Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 1,277
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Herbert Lom was born on September 11, 1917 as Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru into an aristocratic family living in genteel poverty. His incredibly long surnames led him to select the shortest surname he could find extant ("Lom") and adopt it as his own, professionally. He made his film debut in the Czech film Woman Below the Cross (1937) and played supporting and, occasionally, lead roles. His career picked up in the 1940s and he played, among other roles, Napoleon Bonaparte in The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) and in War and Peace (1956). In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists in Dual Alibi (1947). He continued into the 1950s with roles opposite Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers in The Ladykillers (1955), and Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth in Fire Down Below (1957). His career really took off in the 1960s and he got the title role in Hammer Films' production of The Phantom of the Opera (1962). He also played "Captain Nemo" in Mysterious Island (1961) and landed supporting parts in El Cid (1961) and an especially showy role in Spartacus (1960) as a pirate chieftain contracted to transport Spartacus' army away from Italy.
The 1960s was also the decade in which Lom secured the role for which he will always be remembered: Clouseau/Peter Sellers' long-suffering boss, Commissioner Charles Dreyfus, in the "Pink Panther" films, in which he pulled off the not-inconsiderable feat of stealing almost every scene he and Sellers were in--a real accomplishment, considering what a veteran scene-stealer Sellers was. However, Lom did not concentrate solely on feature films. He became a familiar face to British television viewers when he starred as Dr. Roger Corder in The Human Jungle (1963). He moved into horror films in the 1970s, with parts in Asylum (1972) and And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973). He played Prof. Abraham Van Helsing opposite Christopher Lee in Count Dracula (1970), matching wits against the sinister vampire himself.
Lom appeared as one of the victims in Ten Little Indians (1974), the drunken Dr. Edward Armstrong. His career continued into the 1980s, a standout role being that of Christopher Walken's sympathetic doctor in The Dead Zone (1983). He also played opposite Walter Matthau in Hopscotch (1980) and returned to the murder mystery Ten Little Indians (1989), this time playing The General. Lom has been taking it easy since then, though he returned to his familiar role of Dreyfus in Son of the Pink Panther (1993). He was always a reliable and eminently watchable actor, and unfortunately did not receive the stardom he should have.
Herbert Lom died in his sleep at age 95 on September 27, 2012, in London, England.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Czech actor/producer/director/author George Voskovec was born Jirí Wachsmann on June 19, 1905, the son of Jirina Valentina Marie (nee Pinkasová) and Vilem Eduard Voskovec (Wachsmann). His ancestry was Czech, German, and French. Prior to George's birth, the spelling of the family name was Vaksman (Russian). By the time he was born, which was shortly after their return to Bohemia--then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire--it had been changed to Wachsmann. In 1920, the family again changed the name from Wachsmann to Voskovec, a Czech translation, and his father changed his name to Václav Voskovec. George received his education at Lycée Carnot in Dijon and Charles University (School of Law) in Prague. He made his stage début in Prague in 1927 in "Vest Pocket Revue" and subsequently formed a solid partnership with fellow actor/lyricist Jan Werich. For the next 11 years they wrote, produced and performed 26 productions for the avant-garde Liberated Theatre of Prague, Osvobozene divadlo. He also established himself in Czech comedy films as both performer and writer in tandem with Werich.
In the late 1930s, he left his homeland following the German invasion and emigrated to America. Rebuilding his status as a performer/writer/director, he débuted at the Cleveland Playhouse in 1940 in "Heavy Barbara" and "The Ass and the Shadow," again in collaboration with Werich. During the war years he and Werich wrote and broadcast a host of radio programmes for the "Voice of America". He also made his Broadway début in "The Tempest" in 1945. He returned to Prague after the war in 1946 and worked for a time in the theatre before traveling to Paris, where he first worked for UNESCO, later founded the American theatre of Paris in 1949 and served as producer/director.
Upon his return to America in 1950, he was detained for 11 months on Ellis Island on suspicion of being a communist sympathizer. After he was allowed to enter USA, Voskovec appeared in New York with "The Love of Four Colonels," which he later toured. He went on to accumulate a formidable list of theatre credits including "The Seagull," "Festival" and, notably, "Uncle Vanya" for which he won an Obie award in the title role. He made his London stage début as Otto Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank" in 1956, and was a continued presence on the 1960s Shakespearean stage with "Caesar and Cleopatra" (as Caesar) and John Gielgud's production of "Hamlet" as the Player King, the latter play was filmed.
In films, he played supporting roles in the U.S. from 1952. Affair in Trinidad (1952), The Iron Mistress (1952), The 27th Day (1957), The Bravados (1958), BUtterfield 8 (1960), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and The Boston Strangler (1968) all benefited from his imposing presence and professional stature. He also played one of the jurors in the classic drama 12 Angry Men (1957) alongside Lee J. Cobb and Henry Fonda. Voskovec was indeed a vital ethnic presence during the "Golden Age of Television" during the 1950s and in episodic 1960s TV. Voskovec was also a songwriter, being the lyricist of some 300 popular songs over his career. He continued to thrive in all three mediums throughout the 1970s practically until his death in 1981 at age 76. One of his final theatrical highlights was in Samuel Beckett's "Happy Days" in which he shared the stage with Irene Worth. This was followed by regular TV stints on Skag (1980) and Nero Wolfe (1981).
