternacht (1950)
- Eva im Frack (1950)
- Heimat, Deine Sterne (1951)
- Der Jagerloisl vom Tegernsee (1951)
- Ich warte auf Dich (1952)
- Tante Jutta aus Kalkutta (1953)
- Die süssesten Früchte (1953)
- Sonne über der Adria (1954)
- Die Barrings (1955)
- Die Herrin vom Sölderhof (1955)
- Roter Mohn (1956)
Selected theater performances
- Kammermusik (Lessing-Theater, Berlin, 1914)
- Drei arme kleine Mädels (Theater am Nollendorfplatz, Berlin, 1927)
- Die Männer sind nicht dankbar (Kabarett Simpl, ViennaViennaVienna 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...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , 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...
, 1940)
External links
- Ida Wüst at the Virtual Film History
- Portrait of Actress Ida Wüst