Sascha-Film
Encyclopedia
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n film production company of the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
and early sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
period.
History
The business was established in 1910 by Alexander Joseph "Sascha", Count Kolowrat-KrakowskyAlexander Kolowrat
Count Alexander Joseph von Kolowrat-Krakowsky , better known as "Sascha", was an Austrian film producer of Bohemian descent...
as the Sascha-Filmfabrik ("Sascha Film Factory") in Pfraumberg - Přimda in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, and relocated in 1912 to 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...
. On 10 September 1918, after the merger with the film distributor
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
s Philipp & Pressburger, the business became the Sascha-Filmindustrie AG.
With epic film
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
s such as Alexander Korda
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
's Prinz und Bettelknabe ("Prince and Beggar") (1920) and Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
's Sodom und Gomorrha (1922) as well as Die Sklavenkönigin ("The Slave Queen") (1924), the company rose to be one of the most successful European film producers.
In 1933 the German enterprise Tobis-Tonbild-Syndikat was amalgamated with the company, known formally from then on as the Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG.
In 1938, in the context of the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, by which Austria was annexed to the Third Reich, the concern passed into the ownership of the National Socialist government and was re-founded as Wien-Film GmbH
Wien-Film
Wien-Film GmbH was a large Austrian film company, which in 1938 succeeded the Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG and lasted until 1985...
. Its best-known director of the period to the end of the war was Gustav Ucicky
Gustav Ucicky
Gustav 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...
.
After the end of the war
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...
the name Sascha-Film was re-established for a couple of decades, and in the 1950s and 1960s produced light entertainment films.
Films produced (selection)
- 1912: Die Gewinnung des Erzes am steirischen Erzberg in Eisenerz ("The extraction of ore on the Styrian ore mountain in Eisenerz"; documentary, c. 6 min; direction by Sascha Kolowrat-KrakowskyAlexander KolowratCount Alexander Joseph von Kolowrat-Krakowsky , better known as "Sascha", was an Austrian film producer of Bohemian descent...
) - 1912: Kaiser Joseph II.
- 1913: Der Millionenonkel (c. 60 min; direction by Hubert MarischkaHubert MarischkaHubert Marischka , brother of Ernst Marischka, was an Austrian operetta tenor, actor, film director and screenwriter.- Career :...
) - 1915: Das andere Ich (direction by Fritz Freisler)
- 1916: Wien im Krieg (direction by Heinz Hanus
- 1918: Der Mandarin (61 min; direction by Paul FrankPaul FrankPaul Frank is an American cartoonist, artist and fashion designer. His creations adorn clothing, accessories, and many other products...
, Fritz Freisler) - 1922: Sodom und Gomorrha (direction by Michael CurtizMichael CurtizMichael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
) - 1922: Harun al Rashid (direction by Michael Curtiz)
- 1923: Der junge Medardus (direction by Michael Curtiz)
- 1924: Die Sklavenkönigin (70 min; direction by Michael Curtiz)
- 1925: Das Spielzeug von ParisDas Spielzeug von ParisDas Spielzeug von Paris is an Austrian silent film released in 1925 and directed by Michael Curtiz. It was the first film to feature French actress Lili Damita in the leading role.-Plot:...
- 1927: Café ElektricCafé ElektricCafé Elektric is an Austrian film directed by Gustav Ucicky.- Plot outline :The daughter of a wealthy industrialist falls for a pickpocket .- Cast :* Willi Forst ... Fredl* Marlene Dietrich ... Erni Göttlinger...
(direction by 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...
) - 1927: Die PratermizziDie PratermizziDie Pratermizzi is an Austrian silent drama film made by Gustav Ucicky in 1926, released in January 1927, which was long believed lost until its rediscovery in 2005.-Plot:...
- 1929: Bright EyesBright Eyes (1929 film)Bright Eyes is a 1929 British-Austrian romance film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Betty Balfour, Jack Trevor and Fritz Greiner. It is also known under the alternative title of Champagner....
co-production with British International Pictures - 1930: Geld auf der Straße (direction by Georg JacobyGeorg JacobyGeorg Jacoby was a German film director and screenwriter. He was married to Marika Rökk from 1940 until his death; the actress Gabriele Jacoby is their daughter.-Selected filmography:...
) - 1934: MaskeradeMaskerade (film)Maskerade , is an Austrian operetta film, and a classic of German language cinema. The exceptional script of this, a great example of the genre of the Wiener Film, was by Walter Reisch and Willi Forst, who also directed...
(direction by Willi ForstWilli ForstWilli Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer...
) - 1934: Hohe Schule (direction by Erich EngelErich EngelErich Engel was a German film and theatre director.- Biography :Engel was born in Hamburg, where later he studied at the School of Applied Arts...
)