Divorced from his first wife and the widower of his second, Broadway stage actress Anne Gerlette, Voskovec later wed poet/journalist Christianne McKeown. He was survived by his third wife and two daughters from his second marriage: Victorie (adopted, born in 1954) and Georgeanne (adopted, born in 1956). He never returned to Prague.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Georg Wilhelm Pabst is considered by many to be the greatest director of German cinema, in his era. He was especially appreciated by actors and actresses for the humane way in which he treated them. This was in contrast to some of his contemporaries, such as Arnold Fanck, who have been characterized as martinets.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lída Baarová was born on 14 September 1914 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now in Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Die Fledermaus (1937), Virginity (1937) and Jsem devce s certem v tele (1933). She was married to Kurt Lundwall and Jan Kopecky. She died on 28 October 2000 in Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.- Director
- Writer
- Art Department
Edgar G. Ulmer was born on 17 September 1904 in Olmütz, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Olomouc, Czech Republic]. He was a director and writer, known for The Naked Dawn (1955), The Black Cat (1934) and Isle of Forgotten Sins (1943). He was married to Shirley Ulmer and Joan Warner. He died on 30 September 1972 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Frantisek Lederer was born on November 6th, 1899, in Czechoslovakia. His father was a leather merchant, and young Frantisek began his working life as a department store delivery boy in Prague. He fell in love with acting from a young age, and was soon on stage touring Moravia and then all over Central Europe with people like Peter Lorre.
Lederer was easily lured into film by German actress Henny Porten and her producer husband. And it wasn't long before he was starring in the legendary German silent movie Pandora's Box (1929).
Whilst Lederer, who was using the German name of Franz, shifted from silents to talkies easily and was fast becoming one of Germany's top stars, he hadn't yet learned to speak any English.
By 1934, Lederer, (now using Francis), had begun working in America. And he was getting top billing too. Irving Thalberg had planned to make Lederer "the biggest star in Hollywood" but Thalberg's untimely death put a stop to that. But Lederer continued successfully in film and TV for many years.
After two brief marriages his third lasted 59 years. He invested in property well and made a fortune in the Canoga Park, California area. He founded the National Academy of Performing Arts on which his close friend Joan Crawford was on the Advisory Board. He loved to teach.
Lederer was still teaching the week before he died in 2000, aged 100 years.- Walter Janovitz was born on 18 January 1913 in Teplitz-Schönau, Austria-Hungary [now Teplice, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for The Jazz Singer (1980), Hogan's Heroes (1965) and Burke's Law (1963). He died on 27 May 1997 in Corona, California, USA.
- Franz Kafka was born into a German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, Austrian Empire, in 1883. His father, Hermann Kafka, was a business owner and a domestic tyrant, frequently abusing his son. Kafka later admitted to his father, "My writing was all about you...". He believed that his father broke his will and caused insecurity and guilt, that affected his whole life. Their tensions come out in "The Trial" and in "The Castle" in form of a hopeless conflict with an overwhelming force. His mother, Julie Lowy, came from an intellectual, spiritual family of the Jewish merchant and brewer Jakob Lowy. Although her influence was diminished by his dominating father, she shared her son's delicate nature. Kafka had a few relationships with women and was engaged, but never made a family.
He finished the German National Gymnasium in 1901, and graduated from the German University in Prague as Doctor of Law in 1906. He worked for insurance companies for the rest of his life. His profession shaped the formal, cold language of his writings which avoided any sentimental interpretations, leaving it to the reader. In 1908 Kafka published eight short stories compiled under the title "Meditation". In 1911 he became interested in Yiddish theater, that absorbed him more than abstract Judaism. In 1912 he began writing "The Judgment", which was more than an autobiography, providing a therapeutical outlet for his wrecked soul. The same year he started "Metamorphosis" about a traveling salesman, who transformed into a giant bug. In 1914 he wrote "In the Penal Colony" and "The Trial", which is regarded to be his best work. His style remains unique, though literary connections may be traced to Edgar Allan Poe, E.T.A. Hoffmann and Nikolay Gogol, as well as to Chinese parables, to the Bible and Talmud.
As a Jew Kafka experienced social tensions and isolation from the German community, so very few of his writings could find readers during his life. His three sisters later died in the Nazi concentration camps. He suffered from clinical depression, social anxiety, insomnia, and tuberculosis, complicated by laryngitis, that caused him the loss of his voice before his death in 1924. He was comforted by his girlfriend Dora Diamant, who had broken away from her Hasidic shtetl in Poland. She was 19 when they met in 1923 and Kafka wrote to her parents, asking for their permission to marry her. Their answer was negative, because Kafka presented himself as a non-religious Jew. He asked Dora to destroy his manuscripts after his death, but she kept about 20 notebooks of his writings and 35 private letters, that were reportedly confiscated by the Gestapo in 1933 and are not yet recovered. His university friend Max Brod became his editor, biographer and literary agent, who preserved and published most of Kafka's works posthumously, including the unfinished novels "The Trial", "The Castle", and "America". - Writer
- Director
- Animation Department
Karel Zeman was a Czech film director, screenwriter, and animator. He is primarily remembered for creating fantasy and science fiction films which combined live-action and animation.
In 1910, Zeman was born in the village of Ostromer in Austria-Hungary. The village is located near the town of Nova Paka, whose main tourist attraction is an abandoned monastery of Minims.
Zeman originally pursued a business education in the town of Kolin. In the 1920s, he studied advertising in France. He remained in France until 1936, working at an advertising studio in Marseilles. His first experience with animation was creating an animated advertisement for soap.
In the late 1930s, Zeman returned to Czechoslovakia, where he continued working in advertising. He created advertisements for companies such as Bata and Tatra. In 1939, Zeman attempted to migrate to Casablanca to avoid the poor living conditions in the German-occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. He was soon barred from migrating.
During World War II, Zeman became the advertising head of advertisement at Dum Sluzeb in the city of Brno. He participated in a window-dressing competition there, which his won. Film director Elmar Klos (1910-1993) filmed a newsreel about the competition and became acquainted with Zeman. Klos offered Zeman work at an animation studio located in Zlin. Zeman accepted the business proposal in 1943.
Zeman started working as an assistant animator under veteran animator Hermina Tyrlova (1900-1993), who would eventually be nicknamed "the mother of Czech animation". In 1945, Zeman became the head of the animation's studio, stop-motion animation production group. He started work on his first short film "A Christmas Dream", which combined live-action with puppet animation. The plot involved a dream about toys coming to life.
