Otto Gebühr
Encyclopedia
Otto Gebühr was a German
theatre and film actor, who appeared in 102 movies released between 1917
and 1962
. He is noted for his performance as the Prussian
king Frederick the Great in numerous films.
(today part of Essen
) in the Rhine Province
the son of a merchant, Gebühr attended the gymnasium secondary school in Cologne
and completed a commercial training. Alongside he took drama lessons and began his acting career at the Görlitz
city theatre. In 1898 he joined the ensemble of the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden
and from 1908 performed at the Lessing Theater
in Berlin
. As a World War I
volunteer he achieved the rank of a Lieutenant
in the German Army
.
After the war he worked with director Max Reinhardt
at the Deutsches Theater
in Berlin. At the same time he obtained his first film performances with the help of his colleague Paul Wegener
. He found the role of his lifetime in 1919, acting as King Frederick II in the historical drama Die Tänzerin Barberina directed by Carl Boese
, modeled on the life of ballerina Barbara Campanini
(1721–1799). The first part of the UFA
Fridericus Rex tetralogy starring Otto Gebühr playing the title role was released in 1921, followed by several further so-called "Fridericus-Rex-movies". The series was heavily criticized by contemporaries for supporting a widespread negative stance towards the Weimar Republic
democracy and the yearning for a leader in waiting. Gebühr continued his performances in the Nazi
period from 1933
onwards, last performing in The Great King , a 1942
German wartime propaganda film directed by Veit Harlan
referring to the historic Miracle of the House of Brandenburg, which received the rare "Film of the Nation" distinction.
Gebühr died at Wiesbaden
in 1954. His final film, Die Blonde Frau des Maharadscha, was released eight years after his death.
Cinema of Germany
Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
theatre and film actor, who appeared in 102 movies released between 1917
1917 in film
The year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
and 1962
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
. He is noted for his performance as the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
king Frederick the Great in numerous films.
Life
Born in KettwigKettwig
Kettwig is the southernmost borough of the city of Essen in western Germany and, until 1975, was a town in its own right. Kettwig is situated next to the Ruhr river, at a median height of 53 metres above sea level. It is the most recently incorporated borough of Essen and also the largest in size,...
(today part of Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
) in the Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
the son of a merchant, Gebühr attended the gymnasium secondary school in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and completed a commercial training. Alongside he took drama lessons and began his acting career at the Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
city theatre. In 1898 he joined the ensemble of the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden
Staatsschauspiel Dresden
The Staatsschauspiel Dresden is a theatre on Theaterstraße in Dresden. It is maintained by the Free State of Saxony, hence its name. It is made up of a main auditorium and a studio theatre...
and from 1908 performed at the Lessing Theater
Lessing Theater
The Lessing Theater was a theater in Berlin-Mitte, Germany, at Friedrich-Karl-Ufer 1 . It opened in 1888 and was destroyed in April 1945 in a bombing raid; its ruins were demolished after World War II....
in 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...
. As a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
volunteer he achieved the rank of a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the German Army
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
.
After the war he worked with director Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
at the Deutsches Theater
Deutsches Theater
The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...
in Berlin. At the same time he obtained his first film performances with the help of his colleague Paul Wegener
Paul Wegener
Paul Wegener was a German actor, writer and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema.-Stage and early film career:...
. He found the role of his lifetime in 1919, acting as King Frederick II in the historical drama Die Tänzerin Barberina directed by Carl Boese
Carl Boese
Carl Boese was a German film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed 158 films between 1917 and 1957.-Selected filmography:* The Golem: How He Came into the World * Paprika...
, modeled on the life of ballerina Barbara Campanini
Barbara Campanini
Barbara Campanini, known as La Barberina, was a famous Italian ballerina, one of the most important ballet dancers of the 18th century....
(1721–1799). The first part of the UFA
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...
Fridericus Rex tetralogy starring Otto Gebühr playing the title role was released in 1921, followed by several further so-called "Fridericus-Rex-movies". The series was heavily criticized by contemporaries for supporting a widespread negative stance towards the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
democracy and the yearning for a leader in waiting. Gebühr continued his performances in the Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
period from 1933
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
onwards, last performing in The Great King , a 1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
German wartime propaganda film directed by Veit Harlan
Veit Harlan
Veit Harlan was a German film director and actor.-Life and career:Harlan was born in Berlin. After studying under Max Reinhardt, he first appeared on the stage in 1915 and, after World War I, worked in the Berlin stage. In 1922 he married Jewish actress and cabaret singer Dora Gerson; the couple...
referring to the historic Miracle of the House of Brandenburg, which received the rare "Film of the Nation" distinction.
