Joe Deebs

Last updated

Joe Deebs was a fictional detective who appeared in a series of German films and serials during the silent era. Along with Stuart Webbs and a number of other fictional cinema detective characters with Anglo-Saxon names, he was modeled on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. [1] In 2009, Ken Wlaschin wrote that "Joe Deebs was one of the most famous screen detectives of the German silent cinema, the suave crime-solving star of at least thirty films." [2]

Deebs was played by six different actors including Max Landa, Heinrich Schroth and Harry Liedtke. The films were produced by Joe May (Julius Mandl), who also directed several of the films. [3] Some of the films were produced at Weissensee Studios.

Deebs' first appearance was in 1915 during the First World War and the character continued to be featured in films through the early 1920s during the Weimar Republic. One example is Der Onyxknopf, or The Onyx Head , a 1917 silent film starring Max Landa, Bruno Kastner and Leopoldine Konstantin. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mystery film</span> Genre of film

A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction. By 2022, mystery films are generally referred to as detective fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe May</span> Austrian film director

Joe May was an Austrian film director and film producer and one of the pioneers of German cinema.

<i>The Golden Web</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

The Golden Web is a lost 1926 American silent mystery film directed by Walter Lang and starring Lillian Rich, Huntley Gordon and Lawford Davidson. The cast also features Boris Karloff before he established himself as a horror star. It is based on the 1910 novel The Golden Web by the British writer E. Phillips Oppenheim. A previous British film adaptation of the novel was produced in 1920.

Die geheimnisvolle Villa is a 1914 silent German detective film directed by Joe May and starring Ernst Reicher. It is the first in the series starring the fictional gentleman detective Stuart Webbs, modelled on Sherlock Holmes. It also features Werner Krauss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst Reicher</span> German actor

Ernst Reicher was a German-Jewish actor, screenwriter, film producer and film director of the silent era.

<i>Beyond the Street</i> 1929 film

Beyond the Street is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Lissy Arna, Paul Rehkopf, and Fritz Genschow.

Misled Youth or Youth Gone Astray is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Richard Löwenbein and starring Fritz Alberti, Erna Morena, and Dolly Davis. It was one of a number of enlightenment films during the Weimar Era that addressed the issue of juvenile delinquency. The film's art direction was by Hans Jacoby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Landa</span> German actor

Max Landa was a Russian Empire-born Austrian silent film and stage actor.

Stuart Webbs was a fictional detective who appeared in a series of German films and serials during the silent era. Webbs was one of a number of detectives with English-sounding names to appear in German cinema of the era. Like his contemporaries such as Joe Deebs he was modeled on Sherlock Holmes. Webbs was the most popular of the group. His original film series ran from 1914 to 1926 and he continued to appear in other later films such as The Green Monocle (1929).

The Lady in Black is a 1920 German silent crime film directed by Victor Janson and starring Curt Goetz, Hugo Falke and Willy Kaiser-Heyl. It features the popular detective hero Joe Deebs.

His Best Friend is a 1918 German silent film directed by Uwe Jens Krafft and starring Max Landa as the detective Joe Deebs.

The Handicap of Love is a 1921 German silent crime film directed by Martin Hartwig and starring Ferdinand von Alten, Magnus Stifter and Hermann Böttcher. It features the detective character Joe Deebs.

<i>The Hero of Every Girls Dream</i> 1929 film

The Hero of Every Girl's Dream is a 1929 German silent film directed by Robert Land and starring Harry Liedtke, Betty Bird and Hermine Sterler.

<i>The Onyx Head</i> 1917 film

The Onyx Head is a 1917 German silent crime film directed by Joe May and starring Max Landa, Bruno Kastner and Leopoldine Konstantin. It was part of a series of Joe Deebs detective films.

World by the Throat is a 1920 German silent crime film directed by E. A. Dupont and starring Max Landa, Hanni Weisse and Ernst Rückert.

<i>Europe, General Delivery</i> 1918 German film

Europe, General Delivery or Europe poste restante is a 1918 German silent mystery film directed by Ewald André Dupont and starring Max Landa, Viktor Senger and Lu Synd. It was part of a series of films starring Joe Deebs, a fiction British detective modelled on Sherlock Holmes. It marked Dupont's directorial debut.

The Panther Bride is a 1919 German silent crime film directed by Léo Lasko and starring Carl Auen, Victor Janson and Ria Jende. It was part of a series of films featuring the detective character Joe Deebs.

<i>The Howling Wolf</i> 1919 film

The Howling Wolf is a 1919 German silent crime film directed by Léo Lasko and starring Carl Auen, Meinhart Maur and Victor Janson. It was part of a series of films featuring the detective character Joe Deebs.

The Armoured Vault is a 1914 German silent thriller film directed by Joe May and starring Ernst Reicher, Hermann Picha and Fritz Richard. It was part of the series of Stuart Webbs series, popular during the silent era. It was remade in 1926 with Reicher reprising his role.

The Man in the Cellar is a 1914 German silent thriller film directed by Joe May and starring Ernst Reicher, Max Landa and Olga Engl. It was part of a series of films featuring the fictional detective Stuart Webbs.

References

  1. Prawer p.88
  2. Wlaschin, Ken (2009). Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland, Inc. p. 285. ISBN   978-0786443505 . Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  3. "Joe May Biography". IMDB. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  4. "Der Onyxkopf". IMDB. Retrieved 29 March 2021.

Bibliography