Erich Engel
Encyclopedia
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....
film
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and theatre director.
Biography
Engel was born in HamburgHamburg
-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...
, where later he studied at the School of Applied Arts. After finishing there he worked briefly as a journalist, then learnt acting at the Thalia Theatre
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...
in Hamburg, after which he spent several years with a touring theatre company.
In 1917 and 1918 Engel was the dramaturgist in the Deutsches Schauspielhaus
Deutsches Schauspielhaus
The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. With a capacity for 1192 spectators, it places it as Germany's largest theatre...
, and later in the Hamburger Kammerspiele
Hamburger Kammerspiele
Hamburger Kammerspiele is a theatre in Hamburg, Germany....
. After a short engagement with the Bayerische Staatstheater 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...
he moved in 1924 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...
. At the Deutsche Theater he produced, among other pieces, Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
's Im Dickicht der Städte and soon became one of the foremost interpreters of Brecht's works on the German stage.
His breakthrough came with Brecht's Dreigroschenoper, the premiere of which he produced, opening on 31 August 1928 in the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm
Theater am Schiffbauerdamm
The Theater am Schiffbauerdamm is a theatre building at the Schiffbauerdamm riverside in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, opened on November 19, 1892. Since 1954 it is home to the Berliner Ensemble theatre company, founded in 1949 by Helene Weigel and Bertolt Brecht.The original name of the...
, Berlin.
In 1930 Engel also began directing films, but in order to avoid being commissioned to make propaganda films for the National Socialists he concentrated on comedies, characterised by their irony and wit. Among the principal actors in his early films were Jenny Jugo in Fünf von der Jazzband (1932), Gustav Waldau in Unser Fräulein Doktor (1940) and Otto Gebühr
Otto Gebühr
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.-Life:...
in Viel Lärm um Nixi (1942). In this period he worked closely with Theo Mackeben
Theo Mackeben
thumb|Relief from Mackeben's tombstoneTheo Mackeben, born 5 January 1897 in Preußisch Stargard, Westpreußen, died 10 January 1953 in Berlin, was a German pianist, conductor and composer, particularly of film music.- Life and career :...
as composer and musical director. He was also engaged as theatrical director at the Berliner Deutsche Theater.
In Vienna
Vienna
Vienna 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...
in 1935 he produced the film ... nur ein Komödiant
... nur ein Komödiant
… nur ein Komödiant is the title of an Austrian film of 1935. The director was Erich Engel, temporarily in Vienna as a political emigrant from Germany, who with this film made a statement against fascism and authoritarian government...
, with Rudolf Forster
Rudolf Forster
Rudolf Forster was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 106 films between 1914 and 1968. His autobiography Das Spiel, mein Leben was published by Propyläen-Verlag in 1967....
in a double role. Set in the 18th century, this film was opposed to militarism and authoritarianism, as is recognisable inter alia in the scene when a military officer refuses an order to fire indiscriminately on a crowd of rebellious peasants. Probably because of the film's period setting, which seems to have veiled its political stance, it was passed by both the Austrian and the German censors.
During the National Socialist period Engel made numerous films for 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...
. After 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...
he became the director of the Münchner Kammerspiele, but from 1949 lived and worked in the DDR. Among other pieces he directed for DEFA in 1948 the film Affäre Blum and in 1951 Kommen Sie am Ersten with Inge Meysel
Inge Meysel
Inge Meysel was a German actress. From the early 1960s until her death, Meysel was one of Germany's most popular actresses...
.
Later films that he made for DEFA included Geschwader Fledermaus
Geschwader Fledermaus
Geschwader Fledermaus is an East German film. It was released in 1958.-Cast:*Wolfgang Heinz - General Lee*Christine Laszar - Flessy*Günther Simon - Tex Stankowsky*Kurd Pieritz - Mitch Bryk*Norbert Christian - Terry Varney...
(1958), in which he opposed the French colonial war in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. For his many DEFA productions he received the Nationalpreis der DDR. However, he also directed in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
for Artur Brauner
Artur Brauner
Artur "Atze" Brauner is a polish film producer and entrepreneur. He was born to a Jewish family in Łódź, Poland. Artur and his brother Wolf survived the Holocaust by fleeing to the Soviet Union, then emigrated to Berlin after the war. As a young man he saw Fritz Lang's film The Testament of Dr...
.
As senior director in Brecht's Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
Engel returned to the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, where after the death of Brecht he directed the premiere in 1957 of the Leben des Galilei with the choreographer Jean Soubeyran.
He died in Berlin in 1966 and is buried in the Dorotheenstadt burial ground near the graves of Bertolt Brecht and Heinrich Mann
Heinrich Mann
Luiz Heinrich Mann was a German novelist who wrote works with strong social themes. His attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of pre-World War II German society led to his exile in 1933.-Life and work:Born in Lübeck as the oldest child of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann...
.
Thomas Engel
His son Thomas Engel (born 18 April 1922) is also a director (for among others the ARDARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
, for whom he produced the television series Tatort
Tatort
Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss , crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF 2 in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland...
) and screenplay writer. Father and son co-directed the film Pünktchen und Anton (1953).