Gebühr died at Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
in 1954. His final film, Die Blonde Frau des Maharadscha, was released eight years after his death.
Selected filmography
- Evening – Night – Morning (1920)
- The Golem: How He Came into the WorldThe Golem: How He Came Into the WorldThe Golem: How He Came Into the World is a 1920 silent horror film by Paul Wegener. It was directed by Carl Boese and Wegener, written by Wegener and Henrik Galeen, and starred Wegener as the golem. The script was adapted from the 1915 novel The Golem by Gustav Meyrink...
(1920) - Dr. HollDr. HollDr. Holl is a 1951 German drama film directed by Rolf Hansen. At the 1st Berlin International Film Festival it won the Certificate of Honour award.-Cast:* Maria Schell - Angelika Alberti* Dieter Borsche - Dr...
(1951) - Sauerbruch – Das war mein LebenSauerbruch – Das war mein LebenSauerbruch – Das war mein Leben is a 1954 German film. It is based on surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch's memoirs Das war mein Leben, which were ghostwritten by Hans Rudolf Berndorff and were published in the German magazine Revue shortly before the release of the film. The film was shot from 26...
(1954)
Films with Otto Gebühr as Frederick the Great
- 1920: Die Tänzerin Barbarina - director: Carl BoeseCarl BoeseCarl Boese was a German film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed 158 films between 1917 and 1957.-Selected filmography:* The Golem: How He Came into the World * Paprika...
- 1921–23: Fridericus Rex – director: Arzén von Cserépy
- Teil 1 - Sturm und Drang
- Teil 2 - Vater und Sohn
- Teil 3 - Sanssouci
- Teil 4 - Schicksalswende
- 1926: Die Mühle von Sans Souci – director: Siegfried Philippi
- 1928: Der alte Fritz – 1. Teil Friede – director: Gerhard LamprechtGerhard LamprechtGerhard 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...
- 1928: Der alte Fritz – 2. Teil Ausklang – director: Gerhard Lamprecht
- 1930: Das Flötenkonzert von SanssouciThe Flute Concert of Sans-SouciThe Flute Concert of Sans-Souci is a 1930 German drama film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Otto Gebühr.-Cast:* Otto Gebühr - Friedrich II.* Renate Müller - Blanche von Lindeneck* Hans Rehmann - Major von Lindeneck* Walter Janssen - Maltzahn...
– director: Gustav UcickyGustav UcickyGustav Ucicky was an acclaimed Austrian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He was one of the more successful and acclaimed directors in Austria and Germany from the 1930s through to the early 1960s... - 1932: Die Tänzerin von Sans Souci – director: Friedrich Zelnik
- 1933: Der Choral von LeuthenDer Choral von LeuthenDer Choral von Leuthen was a 1933 German film depicting Frederick the Great, directed by Carl Froelich. The screenplay was written by Johannes Brandt and Ilse Spath-Baron. The film starred Otto Gebühr, Olga Tschechowa and Elga Brink....
– director: Carl FroelichCarl FroelichCarl August Froelich was a German film pioneer and film director.-Apparatus builder and cameraman:... - 1936. Heiteres und Ernstes um den großen König - director: Phil JutziPhil JutziPhil Jutzi was a German cameraman and movie director.Born Philipp Jutzi in Altleiningen as the son of a tailor, Jutzi was self-educated...
- 1936: Fridericus – director: Johannes MeyerJohannes MeyerJohannes Meyer , was a Danish film actor.He debuted in the theater in 1905.-Filmography:*De blaa drenge - 1933*Så til søs - 1933*Flugten fra millionerne - 1934*Lynet - 1934*Nøddebo Præstegård - 1934...
- 1937: Das schöne Fräulein Schragg – director: Hans DeppeHans Deppe-Selected filmography:Actor* The Victor * A Blonde's Dream * Two Hearts Beat as One * The Star of Valencia * A Door Opens * Our Flags Lead Us Forward * The Ambassador's Wife...
- 1942: Der große König – director: Veit Harlan