Ilse Werner
Encyclopedia
Ilse Werner was an actress and singer. She was born to a Dutch
father and a German
mother and was a Dutch
citizen by birth. Although she had her greatest successes in Germany
(mainly during the time of the Third Reich), she did not assume German citizenship
until 1955.
Arriving in Frankfurt
, Germany at the age of 10, Werner later made her name at the legendary UFA Studios
near Berlin
. She starred in the popular wartime films "Die schwedische Nachtigall" (The Swedish Nightingale) and "Wir machen Musik" (We're Making Music).
Having briefly been barred from performing by the Allies
at the end of World War II
, due to her alleged role in Nazi propaganda
, she returned to the big screen in the 1950s where she excelled in dramatic character roles.
Werner had her last appearance on German TV
in 2000 before dying peacefully in her sleep on 7 August 2005 at a retirement home
in Lübeck
. She had been suffering from pneumonia
. Her last wish was to have her ashes scattered in Potsdam
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
father and a German
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...
mother and was a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
citizen by birth. Although she had her greatest successes in 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...
(mainly during the time of the Third Reich), she did not assume German citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
until 1955.
Arriving in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany at the age of 10, Werner later made her name at the legendary UFA Studios
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...
near 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...
. She starred in the popular wartime films "Die schwedische Nachtigall" (The Swedish Nightingale) and "Wir machen Musik" (We're Making Music).
Having briefly been barred from performing by the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
at the end of 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...
, due to her alleged role in Nazi propaganda
Nazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...
, she returned to the big screen in the 1950s where she excelled in dramatic character roles.
Werner had her last appearance on German TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in 2000 before dying peacefully in her sleep on 7 August 2005 at a retirement home
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
in Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
. She had been suffering from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Her last wish was to have her ashes scattered in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
.
Filmography
- 1938 - Die unruhigen Mädchen (her first film)
- 1938 - Das Leben kann so schön sein
- 1939 - Bel Ami
- 1940 - Bal paré
- 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:...
- 1941 - Die schwedische Nachtigall
- 1942 - Wir machen Musik
- 1942 - Hochzeit auf dem Bärenhof
- 1943 - Münchhausen
- 1944 - Große Freiheit Nr. 7Große Freiheit Nr. 7Große Freiheit Nr. 7 is a 1944 German musical drama film directed by Helmut Käutner. It was named after Große Freiheit , a street next to Hamburg's Reeperbahn road in the St...
- 1949 - Mysterious ShadowsMysterious ShadowsMysterious Shadows is a 1949 Austrian drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Paul Hubschmid - Dr. Benn Wittich* Ilse Werner - Cornelia* Stefan Skodler - Robert Roy* Elfe Gerhart - Charlotte* Hermann Thimig - Heinemann...
- 1950 - Epilog
- 1950 - Gute Nacht, Mary/Die gestörte Hochzeitsnacht
- 1951 - Königin einer Nacht
- 1951 - Mutter sein dagegen sehr
- 1953 - Der Vogelhändler
- 1954 - Ännchen von Tharau
- 1955 - Der Griff nach den Sternen
- 1956 - Die Herrin vom Sölderhof
- 1989 - Rivalen Der RennbahnRivalen der RennbahnRivalen Der Rennbahn is a German serial. Soundtrack 06.03.1989Track listing:# Countdown G.T.O. - Rivalen Der Rennbahn# Nino de Angelo - Samuraj# Les McKeown - It's A Game # Marianne Rosenberg - I Need Your Love Tonight...
- 1990 - Die Hallo-Sisters
Dubbing
After the war, she became an active voice budder, dubbing foreign films in German.- 1948 - Gene TierneyGene TierneyGene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
in Laura (1944) - 1949 - Margaret LindsayMargaret LindsayMargaret Lindsay was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive...
in The Spoilers (1942) - (Die Freibeuterin) - 1949 - Gale SondergaardGale SondergaardGale Sondergaard was an American actress.Sondergaard began her acting career in theatre, and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut in Anthony Adverse...
in The Mark of Zorro (1940) - (Im Zeichen des Zorro) - 1950 - Olivia de HavillandOlivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - (Robin Hood, König der Vagabunden) - 1950 - Maureen O'HaraMaureen O'HaraMaureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
in The Black Swan (1942) - (Der Seeräuber) - 1950 - Paulette GoddardPaulette GoddardPaulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich...
in Reap the Wild Wind (1942) - (Piraten im Karibischen Meer) - 1950 - Rita HayworthRita HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
in My Gal Sal (1942) - (Die Königin vom Broadway) - 1950 - Maureen O'HaraMaureen O'HaraMaureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
in Buffalo Bill (1944) - (Buffalo Bill, der weiße Indianer) - 1950 - Linden TraversLinden Travers-Life and career:Travers was born Florence Lindon-Travers in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, the daughter of Florence and William Halton Lindon-Travers. She was the elder sister of Bill Travers, and attended La Sagesse. She made her first stage appearance at the Newcastle Playhouse in 1933...
in Christopher Columbus (1949) - 1952 - Gale StormGale StormGale Storm was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show.-Early life:...
in The Texas Rangers (1951) - (Grenzpolizei in Texas)
Further reading
- 1941 Ich über mich. Berlin: Kranich-Verlag, 1943 (autobiography)
- 1981 So wird’s nicht wieder sein. Ein Leben mit Pfiff; Ullstein-TB, 1996; ISBN 3-5483-5636-2 (autobiography)
- Marion Schröder et al.; Ilse Werner; Bildband 2001; ISBN 3-0000-7938-6
- Rüdiger Bloemeke La Paloma - Das Jahrhundert-Lied, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-00-015586-4