In 1946, Zeman introduced a series of short films featuring a puppet called Mr. Prokouk. The series gained a fan following. In 1948, Zeman completed the short film "Inspiration", as an experiment in using glass in animation productions. In 1950, Zeman completed a half-hour film called "Kral Lavra" (King Lavra), an adaptation of a satirical poem by Karel Havlicek Borovsky (1821-1856), The film depicted the legend of Labraid Loingsech, High King of Ireland and was met with critical success. Zeman won a National Award with this film.
In 1952, Zeman created his first feature film "The Treasure of Bird Island", adapting a Persian fairy tale. He used several experimental techniques in animation. His next film was "Journey to the Beginning of Time" (1955), in which he animated many prehistoric animals. It was his first film to have an international release. Zeman worked on 8 other feature films between 1958 and 1980, as well as a large number of short films. He was one of Czechoslovakia's most famed animators.
Zeman retired in 1980, at the age of 70. He had been working as a director for 34 years at that point. He died of natural causes in April 1989, about 7 months before the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. He was 78-years-old.
Zeman has been called as one of the 20th century's most innovative and influential animators. He has been cited as an influence by (among others) Wes Anderson, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, and Jan Svankmajer.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
A portly, somewhat grubby and bohemian-looking character star, Hugo Haas was one of the most celebrated Czech actors back in the 30s, a comic star who only grew in stature as he delved creatively into writing, directing and producing. The Nazi invasion forced him to leave his beloved country and come to the United States. Like a fish out of water, he had to start small. Beginning as an announcer on US broadcasts to the Eastern Europe underground, he also offered his talents as a narrator of propaganda films.
After the war, Haas revitalized his acting career with flashy, thick-accented support roles, often as a slick, seedy villain in lavish costumers. He enjoyed a certain amount of popularity and with the money he made, he began financing his own independent films in the 50s, taking total creative control with almost a Svengali-like obsession.
This time around, however, there was little of the adulation he had reaped so easily back in his homeland. With such lurid titles as Pickup (1951), Thy Neighbor's Wife (1953), and Bait (1954), these vehicles smacked hard of sensationalism and he and his films were generally dismissed. Many were badly acted and obviously cheap and cheesy in production values. A recurring "Blue Angel"-styled theme appeared in many of Hugo's starring vehicle whereas an older respectable man was seduced and ruined by the charms of a much younger hussy (blonde, busty bombshells such as Cleo Moore, Beverly Michaels, and (former "Miss Universe") Carol Morris.
Haas' reputation was so tainted by these so-called vanity projects that he was quickly dubbed the "foreign Ed Wood", which was unfair given his earlier reputation. Haas was planning to return to his native land in 1968 when the Russians seized control. Profoundly disheartened and depressed by the current state of affairs in his country, the homesick actor, who also suffered from an asthmatic condition, died shortly after of heart failure. He should be better remembered today than he is. He is solid proof that Hollywood has a way of sometimes robbing a person of his artistic creativity or integrity.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Karl Freund, an innovative director of photography responsible for development of the three-camera system used to shoot television situation comedies, was born on January 16, 1890, in the Bohemian city of Koeniginhof, then part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire (now known as Dvur Kralove in the Czech Republic). Freund went to work at the age of 15 as a movie projectionist, and by the age of 17, he was a camera operator shooting shot subjects and newsreels. Subsequently, he was employed at Germany's famous UFA Studios during the 1920s, when the German cinema was the most innovative in the world.
At UFA, Freund worked as a cameraman for such illustrious directors as F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. For Murnau's The Last Laugh (1924) (aka The Last Laugh), screenwriter Carl Mayer worked closely with Freund to develop a scenario that would employ the moving camera that became a hallmark of Weimar German cinema. One of the most beautiful and critically acclaimed silent films, The Last Laugh (1924) is considered the perfect silent by some critics as the images do most of the storytelling, allowing for a minimal amount of inter-titles. The collaborative genius of Murnau, Mayer, and Freund meant that the images communicated the integral part of the narrative, visualizing and elucidating the protagonist's psyche. Freund filmed a drunk scene with the camera secured on his chest, with a battery pack on his back for balance, enabling him to stumble about and produce vertiginous shots suggesting intoxication.
Director Ewald André Dupont gave credit for the innovative camera work on his masterpiece Variety (1925) (aka Variety) to Freund, praising his ingenuity in an article published in The New York Times. Freund was one of the cameramen and the co-writer (with Carl Mayer and director Walter Ruttmann) on Berlin: Symphony of Metropolis (1927) (Berlin: Symphony of a Great City), an artistic documentary that used a hidden camera to capture the people of the city going about their daily lives. Always technically innovative, Freund developed a high-speed film stock to aid his shooting in low-light situations. This film also is hailed as a classic. Other classic German films that Freund shot were The Golem (1920) (aka The Golem) and Lang's Metropolis (1927).
Now possessing an international reputation, Freund emigrated to the U.S. in 1929, where he was employed by the Technicolor Co. to help perfect its color process. Subsequently, he was hired as a cinematographer and director by Universal Studios, where he cut his teeth, uncredited, as a cinematographer on the great anti-war classic All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Universal's first Oscar winner as Best Picture.
Universal's bread and butter in the early 1930s were its horror films, and Freund was involved in the production of several classics. Among his Universal assignments, Freund shot Dracula (1931) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), and directed The Mummy (1932). The Mummy (1932) was Freund's first directorial effort, and co-star Zita Johann, who disliked Freund, claimed he was incompetent, which is unfair, seeing as how the film is now considered a classic of its genre. The film uses the undead sorcerer Imhotep's pool with which he can impose his will over the living by spreading some tana leaves on the water, as a visual metaphor for the subconscious. The film is arresting visually due to Freund's cinematic eye that created a sense of "otherness." The film is infused with a dream-like state that seems rooted in the subconscious mind. Freund's other directorial efforts at Universal proved less satisfying.
Moving to MGM, Freund directed just one more motion picture, Mad Love (1935) (aka The Hands of Orlac) a horror classic that utilized the expressionism of his UFA apprenticeship. With the great lighting cameraman Gregg Toland as his director of photography, the collaboration of Freund and Toland created a European sensibility unique for a Hollywood horror film. The compositions of the shots featured arch shapes and utilized the expressive shadows of the best of the European avant-garde films of the 1920s.
