Olga Engl
Encyclopedia
Olga Engl was an Austrian stage and motion picture actress who appeared nearly 200 films during her career in the film industry.
Olga Engl was privately educated in a single-sex monastery and began her acting career at the Prague Conservatory
. In August 1887 she made her stage debut as Bertha in the play Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua in her hometown.
In 1888, she moved to the city of Danzig and performed in the theater from 1889 to 1892 then briefly moved to Berlin
. From 1892 to 1895 she performed with the court theater in Munich
and from 1895 to 1897 in Hamburg
at the Thalia Theater
, and from 1897 in Hanover
.
Olga Engl made her film debut in the 1911 British silent film The Adoptive Child then returned to Germany and began appearing in German film productions. Her first major role was in the 1913 Carl Froelich
-directed biopic Richard Wagner
. She would work continually throughout the 1910s and appear in a variety of roles for such directors as Urban Gad
and Frederic Zelnik and opposite such popular actors of the era as Emil Jannings
, Alfred Abel
and Lya Mara
.
By the early 1920s, Engl's career in motion pictures was well established. In 1922 she appeared in the popular F.W. Murnau-directed eerie drama Phantom
opposite Alfred Abel, Grete Berger, Aud Egede-Nissen
, Lya De Putti
and Lil Dagover
.
Engl transitioned to the talkie
era with relative ease and she often appeared in films as a "Grand Dame" type of character. Some of her most enduring roles of the early talkie era were the 1931 Gerhard Lamprecht
-directed adventure Emil und die Detektive
and the musical Der Kongreß tanzt
(English: The Congress Dances), also released in 1931 and starring Lilian Harvey
, Conrad Veidt
and Lil Dagover. In 1933 she made her English language film debut in the Edwin H. Knopf
and Luis Trenker
-directed The Rebel. The film starred Hungarian actors Vilma Bánky
and Victor Varconi
and was a remake of Der Rebell, also featuring Engl and released earlier the same year and also directed by Trenker.
Engl continued to act through the World War II
era – appearing in ten films between 1939 and 1945. Her last film appearance before retiring was a small role in the drama Das Alte Lied, which was released in March 1945. In addition to film roles, she continued acting on Berlin stages until shortly before her death in 1946.
Olga Engl was privately educated in a single-sex monastery and began her acting career at the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
. In August 1887 she made her stage debut as Bertha in the play Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua in her hometown.
In 1888, she moved to the city of Danzig and performed in the theater from 1889 to 1892 then briefly 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...
. From 1892 to 1895 she performed with the court theater 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...
and from 1895 to 1897 in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
at the Thalia Theater
Thalia Theater (Hamburg)
The Thalia Theater is one of the three state-owned theatres in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1843 by Charles Maurice Schwartzenberger and named after the muse Thalia...
, and from 1897 in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
.
Olga Engl made her film debut in the 1911 British silent film The Adoptive Child then returned to Germany and began appearing in German film productions. Her first major role was in the 1913 Carl Froelich
Carl Froelich
Carl August Froelich was a German film pioneer and film director.-Apparatus builder and cameraman:...
-directed biopic Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
. She would work continually throughout the 1910s and appear in a variety of roles for such directors as Urban Gad
Urban Gad
Peter Urban Gad was a Danish film director. He directed 40 film between 1910 and 1927. His wife Asta Nielsen starred in 30 of his films. Also in his debut the famous movie Afgrunden from 1910. They moved to Germany in 1911 where Gad worked until 1922.His uncle was Paul Gauguin...
and Frederic Zelnik and opposite such popular actors of the era as Emil Jannings
Emil Jannings
Emil Jannings was a German actor. He was not only the first actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but also the first person to be presented an Oscar...
