Zarah Leander was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record sales numbers exist, she was probably among Europe's best-selling recording artists in the years prior to 1945. Her involvement with UFA caused her films and lyrics to be identified as Nazi propaganda. Though she had taken no public political position and was dubbed an "Enemy of Germany" by Joseph Goebbels, she remained a controversial figure for the rest of her life. As a singer, Leander was known for her confident style and her deep contralto voice, and was also known as a "female baritone".
Mady Rahl was a German stage and film actress. Born Edith Gertrud Meta Raschke in Neukölln, now part of Berlin, Rahl trained as an actress and dancer. In 1935 she made her stage debut in Leipzig under the direction of Douglas Sirk and started her film career in 1936 with the movie The Mysterious Mister X. With her role in the circus drama Truxa (1937), Rahl became known to a wider audience. After the war, she sang with her friend Elfreide Datzig for the USO. She ultimately appeared in approximately 90 movies, several of them for UFA. In later years, she appeared frequently on television, while also pursuing her career in the theatre. She was also the German voice of many cartoon characters and of Lucille Ball.
Willy Birgel, born Wilhelm Maria Birgel, was a German theatre and film actor.
To New Shores is a 1937 German drama film directed by Detlef Sierck and starring Zarah Leander, Willy Birgel and Viktor Staal. It was Leander's first film for the German studio UFA, and its success brought her into the front rank of the company's stars. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studio in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art director Fritz Maurischat.
Faded Melody is a 1938 German drama film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Brigitte Horney, Willy Birgel and Carl Raddatz. The film was made by Germany's largest studio of the era UFA. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam and on location in French Algeria, New York City and Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Hermann Asmus and Max Mellin. It premiered at Berlin's Gloria-Palast.
Maria Ilona is a 1939 German historical drama film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Paula Wessely, Willy Birgel, and Paul Hörbiger. The film is set in Austria during the reign of Ferdinand I. It is an adaptation of Oswald Richter-Tersik's novel Ilona Beck.
Count Woronzeff is a 1934 German film directed by Arthur Robison and starring Albrecht Schoenhals, Hansi Knoteck and Willy Birgel. A separate French version The Secret of Woronzeff was also released. It was shot at UFA's Babelsberg and Templehof Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Erich Kettelhut and Max Mellin. Location filming took place in Cannes on the French Riviera.
Men Without a Fatherland is a 1937 German drama film directed by Herbert Maisch and starring Willy Fritsch, Maria von Tasnady and Willy Birgel.
Enemies is a 1940 German drama film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Brigitte Horney, Willy Birgel and Reinhold Lütjohann. The film was a Nazi propaganda work, attacking Poland which Germany had invaded the year before. The film's sets were designed by Herbert Hochreiter, Alfred Metscher and Julius von Borsody.
Robert Koch is a 1939 Nazi propaganda film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss and Viktoria von Ballasko. The film was a biopic of the German pioneering microbiologist Robert Koch (1843–1910). It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin and premiered at the city's Ufa-Palast am Zoo. The film was made by the Tobis Film company, and was also distributed in the United States by the largest German studio UFA.
Donogoo Tonka is a 1936 German comedy film directed by Reinhold Schünzel and starring Anny Ondra, Viktor Staal and Will Dohm. It is based on a play of the same name by Jules Romains. A separate French-language version Donogoo was also made. The film was produced by UFA at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin, with sets designed by Otto Hunte and Willy Schiller.
The Dark Star is a 1955 West German drama film directed by Hermann Kugelstadt and starring Elfie Fiegert, Ilse Steppat and Viktor Staal.
Storms in May is a 1938 German drama film directed by Hans Deppe and starring Viktor Staal, Hansi Knoteck and Ludwig Schmid-Wildy.
Love Me or Make Love to Me is a 1942 German musical comedy film directed by Harald Braun and starring Marika Rökk, Viktor Staal and Hans Brausewetter. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The films sets were designed by the art director Ernst H. Albrecht. The film is a backstage musical about a showgirl aspiring to greater things while sorting out her financial and romantic problems, it was a major commercial success on its release.
Congo Express is a 1939 German adventure film directed by Eduard von Borsody and starring Marianne Hoppe, Willy Birgel. and René Deltgen.
Hotel Sacher is a 1939 German drama film directed by Erich Engel and starring Sybille Schmitz, Willy Birgel, and Wolf Albach-Retty.
Diamonds is a 1937 German mystery film directed by Eduard von Borsody and starring Hansi Knoteck, Viktor Staal, and Hilde Körber.
The Governor is a 1939 German drama film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Brigitte Horney, Willy Birgel and Hannelore Schroth. It is based on the play Die Fahne by Emmerich Groh. It was shot at the Babelsberg and Tempelhof Studios in Berlin and on location in East Prussia. The film's sets were designed by the art director Max Mellin. It was produced on a budget of 715,000 Reichsmarks.
The Master of the Estate is a 1943 German drama film directed by Hans Deppe and starring Willy Birgel, Viktoria von Ballasko and Anneliese Uhlig. Location shooting took place in Pomerania, Mecklenburg and Ramsau in the Bavarian Alps. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Otto Gülstorff and Carl Ludwig Kirmse. It is based on the 1895 Swedish novel Der Majoratsherr von Halleborg by Alfred von Hedenstjerna.