But MGM wanted Freund for his genius at camera work. He shot the rooftop numbers for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), another Best Picture Oscar winner, and worked with William H. Daniels, Garbo's favorite cameraman, on "Camille" (1936). He shot Greta Garbo's Conquest (1937) solo, though he never worked with Garbo again. That same year, he was the director of photography on The Good Earth (1937), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Other major MGM pictures he shot were Pride and Prejudice (1940), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Tortilla Flat (1942), and A Guy Named Joe (1943). He also worked for other studios, shooting Golden Boy (1939) for Columbia. In 1942, he pulled off a rare double: he was nominated for Best Cinematography in both the black and white and color categories, for The Chocolate Soldier (1941) and Blossoms in the Dust (1941), respectively.
One of the last films he shot for MGM was Two Smart People (1946), starring Lucille Ball. In 1947, he moved on to Warner Bros, where he shot the classic Key Largo (1948) for John Huston. His last film as a director of photography was Michael Curtiz' Montana (1950), which starred Gary Cooper.
Always the technical innovator, Freund founded the Photo Research Corp. in 1944, a laboratory for the development of new cinematographic techniques and equipment. His technical work culminated in his receipt of a Class II Technical Award in 1955 from the Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences for the design of a direct-reading light meter. That same year, he had the honor of representing his adopted country at the International Conference on Illumination in Zurich, Switzerland.
It was perhaps inevitable that the technical and innovation-minded Freund would get to work for a brand new visual medium, television. Lucille Ball, whom he had photographed when she was a contract player at MGM, became his boss when he was hired as the director of photography at Desilu Productions, owned by Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz. Desilu hired the great Freund as its owners were determined to shoot the show I Love Lucy (1951) on film rather than produce the show live, as was standard in the early 1950s. Most shows were shot live, while a film of the program was simultaneously shot from a monitor, a process that created a "kinescope." The kinescope would be shown in other time zones on the network's affiliates. Desilu's owners disliked the quality of kinescopes, and needed Freund to come up with a solution to their problem of how to maintain the intimacy of a live show on film.
Freund agreed that the show should be shot on film rather than live, as film enabled thorough planning and allowed for cutting, which was impossible with live TV. Freud knew that film would allow Desilu to eliminate the fluffs which were a staple of early television, and would allow the producers to re-shoot scenes to improve the show, if needed.
I Love Lucy (1951) had to be filmed before an audience to retain the immediacy of a live TV show, which meant that the traditional, time-consuming methods of studio production with one camera would not work. Freund decided to shoot I Love Lucy (1951) with three 35mm Mitchell BNC cameras, one of each to simultaneously shoot long shots, medium shots and close-ups. Thus, the editor would have adequate coverage to create the 22 minutes of footage needed for a half-hour commercial network show.
The then-innovative, now-standard technique of simultaneously shooting a situation comedy with three 35mm cameras cut the production time needed to produce a 22-minute program to one-hour. The cameras were mounted on dollies, with the center camera outfitted with a 40mm wide-angle lens, and the side cameras outfitted with 3- and 4-inch lenses. The resulting shots were edited on a Movieola. A script girl in a booth overlooking the stage cued the camera operators. Due to extensive rehearsal time before the show was shot live, the camera operators had floor marks to guide them, but Freund's system was enabled by the script girl overseeing their actions via a 2-way intercom. The system made the shooting, breaking-down, and setting-up process for the next scenes on the three sets of the I Love Lucy (1951) stage very economical in terms of time, averaging one and one-half minutes between shots.
Freund worked out the lighting during the rehearsal period. Almost all of the lighting was overhead, except for portable fill lights mounted above the matte box on each camera. In Freund's system, there were no lighting changes during shooting, other than the use of a dimming board. Since the lighting was mounted overhead on catwalks, power cables were kept off the floor, which facilitated the dollying that was essential for making the system work fluidly.
Freund's solution to the problem of shooting a show on film economically was to make lighting as uniform as possible, taking advantage of adding highlights whenever possible, since a comedy show required high-key illumination. Due to the high contrast of the tubes in the image pickup systems at the television stations, contrast was a potential problem, as any contrast in the film would be exaggerated upon transmission of the film. To keep the film contrast to what Freund called a "fine medium," the sets were painted in various shades of gray. Props and costumes also were gray to promote a uniformity of color and tone that would not defeat Freund's carefully devised illumination scheme.
In a typical workweek, the I Love Lucy (1951) company engaged in pre-production planning and rehearsals on Monday through Thursday. I Love Lucy (1951) was filmed before a live audience at 8:00 o'clock PM on Friday evenings, and Freund's camera crew worked only on that Friday and the preceding Thursday. Freund, however, attended the Wednesday afternoon rehearsal of the cast to study the movements of the players around the sets, noting the blocking and their entrances and exits, in order to plan his lighting and camera work. Thursday morning at 8:00 o'clock AM, Freund and the gaffers would begin lighting the sets, which typically would be done by noon, the time the camera crew was required to report on set to be briefed on camera movements. Then, Freund would rehearse the camera action in order to make necessary changes in the lighting and the dollying of the cameras.
It was during the Thursday full-crew rehearsal that the cues for the dimmer operator were set, and the floor was marked to indicate the cameras' positions for various shots. For each shot, the focus was pre-measured and noted for each camera position with chalk marks on the stage floor. Another rehearsal was held at 4:30 PM with the full production crew. Though a full-dress rehearsal was held at 7:30 PM, with the attendance of the full crew, the cameras were not brought onto the set. The director would take the opportunity to discuss the plan of the show and solicit input from the cast and crew on how to tighten the show and improve its pacing.
The next call for the entire company was at 1:00 PM on Friday to discuss any major changes that were discussed the previous night. After this meeting, the cameras would be brought out onto the stage, and at 4:30 PM, there would be a final dress rehearsal during which Freund would check his lighting and make any required changes.