, Alfred Abel
Alfred Abel
Alfred Abel was a German film actor, director, and producer. He appeared in over 140 silent and sound films between 1913 and 1938...
and Lya Mara
Lya Mara
Lya Mara was one of the biggest stars of the German silent cinema.Lya Mara was born as Aleksandra Gudowicz in a Polish family in Riga, Livonia. As a young girl she wanted to become a chemist, as then famous Maria Skłodowska-Curie...
.
By the early 1920s, Engl's career in motion pictures was well established. In 1922 she appeared in the popular F.W. Murnau-directed eerie drama Phantom
Phantom (1922 film)
Phantom is a silent film that was directed by F. W. Murnau the same year Murnau directed Nosferatu. It is an example of German Expressionist film and has a surreal, dreamlike quality.-Plot summary:The film is told in an extended flashback...
opposite Alfred Abel, Grete Berger, Aud Egede-Nissen
Aud Egede-Nissen
Aud Richter was a Norwegian actress, appearing in many early 20th century German films.- Biography :...
, Lya De Putti
Lya De Putti
Lya De Putti was a Hungarian film actress of the silent era, noted for her portrayal of vamp characters.-Early life and career:...
and Lil Dagover
Lil Dagover
Lil Dagover was a German stage, film and television actress whose career spanned nearly six decades.-Early life:...
.
Engl transitioned to 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...
era with relative ease and she often appeared in films as a "Grand Dame" type of character. Some of her most enduring roles of the early talkie era were the 1931 Gerhard Lamprecht
Gerhard Lamprecht
Gerhard Lamprecht was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 63 films between 1920 and 1958. He also wrote for 26 films between 1918 and 1958...
-directed adventure Emil und die Detektive
Emil and the Detectives (1931 film)
Emil and the Detectives is a 1931 adventure film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Rolf Wenkhaus...
and the musical Der Kongreß tanzt
Der Kongreß tanzt
Der Kongress tanzt is a Germany musical comedy film produced in 1931 by Ufa, directed by Erik Charell, starring Lilian Harvey as Christel Weinzinger, the glove seller, Willy Fritsch as Tsar Alexander I of Russia and his doppelgänger, Uralsky, Otto Wallburg as Bibikoff, his Adjutant, Conrad Veidt...
(English: The Congress Dances), also released in 1931 and starring Lilian Harvey
Lilian Harvey
Lilian Harvey was a British-born actress and singer, long-based in Germany, where she is best known for her role as Christel Weinzinger in Erik Charell's 1931 film Der Kongress tanzt.-Life:...
, Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , The Man Who Laughs , The Thief of Bagdad and Casablanca...
and Lil Dagover. In 1933 she made her English language film debut in the Edwin H. Knopf
Edwin H. Knopf
Edwin H. Knopf was an American film producer, film director, and screenwriter.-Biography:He was born in New York City and went to work early in his life in the editorial department of his brother Alfred A. Knopf's publishing business.After trying his hand at acting, Edwin turned to producing in 1928...
and Luis Trenker
Luis Trenker
Luis Trenker was a German-language South Tyrolian film director, architect, and actor.-Biography:...
-directed The Rebel. The film starred Hungarian actors Vilma Bánky
Vilma Bánky
Vilma Bánky was a Hungarian-born American silent film actress, although the early part of her acting career began in Budapest, spreading to France, Austria, and Germany...
and Victor Varconi
Victor Varconi
Victor Varconi was a highly successful silent film star in Hungary. Born Mihály Várkonyi in Kisvárda, Austria-Hungary, he was the first Hungarian actor to make a film in the United States....
and was a remake of Der Rebell, also featuring Engl and released earlier the same year and also directed by Trenker.
Engl continued to act through the 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...
era – appearing in ten films between 1939 and 1945. Her last film appearance before retiring was a small role in the drama Das Alte Lied, which was released in March 1945. In addition to film roles, she continued acting on Berlin stages until shortly before her death in 1946.
External links
- Porträt der Schauspielerin Olga Engl by Thomas Staedeli (in GermanGerman languageGerman 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....
)