Johann Schwarzer
Encyclopedia
Johann Schwarzer was an Austrian photographer and pioneer producer of adult films through his Saturn-Film concern.
, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now located in the Czech Republic
. In the early 1900s, Schwarzer resettled in Vienna
and became a portrait and family photographer and chemist; to supplement his income, Schwarzer began making erotic photos used on naughty postcards common to this era. In 1906, he became acquainted with the existence of men's only nights at movie theaters in Vienna that showed adult films, so-called Herrenabende. Schwarzer organized Saturn-Film that year and began production of such films himself; Saturn-Film was the first native film production company based in Austria. Unlike his predecessors, Schwarzer conducted his business as a public company, advertising in local newspapers, motion picture trade journals and adding a logo to his films like any other European producer. Saturn-Film also published a regular film catalog within its first couple years of existence. Despite this effort, the Saturn-Films often appeared shorn of their logos and rendered anonymously like other, similar subjects once they got further afield of Vienna.
In 1911, Saturn-Film was raided and closed down by the police as a part of a crackdown on erotic materials within Vienna. Schwarzer was an army reservist who was called up with the outbreak of the Great War on July 28, 1914; he had been made a second lieutenant by the time he perished in battle at Wirballen, Poland on October 10 of that year.
Biography
Schwarzer was born in JavornikJavornik
Javornik, derived from the word "javor" meaning "maple" in Slavic languages, can refer to:* Javornik, Croatia, a village located on the river Una, near the town of Dvor, Croatia...
, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now located in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. In the early 1900s, Schwarzer resettled 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...
and became a portrait and family photographer and chemist; to supplement his income, Schwarzer began making erotic photos used on naughty postcards common to this era. In 1906, he became acquainted with the existence of men's only nights at movie theaters in Vienna that showed adult films, so-called Herrenabende. Schwarzer organized Saturn-Film that year and began production of such films himself; Saturn-Film was the first native film production company based in Austria. Unlike his predecessors, Schwarzer conducted his business as a public company, advertising in local newspapers, motion picture trade journals and adding a logo to his films like any other European producer. Saturn-Film also published a regular film catalog within its first couple years of existence. Despite this effort, the Saturn-Films often appeared shorn of their logos and rendered anonymously like other, similar subjects once they got further afield of Vienna.
In 1911, Saturn-Film was raided and closed down by the police as a part of a crackdown on erotic materials within Vienna. Schwarzer was an army reservist who was called up with the outbreak of the Great War on July 28, 1914; he had been made a second lieutenant by the time he perished in battle at Wirballen, Poland on October 10 of that year.