Filmography
- 1923: Mysterien eines Frisiersalons, co-director with Bert Brecht (with Karl ValentinKarl ValentinKarl Valentin was a Bavarian comedian, cabaret performer, clown, author and film producer. He had significant influence on German Weimar culture...
, Blandine EbingerBlandine EbingerBlandine Ebinger was a German actress and chansonniere, the daughter of the pianist Gustav Loeser and the actress Margarete Wezel...
, Carola NeherCarola Neher- Biography :Neher was born in Munich to a music teacher in 1900. She started to work as a bank clerk in 1917. In the summer of 1920, she gave her debut performance at the Baden-Baden theater without a specific stage education, later also working at the theaters of Darmstadt, Nuremberg and at the...
and Max SchreckMax SchreckFriedrich Gustav Max Schreck was a German actor. He is most often remembered today for his lead role in the film Nosferatu .-Early life:Max Schreck was born in Berlin-Friedenau, on 6 September 1879....
) - 1931: Wer nimmt die Liebe ernst (with Jenny Jugo and Max HansenMax Hansen (tenor)Max Hansen was a Danish singer known as 'The Little Caruso', also a cabaret artist, actor and comedian.- Biography :...
) - 1932: Fünf von der Jazzband (with Jenny Jugo)
- 1933: Inge und die Millionen (with Brigitte HelmBrigitte HelmBrigitte Helm was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double, the Maschinenmensch, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis.-Career:...
and Paul WegenerPaul WegenerPaul Wegener was a German actor, writer and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema.-Stage and early film career:...
) - 1934: Pechmarie (with Jenny Jugo)
- 1934: Hohe Schule (with Rudolf ForsterRudolf ForsterRudolf Forster was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 106 films between 1914 and 1968. His autobiography Das Spiel, mein Leben was published by Propyläen-Verlag in 1967....
and Hans MoserHans Moser (actor)Hans Moser was an Austrian actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy films. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film...
) - 1935: ... nur ein Komödiant... nur ein Komödiant… nur ein Komödiant is the title of an Austrian film of 1935. The director was Erich Engel, temporarily in Vienna as a political emigrant from Germany, who with this film made a statement against fascism and authoritarian government...
(with Rudolf Forster, Christl MardaynChristl MardaynChristl Mardayn née Anna Christina Mardayn, sometimes Christiane Mardayne was an Austrian actress and singer .-Life:...
, Hilde von StolzHilde von StolzHilde von Stolz was an Austrian-German actress.von Stolz attended the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and made her debut at the local Chamber of games...
, Paul Wegener) - 1935: Pygmalion (with Jenny Jugo, Gustaf GründgensGustaf GründgensGustaf Gründgens , born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, intendant and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg...
and Käthe HaackKäthe HaackKäthe 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...
) - 1936: Die Nacht mit dem Kaiser (with Jenny Jugo and Paul HenckelsPaul HenckelsPaul 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...
) - 1936: Ein Hochzeitstraum (with Ida WüstIda WüstIda Wüst was a German stage and film actress, whose career was most prominent in the 1920s and 1930s with Universum Film AG .-Life and career:...
, Theo LingenTheo LingenTheo 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:...
, Ferdinand MarianFerdinand MarianFerdinand Marian was an Austrian theatre and film actor, best known for playing the leading character of Joseph Süß Oppenheimer in the Nazi propaganda film Jud Süß.-Life and career:...
) - 1936: Mädchenjahre einer Königin (with Jenny Jugo, Paul Henckels and Erik OdeErik OdeErik Ode was a German actor who was most famous for playing Kommissar Herbert Keller in the German television drama Der Kommissar . He married Hilde Volk in 1942.-External links:** * *...
) - 1938: Der Maulkorb (with Elisabeth FlickenschildtElisabeth FlickenschildtElisabeth Ida Marie Flickenschildt was a German actress, producer and author. She appeared in dozens of German language films and television productions from 1935 to 1976...
, Paul Henckels and Will QuadfliegWill QuadfliegFriedrich Wilhelm "Will" Quadflieg was a German actor from Oberhausen. He was the father of actor Christian Quadflieg. He is considered one of Germany's best post-war actors. One of his most widely recognized roles was in the title role in the 1960 film Faust. He also starred in a number of other...
based on the novel by Heinrich SpoerlHeinrich Spoerl-Biography:Heinrich Christian Johann Spoerl was born on 8 February 1887 in Düsseldorf where he also grew up. He studied jurisprudence in Marburg, Berlin and Munich and was a solicitor in Düsseldorf from 1919 till 1937. He became a full-time writer in 1937 when he moved to Berlin which he left in...
) - 1938: Ein hoffnungsloser Fall (with Jenny Jugo, Karl Ludwig DiehlKarl Ludwig DiehlKarl Ludwig Diehl was a German film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1924 and 1957.-Selected filmography:* The Squeaker * Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen * On Secret Service...