After a dinner break, the cast and production crew would hold a "talk through" of the show to solicit further suggestions and solve any remaining problems. At 8:00 PM, the cast and production crew were ready to start filming the show before a live audience. Before shooting, one of the cast or a member of the company had briefed the audience on the filming procedure, emphasizing the need for the audience's reactions to be spontaneous and natural.
Shooting was over in about an hour due to the rapid set-ups and break-downs of the crew, which shot the show in chronological order. Due to the thorough planning and rehearsals, retakes were seldom necessary. Camera operators in Freund's system had to make each take the right way the first time, every time, to keep the system working smoothly, and they did. An average of 7,500 feet of film was shot for each show at a cost that was significantly less than a comparable major studio production.
Freund also served as the cinematographer on the TV series Our Miss Brooks (1952), which was shot at Desilu Studios, and Desilu's own December Bride (1954). It was no accident that Desilu productions turned to Karl Freund to realize their dream of creating a high-quality show on film. Freund had the broadest experience of any cameraman of his stature, starting in silent pictures, and then excelling in both B&W and color in the sound era. With his penchant for technical innovation, he was the ideal man to develop solutions for filming a television show. Freund met the challenge of creating high quality filmed images in a young medium still handicapped by its primitive technology.
Freund became the dean of cinematographers in a new medium, with Desilu's I Love Lucy (1951) and its other shows recognized as the gold standard for TV production. His work ensured the fortunes of Desilu Productions, and the personal fortunes of Desilu owners Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, as he provided them with quality films of each show that could be easily syndicated into perpetuity, whereas the live shows filmed secondarily off of flickering TV monitors as kinescopes could not.
After retiring as a cinematographer, Freund continued his research at the Photo Research Corp. He died on May 3, 1969.- Brecher was a 1900 graduate of the University of Heidelberg in Germany and then toured Austria and Germany acting on the stage. He also served as the chief director of the Stadts Theatre in Vienna before going to the U.S. in 1921. He became a naturalized American citizen on 9 May, 1927, along with his wife Essie and 8-year-old daughter Suse. In 1929, Brecher moved to Hollywood and appeared in foreign language versions of American films. He played in a number of horror films and espionage films during the 30s and 40s. Probably best remembered for his role in So Dark the Night (1946), Brecher died of a heart attack that same year.
- Leopoldine Konstantin was born on 12 March 1886 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Notorious (1946), Lola Montez (1918) and Die Insel der Seligen (1913). She was married to Geza Herczeg and Alexander Strakosch. She died on 14 December 1965 in Hietzing, Vienna, Austria.
- Oskar Schindler was born on 28 April 1908 in Zwittau, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Svitavy, Czech Republic]. He was married to Emilie Schindler. He died on 9 October 1974 in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
- Producer
Husband of actress Marlene Dietrich, whom he introduced to Josef von Sternberg who in turn starred her in The Blue Angel (1930). Although they only lived together for the first five years of their marriage, Sieber and Dietrich never divorced. Sieber was living on a chicken ranch in the San Fernando Valley when he died following a lengthy illness.- George Pravda was born on 19 June 1916 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Prague, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Thunderball (1965), Firefox (1982) and The Man in the Mirror (1966). He was married to Hana Maria Pravda. He died on 30 April 1985 in London, England, UK.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was the son of a well-known music critic. A child prodigy, he accompanied his father in playing four-handed piano arrangements by the age of five. By the age of eleven he drew his first plaudits from enthusiastic Viennese audiences (including the emperor Franz Josef) with his ballet-pantomime "Der Schneeman" (The Snow Man). Two years later, he wrote a piano sonata which was performed by Artur Schnabel. Korngold composed his first orchestral piece at 14 and attracted the attention of Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and many other prominent composers and conductors. In 1920, he conducted the Hamburg Opera performing his seminal work "Die tote Stadt" which became a huge international success. Thus embarked upon a promising career as a serious composer, Korngold was invited to the United States by Max Reinhardt to score A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) -- and decided to stay. He was certainly grateful for the chance to escape Adolf Hitler's annexation of Austria. In 1943, Korngold became an American citizen.
Korngold was the first composer of international renown to be signed by Hollywood despite having no prior experience with film music. His approach to the medium was predominantly theatrical and operatic (he once described Tosca as "the best film score ever written"). A master of technique, credited with "inventing" the syntax of orchestral film music, he composed at the piano with projectionists running reels at his behest. Often, he worked in conjunction with the orchestra of Hugo Friedhofer who became his closest collaborator. Under contract to Warner Brothers from 1935 to 1947, Korngold picked up Academy Awards for Anthony Adverse (1936) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His stirring and string-laden scores were ideally suited for such high-octane Errol Flynn swashbucklers as Captain Blood (1935) and The Sea Hawk (1940). In the final analysis, other notable film composers, including even the great Max Steiner, admitted to being influenced by Korngold's work. His 1937 violin concerto which used various elements from his film music became one of the most prolifically performed classical concerts of the 20th century.
Korngold would have longed to resume his career as a serious composer. However, after the war ended, he found that the world of serious music had passed him by. In 1949, he returned to Vienna with his wife but found the city in ruins and much changed. A year later, disillusioned, he moved back to his home in the Toluca Lake district in North Hollywood. During the final ten years of his life he composed almost exclusively for concert halls. In 1956, he suffered a stroke which left him partially paralysed and he died a year later at the age of 60 from a heart attack.- Actor
- Production Designer
Though born in Czechoslovakia, actor Karel Stepanek was generally regarded as a German actor due to his extensive film work in Germany (as Karl Stepanek) in the years before World War II. Stepanek fled to England in 1940, where, like many European refugee actors, he specialized in portraying Teutonic villains. He tried to stay away from out-and-out Nazi roles, but his predilection for wearing black uniforms and barking out guttural commands left little doubt as to the political preferences of Stepanek's screen characters. One of his most typical characterizations could be found in the 1946 POW drama, The Captive Heart; Stepanek also registered well as a friendlier foreigner in The Fallen Idol (1949). Commuting between London and Hollywood, Karel Stepanek continued to fight World War II, usually on the wrong side, into such '60s films as Sink the Bismarck! (1960), I Aim at the Stars (1960) and Operation Crossbow (1965).- Martin Miller was born on 2 September 1899 in Kremsier, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Kromeriz, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Exodus (1960), Peeping Tom (1960) and The Pink Panther (1963). He was married to Hannah Norbert. He died on 26 August 1969 in Innsbruck, Austria.
