Helmut Dantine
Encyclopedia
Helmut Dantine was a film actor remembered for playing many Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s. The Vienna
-born actor appeared uncredited in Casablanca
early in his career (he played the desperate newlywed gambling to obtain visa money).
Dantine's father was the head of the Austrian railway system. As a young man, Dantine became involved in an anti-Nazi movement in Vienna
. In 1938, when he was 21 years old, the Nazis took over Austria during the Anschluss
. Dantine was rounded up, with hundreds of other enemies of the Third Reich, and imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp outside Vienna. Three months later, using their influence, his parents got his release and immediately sent him to California
to live with a friend. Both his parents would later die in a Nazi concentration camp.
He began his U.S. acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse
, where he was spotted by a talent scout and signed to a Warner Bros.
contract. Dantine spent the early 1940s there, appearing in International Squadron (1941) with Ronald Reagan
, Casablanca (1942), Edge of Darkness (his first lead role), Mission to Moscow
, Northern Pursuit
(all 1943), Passage to Marseille
, The Mask of Dimitrios
(both 1944), Hotel Berlin
, and Escape in the Desert (both 1945).
Dantine was also loaned out to other film companies for two notable films in 1942. To Be or Not to Be
and Mrs. Miniver
were both released in 1942. He appeared as Dolokhov in King Vidor's War & Peace in 1956. His last screen appearances were in three films he executive produced including, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
(1974), and The Killer Elite
(1975), both directed by Sam Peckinpah
, and The Wilby Conspiracy
.
From 1947 to 1950, he was married to Charlene Stafford Wrightsman (1927–1963), the younger daughter of Charles B. Wrightsman, an oil millionaire whose collection of French furniture and decorative arts fills several galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
. They had one son, Dana Wrightsman Dantine. In 1952, Charlene Dantine married the American society columnist Igor Cassini
. His second marriage was to Nicola Schenck, daughter of Nicholas Schenck
, one of the founders of Loews
. Nicola subsequently acted as Niki Dantine, and had two children with Dantine. Helmut Dantine died from a heart attack at the age of 64.
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...
-born actor appeared uncredited in Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
early in his career (he played the desperate newlywed gambling to obtain visa money).
Dantine's father was the head of the Austrian railway system. As a young man, Dantine became involved in an anti-Nazi movement 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 1938, when he was 21 years old, the Nazis took over Austria during the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
. Dantine was rounded up, with hundreds of other enemies of the Third Reich, and imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp outside Vienna. Three months later, using their influence, his parents got his release and immediately sent him to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to live with a friend. Both his parents would later die in a Nazi concentration camp.
He began his U.S. acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
, where he was spotted by a talent scout and signed to a Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
contract. Dantine spent the early 1940s there, appearing in International Squadron (1941) with Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, Casablanca (1942), Edge of Darkness (his first lead role), Mission to Moscow
Mission to Moscow
Mission to Moscow is a book by the former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Joseph E. Davies published by Simon and Schuster in 1941. It was adapted into a film directed by Michael Curtiz in 1943....
, Northern Pursuit
Northern Pursuit
Northern Pursuit is a 1943 World War II film starring Errol Flynn as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who tries to uncover a Nazi plot against the Allied war effort...
(all 1943), Passage to Marseille
Passage to Marseille
Passage to Marseille is a 1944 war film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Hal B. Wallis with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson and Jack Moffitt from the novel Sans Patrie by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall...
, The Mask of Dimitrios
The Mask of Dimitrios
The Mask of Dimitrios is an American film noir directed by Jean Negulesco and written by Frank Gruber, based on the 1939 novel of the same name written by Eric Ambler . Ambler is known as a major influence on writers and an inventor of the modern thriller genre...
(both 1944), Hotel Berlin
Hotel Berlin
Hotel Berlin is a film set in Berlin near the close of the Second World War, made by Warner Brothers in late 1944 - early 1945. The film was released in March, 1945....
, and Escape in the Desert (both 1945).
Dantine was also loaned out to other film companies for two notable films in 1942. To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be (1942 film)
To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It was adapted by Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel...
and Mrs. Miniver
Mrs. Miniver (film)
Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Teresa Wright. Based on the fictional English housewife created by Jan Struther in 1937 for a series of newspaper columns, the film won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture,...
were both released in 1942. He appeared as Dolokhov in King Vidor's War & Peace in 1956. His last screen appearances were in three films he executive produced including, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a 1974 American action film directed by Sam Peckinpah and featuring Warren Oates....
(1974), and The Killer Elite
The Killer Elite
The Killer Elite is a 1975 American action thriller film starring James Caan and Robert Duvall and directed by Sam Peckinpah.The screenplay was written by Marc Norman and Stirling Silliphant adapted from the Robert Syd Hopkins novel, Monkey in the Middle. The novel was written under Hopkins'...
(1975), both directed by Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
, and The Wilby Conspiracy
The Wilby Conspiracy
The Wilby Conspiracy is a 1975 thriller film directed by Ralph Nelson and filmed in Kenya. It was written by Rodney Amateau, based on the 1972 novel by Peter Driscoll...
.
From 1947 to 1950, he was married to Charlene Stafford Wrightsman (1927–1963), the younger daughter of Charles B. Wrightsman, an oil millionaire whose collection of French furniture and decorative arts fills several galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. They had one son, Dana Wrightsman Dantine. In 1952, Charlene Dantine married the American society columnist Igor Cassini
Igor Cassini
Igor Cassini was an American syndicated gossip columnist for the Hearst newspaper chain. He was the second journalist to write the Cholly Knickerbocker column.-Career:...
. His second marriage was to Nicola Schenck, daughter of Nicholas Schenck
Nicholas Schenck
Nicholas M. Schenck was a motion picture mogul and impresario.One of seven children, Schenck was born to a Jewish household in Rybinsk, a Volga River village in Tsarist Russia...
, one of the founders of Loews
Loews Corporation
Loews Corporation is a holding company run by the Tisch Family whose subsidiaries are engaged in the following lines of business:*property and casualty insurance...
. Nicola subsequently acted as Niki Dantine, and had two children with Dantine. Helmut Dantine died from a heart attack at the age of 64.