Alfred Junge
Encyclopedia
Alfred Junge was a German
-born production designer
.
Junge had wanted to be an artist from childhood. Dabbling in theatre
in his teenage years, he joined the Görlitz
Stadttheater at eighteen and was involved in all areas of production. He worked in the theatre for over fifteen years. Along with many German emigres Junge began his career in film at Berlin
's UFA studios
, working there as an art director from 1920 until 1926, when he joined the production team of director E.A. Dupont
who was relocating to British International Pictures in London. He remained with BIP at Elstree Studios
until 1930 when he returned briefly to the continent to work in Germany and then in France
with Marcel Pagnol
. From 1932 he remained based in Britain
.
Michael Balcon
put him in charge of the new Gaumont British
art department where his organisational skills as well as talent came into their own, running a large staff of art directors and craftsmen who worked on any number of films at one time. After Gaumont Britain's first real supervising art director moved to MGM's new British operation where he continued until the outbreak of the Second World War. After a brief spell spent interned as an enemy alien on the Isle of Man
, Junge returned to London
where he began work on King Vidor
's The Citadel
(1938). In 1939, he worked with Powell and Pressburger
on Contraband, the first of eight pictures he made with them.
The last of these was Black Narcissus
(1947); the striking Himalayas
sets earned Junge the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
. He received a second nomination in 1953 for the Arthurian epic Knights of the Round Table
. He was the first film production designer to have one of his pictures hung in the Royal Academy
in London. This was a sketch of The Road to Estaminet do Pont which he had done for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
in 1943.
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...
-born production designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
.
Junge had wanted to be an artist from childhood. Dabbling in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in his teenage years, he joined 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...
Stadttheater at eighteen and was involved in all areas of production. He worked in the theatre for over fifteen years. Along with many German emigres Junge began his career in film at 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...
's 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...
, working there as an art director from 1920 until 1926, when he joined the production team of director E.A. Dupont
Ewald André Dupont
Ewald André Dupont was a German film director, one of the founders of the German film industry. He was frequently credited as E. A. Dupont....
who was relocating to British International Pictures in London. He remained with BIP at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
until 1930 when he returned briefly to the continent to work in Germany and then in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with Marcel Pagnol
Marcel Pagnol
Marcel Pagnol was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. In 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie Française.-Biography:...
. From 1932 he remained based in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Michael Balcon
Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios.-Background:...
put him in charge of the new Gaumont British
Gaumont British
Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was the British arm of the French film company Gaumont. The company became independent of its French parent in 1922, when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British....
art department where his organisational skills as well as talent came into their own, running a large staff of art directors and craftsmen who worked on any number of films at one time. After Gaumont Britain's first real supervising art director moved to MGM's new British operation where he continued until the outbreak of the Second World War. After a brief spell spent interned as an enemy alien on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, Junge returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he began work on King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
's The Citadel
The Citadel (film)
The Citadel is a 1938 film based on the novel of the same name by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1937. The film was directed by King Vidor and produced by Victor Saville.-Plot:...
(1938). In 1939, he worked with Powell and Pressburger
Powell and Pressburger
The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers, made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1981 they were recognized for their contributions to British cinema with the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the most prestigious...
on Contraband, the first of eight pictures he made with them.
The last of these was Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus is a 1947 film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden...
(1947); the striking Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
sets earned Junge the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
. He received a second nomination in 1953 for the Arthurian epic Knights of the Round Table
Knights of the Round Table (film)
Knights of the Round Table is a 1953 Technicolor Cinemascope historical film made by MGM. Directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman, it was the first film in Cinemascope made by that studio...
. He was the first film production designer to have one of his pictures hung in the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in London. This was a sketch of The Road to Estaminet do Pont which he had done for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a 1943 film by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger under the production banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David...
in 1943.