- Alexander Lockwood was born on 5 May 1902 in Polish Ostrava, Silesia, Austria-Hungary [now Ostrava, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and Matinee Theatre (1955). He died on 25 January 1990 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Ernst Deutsch was born on 16 September 1890 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for The Third Man (1949), Der Prozeß (1948) and Isle of the Dead (1945). He was married to Anuschka Fuchs. He died on 22 March 1969 in West Berlin, West Germany.
- Grete Berger was born on 11 February 1883 in Jägerndorf, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Krnov, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922), The Student of Prague (1913) and Ein Sommernachtstraum in unserer Zeit (1914). She was married to Hanns Heinz Ewers. She died on 23 May 1944 in KZ Auschwitz, Germany.
- Writer
- Director
- Art Director
A graduate of Prague's School of Arts and Crafts, in 1936 he created a puppet theater, which was disbanded after the outbreak of WWII. During the war he designed stage sets and illustrated children's books. In 1945 he set up an animation unit with several collaborators at the Prague film studio; they called the unit "Trick Brothers." Trnka specialized in puppet animation, a traditional Czech art form, of which he became the undisputed master. He also created animated cartoons, but it was his puppet animation that made him an internationally recognized artist and the winner of film festival awards at Venice and elsewhere. He wrote the scripts for most of his own films.- Producer
- Production Manager
- Writer
Paul Kohner was born on 29 May 1902 in Teplitz-Schoenau, Austria-Hungary [now Teplice, Czech Republic]. He was a producer and production manager, known for The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929), Love Me and the World Is Mine (1927) and Alas sobre El Chaco (1935). He was married to Lupita Tovar. He died on 16 March 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Adina Mandlová was born on 28 January 1910 in Mladá Boleslav, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for The Magic House (1939), Pacientka Dr. Hegla (1940) and Prítelkyne pana ministra (1940). She was married to Ben Pearson and Joe Knight. She died on 16 June 1991 in Pribram, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].- Writer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Otakar Vávra was born on 28 February 1911 in Hradec Kralove, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was a writer and director, known for Witchhammer (1970), Romance pro kridlovku (1967) and Dny zrady (1973). He died on 15 September 2011 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Martin Ruzek was born on 23 September 1918 in Cervený Kostelec, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Prague Nights (1969), Pan Vok odchází (1979) and The Death of Tarzan (1963). He was married to Jarmila Palivcová. He died on 18 December 1995 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Director
- Production Designer
- Producer
Harry Horner was born in Bohemia (now Czech Republic), but spent most of his early life in Austria. In 1934, he graduated from the University of Vienna with a degree in architecture. Along the way, he also managed to study dramatic arts, directing and costume design, making his stage debut as an actor with the Max Reinhardt Theatre Company. He joined the troupe during their 1936 tour of the United States as assistant to Reinhardt.Putting every facet of his training to use, he worked variously as actor ("Iron Men", 1936), associate musical director and conductor ("The Eternal Road", 1937); and, finally, scenic designer ("All the Living", 1938).
In 1940, Horner became a naturalised American citizen and went to Hollywood, having formed an association with the noted production designer William Cameron Menzies. He assisted Menzies on the generational drama Our Town (1940), then joined the U.S. Army Air Force on specialised duties to work on morale-building projects, such as Stage Door Canteen (1943) (as production designer). Under air force supervision, he then created the sets for Winged Victory (1944), based on a Moss Hart play about pilot recruitment and training. Following the war, Horner divided his time between the stage and Hollywood. He won the first of two Academy Awards for The Heiress (1949) (in collaboration with John Meehan), having done meticulous and painstaking research on period detail, collecting numerous contemporary photographs. Three years later, he branched out into directing with the cult sci-fi Red Planet Mars (1952), followed by the stylish film noir Beware, My Lovely (1952) (eliciting power-house performances from his stars Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino).
Throughout the remainder of the decade, Horner remained active as a designer on Broadway, including the play "Tovarich" (which he also staged). He also turned his attention to designing and directing for both the Metropolitan and the San Francisco Opera, as well as finding time to direct a number of early television episodes. For the big screen, he worked as production designer on diverse projects, always at his best on famous literary adaptations, such as Born Yesterday (1950) and Separate Tables (1958), and winning his second Academy Award for the gritty Robert Rossen drama, The Hustler (1961). As with all his assignments, he conducted extensive research on the milieu by visiting countless pool halls in order to imbue both picture and characters with the necessary complexity and realism. Horner was nominated for a third Oscar for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). He was inducted into the Art Director's Guild Hall of Fame in 2006.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Natasa Gollová was born on 27 February 1912 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for The Cremator (1969), Hotel Modrá hvezda (1941) and Prague Nights (1969). She was married to Karel Konstantin. She died on 29 October 1988 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].- Jirina Stepnicková was born on 3 April 1912 in Prague, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Co se septá (1938), Morská panna (1939) and Marysa (1935). She died on 5 September 1985 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Gustav Machatý was born on May 9, 1901 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic). His first experience with the motion picture industry was playing piano at movie theaters, accompanying silent pictures. In 1917, he made his debut as an actor.
In the early 1920s, he emigrated to the United States, taking up residence in Hollywood, where he learned filmmaking as an apprentice to two masters, D.W. Griffith and Erich von Stroheim. After serving a four-year apprenticeship in Hollywood, he returned to Prague to make his own films. Two movies, "Erotikon" (1929) and "Ekstase" (1933) made him internationally famous.
