UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA, is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft, a major German film company headquartered in Babelsberg, producing and distributing motion pictures from 1917 until the end of the Nazi era. The name UFA was revived by Bertelsmann for an otherwise unrelated film and television outfit, UFA GmbH.
German Expressionism consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central European culture in fields such as architecture, dance, painting, sculpture and cinema. This article deals primarily with developments in German Expressionist cinema before and immediately after World War I, approximately from 1910 to the 1930s.
Fritz Heinrich Rasp was a German film actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1916 and 1976. His obituary in Der Spiegel described Rasp as "the German film villain in service, for over 60 years."
The Wandering Image is a 1920 German silent drama film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Mia May, Hans Marr and Rudolf Klein-Rogge. It is also known by the alternative titles of The Wandering Picture and The Wandering Shadow.
Catherine the Great is a 1920 German silent historical film directed by Reinhold Schünzel and starring Lucie Höflich, Fritz Kortner, and Fritz Delius. The film was an epic portrayal of the life of Catherine the Great of Russia. 4,000 extras and 500 horses were used.
Uncle Bräsig is a 1936 German historical comedy film directed by Erich Waschneck and starring Otto Wernicke, Heinrich Schroth and Harry Hardt. It marked the film debut of the Swedish actress Kristina Söderbaum who went on to be a major star of Nazi cinema. Söderbaum won her part in a contest organised by UFA. It was based on the 1862 novel From My Farming Days by Fritz Reuter.
The Mirror of the World is a 1918 German silent film directed by Lupu Pick and starring Adolf Klein, Fritz Richard and Gertrude Welcker. It was the directoral debut of Pick who had been a prominent actor of the 1910s but had set up his own production company Rex-Film to take advantage of the booming German film industry. It was shot in Berlin. The film's art direction was by Hans Neirath.
Rina De Liguoro was an Italian film actress. Born Elena Caterina Catardi, she changed her name after marrying film actor and director Wladimiro De Liguoro in 1918. She appeared in leading roles in a number of Italian epics during the 1920s such as The Last Days of Pompeii. She later appeared in character roles after an unsuccessful spell in Hollywood. Her final film was Luchino Visconti's The Leopard.
Lola Montez, the King's Dancer is a 1922 German silent historical drama film directed by Willi Wolff and starring Ellen Richter, Arnold Korff, and Fritz Kampers. It portrays the life of Lola Montez. The film was produced by Richter's own production company, but was released by the dominant German distributor UFA.
Wood Love is a 1925 German silent comedy film directed by Hans Neumann and starring Werner Krauss, Valeska Gert and Alexander Granach. It was an adaptation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Revolt in the Reformatory is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Georg Asagaroff and starring Carl Balhaus, Vera Baranovskaya, Toni van Eyck. The film was based on a play by Peter Martin Lampel intended as an exposé of the youth justice system. The film was considered controversial, and was banned four times before its eventual release. The film's art direction was by Andrej Andrejew.
Man Against Man is a 1928 German silent thriller film directed by Harry Piel and starring Piel, Dary Holm and Fritz Beckmann.
High Treason is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Johannes Meyer and starring Gerda Maurus, Gustav Fröhlich and Harry Hardt. The film is set in pre-Revolution Russia. Maurus' performance was contrasted favourably with her appearance in Fritz Lang's Woman in the Moon by the magazine Film und Volk. The film's art direction was by Willi Herrmann.
The White Devil is a 1930 German historical drama film directed by Alexandre Volkoff and starring Ivan Mozzhukhin, Lil Dagover and Betty Amann. It was based on Leo Tolstoy's 1912 novella Hadji Murat. It was originally made as a silent film, with a soundtrack added later. Anatole Litvak worked as the film's assistant director and production manager. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Alexandre Lochakoff and Vladimir Meingard. After location shooting in Nice, Switzerland and the French Alps during 1929, it premiered at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in January 1930.
At the Edge of the World is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Karl Grune and starring Albert Steinrück, William Dieterle and Brigitte Helm. The film was so heavily cut by the management of UFA that Grune tried to have his name removed from the credits and publicly criticized them in an open letter.
The Prince of Rogues is a 1928 German silent drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Hans Stüwe, Lissy Arna and Albert Steinrück. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's art direction was by Heinrich Richter. The story depicts the life of the 18th century outlaw Schinderhannes. It is based on a 1927 play Schinderhannes by Carl Zuckmayer.
Fee Malten (1911–2005) was a German film actress, who later emigrated to the United States. Born in Berlin as Felicitas Mansch, Malten appeared as a leading lady in both silent and sound films of the late Weimar era. Due to her Jewish background, she was compelled to go into exile following the Nazi takeover in 1933. She eventually settled in the United States where she continued to act, generally in much smaller parts than she had received in Germany.
Nights of Terror is a 1921 German silent horror film directed by Lupu Pick and starring Edith Posca, Alfred Abel and Arnold Korff.
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.
Decla Film was a German film production and distribution company of the silent era. Formed in 1911 as the German subsidiary of the French company Eclair, it was taken into German ownership in 1915 during the First World War. Since the company was affiliated with Éclair of France, Decla is an abbreviation for Deutsche Eclair. The company was originally founded by Erich Pommer in 1916 as Decla-Film-Gesellschaft Holz & Co. The co-founder of the company is the Berlin film distributor, Fritz Holz, as referenced in the second part of the company's name. Decla kept this name even after Holz left the company. Under the leadership of Erich Pommer, Decla emerged as one of the leading German film companies of the early Weimar era. Assuming control of Meinert-Film, it appointed Rudolf Meinert to oversee production. At the small Weissensee Studios it produced the expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene.