, Axel von AmbesserAxel von AmbesserAxel Eugen Alexander von Österreich , better known as Axel von Ambesser, was a German actor and film director.... - 1939: Hotel Sacher (with Willy BirgelWilly BirgelWilly Birgel , born Wilhelm Maria Birgel, was German theatre and film actor.Birgel began his acting career before World War I on the stage in his native city of Cologne, and came to movies rather late...
and Wolf Albach-RettyWolf Albach-RettyWolf Albach-Retty was a Vienna-born Austrian actor. He had a daughter with German actress Magda Schneider named Romy Schneider....
) - 1940: Nanette (with Jenny Jugo and Hans SöhnkerHans SöhnkerHans Söhnker was a German film actor. He appeared in 105 films between 1933 and 1980.He was born in Kiel, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Faithful * Beloved Corinna...
) - 1942: Sommerliebe (with O. W. FischerO. W. FischerOtto Wilhelm Fischer was an Austrian actor. A leading man of German cinema, he began his career with Max Reinhardt's stage company....
) - 1943: Altes Herz wird wieder jung (with Emil JanningsEmil JanningsEmil 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...
and Viktor de KowaViktor de KowaViktor de Kowa was a German stage and film actor, chanson singer, director, narrator and comic poet....
) - 1944: Es lebe die Liebe (with Lizzi WaldmüllerLizzi WaldmüllerLizzi Waldmüller was an Austrian actress and singer whose breakthrough to stardom came through her role as Rachel in the Willi Forst movie Bel Ami in 1939....
and Johannes HeestersJohannes HeestersJohan Marius Nicolaas "Johannes" Heesters is a Dutch actor, singer and entertainer with a -year career, almost exclusively in the German-speaking world. In Germany and Austria, Heesters is mainly known for his acting career...
) - 1945: Wo ist Herr Belling (with Emil Jannings)
- 1948: Fahrt ins Glück (with Käthe DorschKäthe DorschKäthe Dorsch was a German actress.-External links:*...
, Rudolf Forster and Hildegard KnefHildegard KnefHildegard Frieda Albertine Knef was a German actress, singer and writer. She was billed in some English language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff.-Early years:...
) - 1948: Affäre Blum (with Hans Christian BlechHans Christian BlechHans Christian Blech was a German film, stage and television character actor who found success both in his native land and in Hollywood....
, Paul BildtPaul BildtPaul Hermann Bildt was a German film actor. He appeared in over 180 films between 1910 and 1956. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany.- Selected filmography :* Ludwig II: Glanz und Ende eines Königs...
and Gisela TroweGisela TroweGisela Trowe was a German actress.-Filmography:* 1948: Straßenbekanntschaft* 1948: Grube Morgenrot* 1948: Affaire Blum* 1951: Der Verlorene* 1952: Unter den Tausend Laternen...
) - 1949: Der Biberpelz (with Fita Benkhoff, Werner HinzWerner HinzWerner Hinz was a German film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1935 and 1984.-Selected filmography:* Die Buntkarierten * No Greater Love * The Last Witness...
and Käthe Haack, based on an original work by Gerhart HauptmannGerhart HauptmannGerhart Hauptmann was a German dramatist and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912.-Life and work:...
) - 1951: Das seltsame Leben des Herrn Bruggs (with Gustav KnuthGustav KnuthGustav Knuth was a German film actor. He appeared in 128 films between 1935 and 1982.-Selected filmography:* Friedemann Bach * Das Grosse Spiel * Die Mücke * Sissi...
) - 1952: Unter den tausend LaternenUnter den tausend LaternenUnter den tausend Laternen is a 1952 German crime film directed by Erich Engel. It was entered into the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Michel Auclair - Michel Dumas* Gisela Trowe - Betty* Hanna Rucker - Elisa* Inge Meysel - Auguste...
(with Inge Meysel, René DeltgenRené DeltgenRenatus Heinrich Deltgen born 30 April 1909 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; died 29 January 1979 in Cologne, Germany) was a Luxemburgian stage and film actor, who spent most of his career in Germany.-Selected filmography:* Das Grosse Spiel...
and Gisela Trowe) - 1952: Der fröhliche Weinberg (with Gustav KnuthGustav KnuthGustav Knuth was a German film actor. He appeared in 128 films between 1935 and 1982.-Selected filmography:* Friedemann Bach * Das Grosse Spiel * Die Mücke * Sissi...
, Camilla SpiraCamilla SpiraCamilla Spira was a German film actress. She appeared in 68 films between 1924 and 1986.She was born in Hamburg, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Piccadilly Zero Hour 12...
and Willy Reichert based on an original work by Carl ZuckmayerCarl ZuckmayerCarl Zuckmayer was a German writer and playwright.-Biography:Born in Nackenheim in Rheinhessen, he was four years old when his family moved to Mainz. With the outbreak of World War I, he finished school with a facilitated "emergency"-Abitur and volunteered for military service...
) - 1955: Du bist die Richtige
- 1955: Liebe ohne Illusion (with Sonja ZiemannSonja ZiemannSonja Ziemann is a German film and television actress.-Selected filmography:* The Heath Is Green * Die Privatsekretärin * Mädchen ohne Grenzen...
and Curd JürgensCurd JürgensCurd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens.-Early life:...
)