"Ekstase" was nominated for the Mussolini Cup at the Venice Film Fesitval. Released as "Ecstasy" in the U.S. with the advertising tag-line "The Most Talked About Picture in the World," "Ekstase" featured young Hedy Kiesler in the nude. Kiesler, who would become internationally famous herself as Hedy Lamar, played a sexually frustrated hausfrau who achieves orgasm (ecstasy) in the arms of a young swain who has espied her in the buff making like one of Busby Berkeley's water nymphs, sans bathing suit.
When exhibitor Samuel Cummins imported the film in 1935, the U.S. Customs Service seized the print, acting under the aegis of the 1930 Customs Act that forbade importing obscene material. Cummins appealed to the federal courts, but the Customs agents had burned the print, and with no physical evidence, his appeal was denied.
The frustrated Cummins edited his next imported copy, cutting out Hedy's naked run through the woods and a scene of horses copulating, and adding a moralistic voice-over that said her character had divorced her impotent husband before her affair. A new ending with a baby was added, suggesting that Hedy and her young swain had married. The U.S. Customs Service allowed this version to be imported into the U.S., but the State of New York Board of Review refused to license the picture for exhibition. Cummins' Eureka Productions filed suit in federal court, but the ban was upheld as the U.S. Court of Appeals held that once a picture was imported into the U.S., it was subject to local censorship.
The film was a modest success on the art house circuit, and once Lamar became famous as an American movie star, all the nudity was cut out of the film and it received a Production Code Administration Seal of Approval in 1940 and was re-released. Even with the cuts, the movie ran afoul of local censors. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts forbade the movie to be shown on Sundays, and the state of Pennsylvania banned it outright. "Ecstasy" was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church's censorship body, the Legion of Decency, making it one of the few foreign films to win that dubious honor.
It was a viewing of "Ekstase" that introduced Hedy Kiesler to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production boss Louis B. Mayer, who despised the film but signed the beautiful Kiesler to a contract and rechristened her Hedy Lamarr. Thus, Gustav Machatý is responsible for giving the motion picture medium the actress who was described as the "Most Beautiful Woman in the World" in the 1940s.
Gustav Machatý died on December 13, 1963 in Munich, Germany.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jarmila Novotna was born on 23 September 1908 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Die Nacht der großen Liebe (1933), The Beggar Student (1931) and The Search (1948). She died on 9 February 1994 in New York City, New York, USA.- Hana Maria Pravda was born on 29 January 1916 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), Department S (1969) and Thursday Theatre (1964). She was married to George Pravda and Alexandr "Sasha" Munk. She died on 28 May 2008 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Josef Hlinomaz was born on 9 October 1914 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Lemonade Joe (1964), Rusalka (1963) and The Emperor and the Golem (1952). He died on 8 August 1978 in Split, Yugoslavia [now Croatia].- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Rolf Thiele was born on 7 March 1918 in Prödlitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic]. He was a director and producer, known for Rosemary (1958), Friederike von Barring (1956) and Wälsungenblut (1965). He died on 9 October 1994 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- Egon von Jordan was born on 19 March 1902 in Dux, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Duchcov, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Hab' ich nur deine Liebe (1953), Sissi (1955) and Bel Ami (1955). He died on 27 December 1978 in Vienna, Austria.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Vlasta Burian was born on 9 April 1891 in Reichenberg, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Liberec, Czech Republic]. He was an actor and director, known for The Inspector General (1933), Funebrák (1932) and Ulice zpívá (1939). He was married to Nina Cervenková-Burianová. He died on 31 January 1962 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].- Writer
Karel Capek, born January 9, 1890, in Male Svatonovice, Austria-Hungary (today Czech Republic) was a writer, playwright, novelist, journalist, children's author, biographer, essayist, illustrator, photographer and translator. For most people he is best known for the science fiction play "R.U.R. (Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots)", published in 1920. The word "robot," was coined by his brother Josef. "R.U.R." quickly became famous and was influential early in the history of its publication. By 1923, it had been translated into thirty languages. In this drama about man abusing technology, the Rossum factory R.U.R. makes robots on an island. The robots revolt and murder all humans except for one man whom they order to find the secret formula of their existence, without which they can longer live. "R.U.R." premiered in Prague on 25 January, 1921. It was translated into English by Paul Selver and staged in London, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles during 1922-1923. Spencer Tracy played robot in the New York version (1922) at the Garrick Theater on Broadway. Karel Capek was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times, but he was never awarded one. He died of pneumonia, on December 25, 1938. The Gestapo, not aware of his death, arrived at the Capek family house in Prague in order to arrest him.- Lyda Salmonova was born on 14 July 1889 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for The Student of Prague (1913), Evinrude (1913) and Monna Vanna (1922). She was married to Paul Wegener. She died on 18 November 1968 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Writer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Jirí Brdecka was a Czech animator, film director, screenwriter, and satirist. He was born in the city of Hranice in Moravia, which was then part of Austria-Hungary. His father was the author Otakar Brdecka (1881 - 1930), who published works under the pen name "Alfa".
Brdecka was educated at the Charles University in Prague, where he studied philosophy and aesthetics. The German occupation in Czechoslovakia resulted in the shut down of the university in 1939, forcing Brdecka to seek employment,.He was hired as an administrative clerk by the Prague Municipal Museum, while moonlighting as a journalist and cartoonist for various newspapers.
From 1941 to 1942, Brdecka was employed as a press agent by the film studio Lucernafilm. In 1943, he started working as an animator, producing a number of short films. By the late 1940s, Brdecka was employed as a film director and screenwriter at Barrandov Studios. In 1958, he started directing his own animated feature films, while continuing to serve as a screenwriter for many other directors.
Besides his film career, Brdecka had side careers as a journalist, a film critic, and a novelist.His works on and off the screen were noted for their satirical content. As a screenwriter, he often worked on parody films, such as the comedy western "Lemonade Joe".
