Emil Jannings was a Swiss-born German actor who was popular in Hollywood in the 1920s. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. As of 2024, Jannings is the only German ever to win in the category.
UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA, is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. The original UFA was established as Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft on December 18, 1917, as a direct response to foreign competition in film and propaganda. UFA was founded by a consortium headed by Emil Georg von Stauß, a former Deutsche Bank board member. In March 1927, Alfred Hugenberg, an influential German media entrepreneur and later Minister of the Economy and Minister of Agriculture and Nutrition in Adolf Hitler's cabinet, purchased UFA and transferred ownership of it to the Nazi Party in 1933.
Faust – A German Folktale is a 1926 silent fantasy film, produced by Ufa, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Gösta Ekman as Faust, Emil Jannings as Mephisto, Camilla Horn as Gretchen/Marguerite, Frida Richard as her mother, Wilhelm Dieterle as her brother, and Yvette Guilbert as Marthe Schwerdtlein, her aunt. Murnau's film draws on older traditions of the legendary tale of Faust as well as on Goethe's classic 1808 version. Ufa wanted Ludwig Berger to direct Faust, as Murnau was engaged with Variety; Murnau pressured the producer and, backed by Jannings, eventually persuaded Erich Pommer to let him direct the film.
Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England, and Queen of England from 1533 until she was beheaded in 1536 for treason, has inspired or been mentioned in many artistic and cultural works. The following lists cover various media, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture, film and fiction. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering, rather than a complete catalogue.
Frieda Ulricke "Henny" Porten was a German actress and film producer of the silent era, and Germany's first major film star. She appeared in more than 170 films between 1906 and 1955.
The Comedians is a 1941 German historical drama film directed by G. W. Pabst and starring Käthe Dorsch, Hilde Krahl and Henny Porten. It is based on the novel Philine by Olly Boeheim. The film is set in the eighteenth century, and portrays the development of German theatre. The film was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich with sets designed by the art director Julius von Borsody.
Sumurun is a 1920 German silent film directed by Ernst Lubitsch based on a pantomime by Friedrich Freksa.
Kohlhiesels Töchter is a 1920 German silent comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Henny Porten, Emil Jannings and Jakob Tiedtke. It is an adaptation of the play Kohlhiesel's Daughters by Hanns Kräly, Lubitsch's frequent collaborator, who also worked on the film's screenplay. Three further film adaptations have been made of the work including a 1930 sound remake which also starred Porten.
Paul Davidson was a German film producer.
The Ufa-Palast am Zoo, located near Berlin Zoological Garden in the New West area of Charlottenburg, was a major Berlin cinema owned by Universum Film AG, or Ufa. Opened in 1919 and enlarged in 1925, it was the largest cinema in Germany until 1929 and was one of the main locations of film premières in the country. The building was destroyed in November 1943 during the Bombing of Berlin in World War II and replaced in 1957 by the Zoo Palast.
The Projektions-AG Union was a German film production company which operated between 1911 and 1924 during the silent era. From 1917 onwards, the company functioned as an independent unit of Universum Film AG, and was eventually merged into it entirely.
Othello is a 1922 German silent historical romantic drama film directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki, and starring Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss and Ica von Lenkeffy. It was based on William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, the first of six major film adaptations of the work. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art director Karl Machus.
Lotte is a 1928 German silent film directed by Carl Froelich and starring Henny Porten, Walter Jankuhn and Hermann Vallentin. Lotte, a young woman from an aristocratic background, masquerades as a poor person. Art direction was by Franz Schroedter.
Rose Bernd is a 1919 German silent drama film directed by Alfred Halm and starring Henny Porten and Emil Jannings. It is based on the play of the same name by Gerhart Hauptmann. Porten won critical acclaim for her role in the film.
When She Starts, Look Out is a 1926 German silent comedy film directed by Carl Froelich and starring Henny Porten, Bruno Kastner, and Curt Bois. It was shot at the EFA Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by Franz Schroedter. It premiered the UFA-Palast am Zoo.
The Flames Lie is a 1926 German silent drama film directed by Carl Froelich and starring Hans Adalbert Schlettow, Ruth Weyher and Henny Porten. It was shot at the Staaken Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by Franz Schroedter. It was made by UFA and released under the Parufamet agreement.
Hans Trutz in the Land of Plenty is a 1917 German silent fantasy film directed by and starring Paul Wegener and also featuring Lyda Salmonova and Ernst Lubitsch. It was one of a trilogy of fairytale-inspired films made by Wegener, along with Rübezahl's Wedding and The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
The Giant's Fist is a 1917 German silent drama film directed by Rudolf Biebrach and starring Henny Porten and Johannes Riemann.
Veritas Vincit is a 1919 German silent historical film directed by Joe May and starring Mia May, Johannes Riemann, and Magnus Stifter. It was made as an epic in three episodes, similar to D. W. Griffith's Intolerance. The first takes place in Ancient Rome, the second during the Renaissance and the third shortly before the First World War. Although not released until Spring 1919, it had been made during the final months of the war the previous year.
The EFA Studios or Halensee Studios were film studios located in the Berlin suburb of Halensee. They were a prominent centre of film production in the silent and early sound era. Constructed in 1919 after the First World War, they were part of a wave of modern studios that used artificial lighting rather than the earlier glasshouse studios that relied on natural light. Early productions included The Head of Janus by F.W. Murnau. They were located close to Berlin Zoo and were sometimes also known as the Zoo Studios.
