Andreas Hofer was a Tyrolean innkeeper and drover, who in 1809 became the leader of the Tyrolean Rebellion against the Napoleonic and Bavarian invasion, and against compulsory smallpox vaccination, during the War of the Fifth Coalition. He was subsequently captured and executed.
Luis Trenker was a South Tyrolean film producer, director, writer, actor, architect, alpinist, and bobsledder.
Merano or Meran is a comune (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to 3,335 metres above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier Valley and the Vinschgau.
Arnold Fanck was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as The Holy Mountain (1926), The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929), Storm over Mont Blanc (1930), The White Ecstasy (1931), and S.O.S. Eisberg (1933). Fanck was also instrumental in launching the careers of several filmmakers during the Weimar years in Germany, including Leni Riefenstahl, Luis Trenker, and cinematographers Sepp Allgeier, Richard Angst, Hans Schneeberger, and Walter Riml.
The Second Battle of the Piave River, fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, as Italy was part of the Allied Forces, while Austria-Hungary was part of the Central Powers. Though the battle proved to be a decisive blow to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and by extension the Central Powers, its full significance was not initially appreciated in Italy. Yet Erich Ludendorff, on hearing the news, is reported to have said he 'had the sensation of defeat for the first time'. It would later become clear that the battle was in fact the beginning of the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Urtijëi is a town of 4,637 inhabitants in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It occupies the Val Gardena within the Dolomites, a mountain chain that is part of the Alps.
Der Kaiser von Kalifornien, is a 1936 film that was the first Western film made in Nazi Germany. Some exterior scenes were shot on location in the United States at Sedona, Arizona, the Grand Canyon, and Death Valley in California.
Karl Hartl was an Austrian film director.
Giuseppe Becce was an Italian-born film score composer who enriched the German cinema.
The 4th annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 10 and 31 August 1936. This year saw an international jury nominated for the first time.
The Mountain Calls is a film directed by Luis Trenker which recreates the struggle between Edward Whymper and Jean-Antoine Carrel for the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865.
The Tyrolean Rebellion is a name given to the resistance of militiamen, peasants, craftsmen and other civilians of the County of Tyrol led by Andreas Hofer supported by his wife Anna and a strategic council consisting of Josef Speckbacher, Peter Mayr, Capuchin Father Joachim Haspinger, Major Martin Teimer and Kajetan Sveth, against new legislation and a compulsory vaccination programme concerning smallpox ordered by King Maximilian I of Bavaria, followed by the military occupation of their homeland by troops organised and financed by Napoleon I of the First French Empire and Maximilian I. The broader military context is called the War of the Fifth Coalition.
Lissy Arna was a German film actress. She appeared in 63 films between 1918 and 1962. She starred in the 1931 film The Squeaker, which was directed by Martin Frič and Karel Lamač. She entered U.S. films in 1930 under the direction of William Dieterle, appearing in German-language versions of American films.
The Rebel is a 1932 German historical drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt, Edwin H. Knopf, and Luis Trenker and starring Trenker, Luise Ullrich, and Victor Varconi. The film's art direction was by Fritz Maurischat. It was made by the German subsidiary of Universal Pictures, with location shooting in Austria and St. Moritz, and Zuoz, Switzerland. Interior scenes were filmed at the Tempelhof Studios. A separate English language version, The Rebel, was released the following year. The film is part of the mountain film genre.
The Son of the White Mountain is a 1930 German mystery romance film directed by Mario Bonnard and Luis Trenker and starring Trenker, Maria Matray and Renate Müller. It was part of the popular series of Mountain films of the era. A separate French-language version was also released.
Josef “Sepp” Allgeier was a German cinematographer who worked on around fifty features, documentaries and short films. He began his career as a cameraman in 1911 for the Expreß Film Co. of Freiburg im Breisgau. In 1913, he filmed newsreels in the Balkans. He then became an assistant to Arnold Fanck, a leading director of Mountain films. He worked frequently with Luis Trenker and Leni Riefenstahl, both closely associated with the genre. He was Riefenstahl's lead cameraman on her 1935 propaganda film Triumph of the Will. During the Second World War, Allgeier filmed material for newsreels. He later worked in West German television. His son is the cinematographer Hans-Jörg Allgeier.
Doomed Battalion is a 1932 American drama film directed by Cyril Gardner and written by Karl Hartl, Patrick Kearney, Paul Perez and Luis Trenker. The film stars Luis Trenker, Tala Birell, Albert Conti, Victor Varconi, Henry Armetta and Gustav von Seyffertitz. The film was released on June 16, 1932, by Universal Pictures. Footage was used from the 1931 German film Mountains on Fire starring Trenker.
Barrier to the North is a 1950 Italian mountain film directed by and starring Luis Trenker. It also stars Amedeo Nazzari, Marianne Hold and Margarete Genske. It is sometimes known by the alternative title of Mountain Smugglers.
The Call of the North is a 1929 German adventure film directed by Nunzio Malasomma and Mario Bonnard and starring Luis Trenker, Max Holzboer, and Eva von Berne. Originally produced as a silent film, it was subsequently released with an added soundtrack.
The Fire Devil is a 1940 German historical adventure film directed by and starring Luis Trenker. It also featured Judith Holzmeister, Bertl Schultes and Hilde von Stolz. The title is sometimes translated as The Arsonist.