Brdecka died in 1982. He was 64-years-old. His daughter Tereza Brdecková had her own career as a film critic.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Martin Fric was born on 29 March 1902 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was a director and writer, known for Workers, Let's Go (1934), Capek's Tales (1947) and Tajemství krve (1953). He was married to Suzanne Marwille. He died on 26 August 1968 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.- Karl Kraus was born on 28 March 1874 in Gitschin/Jicìn, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Jicín, Czech Republic]. He was a writer, known for Walpurgis (2008), Ihre Durchlaucht (1960) and Die letzten Tage der Menschheit (1965). He died on 12 June 1936 in Vienna, Austria.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Descended from a wealthy family of landowners in what was then Austria-Hungary, Franz Planer understood the importance of photography as an art form early in his life. He first stood behind the camera as a portrait photographer, working out of Vienna from 1910. He soon branched out, filming newsreels in Paris and, in 1919, joined the growing German film industry as chief cameraman for Emelka (which became Bavaria Studios in 1932), in Munich. During the 1920s and early 1930's, he acquired a reputation for style, having worked as cinematographer for such distinguished directors as F.W. Murnau and Wilhelm Thiele, most of his films being commercially popular entertainments.
Anticipating the "Anschluss" - the forcible annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler - Planer left Austria in 1937 and, using the pseudonym Frank F. Planer, sought work in Hollywood. He joined the American Society of Cinematorgaphers and was signed under contract at Columbia from 1938-45, and, again, from 1949-50 (in between working at Universal from 1947-49), filming in a variety of different genres. At this stage in his career, he often used real-life locations and shot primarily in black-and-white, in almost semi-documentary style. Like other European cinematographers, he was heavily influenced by German expressionism and used chiaroscuro lighting and stark contrasts between light and shade to achieve thematic mood requirements - particularly for films noir, such as Criss Cross (1949) and 711 Ocean Drive (1950). Planer's creative collaboration with director Max Ophüls is frequently cited as among his best work, notably the melancholic romantic drama Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948).
During the 1950s Planer was much in demand and used by many of Hollywood's top directors, including Robert Siodmak, John Huston, Edward Dmytryk and Stanley Kramer. Increasingly comfortable with color photography from 1954, Planer worked on several A-grade productions. He created a particularly realistic feel for The Caine Mutiny (1954) and The Nun's Story (1959) by utilizing sparse, functional interiors. Unusual camera angles/perspectives, tracking shots and objects inserted between camera and subject contributed to the look of the popular Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Planer never won an Academy Award, though he was nominated five times: for Champion (1949), Death of a Salesman (1951), Roman Holiday (1953), The Nun's Story (1959) and The Children's Hour (1961).- Darja Hajská was born on 20 April 1911 in Mladá Boleslav, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for The Masked Lover (1940), Jindra, hrabenka Ostrovínová (1934) and Polská krev (1934). She died on 18 March 1981 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Eva Svobodová was born on 1 May 1907 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Dobrý voják Svejk (1957), Skeleton on Horseback (1937) and Zizkovská romance (1958). She died on 3 January 1992 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Rainer Maria Rilke was born in Prague on the 4th of December 1878 as the son of a military man working with railroads. After he visited a military Upper School he tried to avoid the army and did the preparations for the final exams and the final exams in private. He went to university to study literature and art. Rilke left Germany for a journey to Russia which had a big influenced on him. He settled down 1900 in Worpswede, a German village with artists only, most of them painters. He married one of them, Clara Westhoff, but the marriage was divorced in 1902. After journeys to Spain, North Africa, Egypt and France he finally found a man with money: After World War One he settled down in Switzerland in a castle owned by Werner Reinhart, but free to use for him. On the 29th of December 1926 he died in a sanatory in Valmont on Leucaemia. Rilke made some important contributions to the German literature. His work, including the novel "Malte Laurids Brigge" and many famous poems, are the standing examples of the literary "Jugendstil", an epoche in which the authors tried to reflect their inner views.- Cinematographer
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Pioneering Czech cinematographer Ota (later anglicised to 'Otto') Heller started as a cinema usher and then worked as a projectionist at a cinema in Prague. He first came to prominence as a military reporter and cameraman on the Italian Front during World War I and was subsequently involved in filming the funeral of Emperor Franz Josef. After the war, he joined Pragafilm as full cinematographer and worked on numerous silent films in his own country. From the early 1930's, Heller was increasingly sought-after by German film producers. He settled in the U.K. in 1940 to evade the German annexation of Czechoslovakia and adopted British citizenship five years later.
Heller was much admired for his versatility and imaginative camera work on many diverse subjects (both in B&W and in colour), ranging from the 'noirish' I Became a Criminal (1947) to the gothically-lit Pushkin adaptation The Queen of Spades (1949); from colourful adventure subjects like The Crimson Pirate (1952) and His Majesty O'Keefe (1954), to the stylised austerity of Richard III (1955); from Ealing's classic The Ladykillers (1955) with its Hitchcockian camera tilts and angles, to the stark realism and drab exteriors of the Cold War in The Ipcress File (1965).- Jane Tilden was born on 16 November 1910 in Aussig, Austria-Hungary [now Ustí nad Labem, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Der Graf von Luxemburg (1972), Feuerwerk (1976) and Mrs. Cheneys Ende (1957). She was married to Sidney John Blackburne, Alexander Steinbrecher and Erik Frey. She died on 27 August 2002 in Kitzbühel, Tyrol, Austria.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Frantisek Smolík was born on 23 January 1891 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor and writer, known for Vstanou noví bojovníci (1951), Batalión (1937) and Babicka (1922). He was married to Milada Smolíková. He died on 26 January 1972 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Leo Slezak was born on 18 August 1873 in Mährisch-Schönberg, Austria-Hungary [now Sumperk, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Der Mann, der nicht nein sagen kann (1938), Die lustigen Weiber (1936) and Gasparone (1937). He was married to Elisabeth Wertheim. He died on 1 June 1946 in Rottach-Egern, Bavaria, Germany.