The year 1919 in film involved some significant events.
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt was a German film actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films Different from the Others (1919), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and The Man Who Laughs (1928). After a successful career in German silent films, where he was one of the best-paid stars of UFA, he and his new Jewish wife Ilona Prager left Germany in 1933 after the Nazis came to power. The couple settled in Britain, where he took British citizenship in 1939. He appeared in many British films, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), before emigrating to the United States around 1941, which led to his being cast in what may be his best remembered role as Major Strasser in Casablanca (1942). This was Veidt's last film role to be released during his lifetime.
Different from the Others is a silent German melodramatic film produced during the Weimar Republic. It was first released in 1919 and stars Conrad Veidt and Reinhold Schünzel. The story was co-written by Richard Oswald and Magnus Hirschfeld, who also had a small part in the film and partially funded the production through his Institute for Sexual Science. The film was intended as a polemic against the then-current laws under Germany's Paragraph 175, which made homosexuality a criminal offense. It is believed to be the first pro-gay film in the world.
The Man Who Laughs is a 1928 American romantic drama silent film directed by the German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni. The film is an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1869 novel of the same name, and stars Mary Philbin as the blind Dea and Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine. The film is known for the grotesque grin on the character Gwynplaine's face, which often leads it to be classified as a horror film. Film critic Roger Ebert stated "The Man Who Laughs is a melodrama, at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film."
Ágnes Esterházy was a Hungarian film actress who worked mainly in Austria and Germany. She appeared in 32 films between 1918 and 1943.
Harry Liedtke was a German film actor.
Familie Benthin is an East German film. It was released in 1950.
William Tell is a 1934 German-Swiss historical drama film directed by Heinz Paul and starring Hans Marr, Conrad Veidt and Emmy Göring. It is based on the 1804 play William Tell by Friedrich Schiller about the Swiss folk hero William Tell. It was made in Germany by Terra Film, with a separate English-language version supervised by Manning Haynes also being released. It was shot at the Marienfelde Studios of Terra Film in Berlin with location shooting in Switzerland. While working on the film Veidt, who had recently given sympathetic performances of Jews in Jew Suss (1934) and The Wandering Jew, was detained by the authorities. It was only after pressure from the British Foreign Office that he was eventually released. It is also known by the alternative title The Legend of William Tell.
Martha Amalia "Maly" Delschaft was a German stage and film actress. After beginning in theatre, Delschaft switched to silent films. She appeared in mainly supporting roles during the Weimar and Nazi eras. After the Second World War she worked in East Germany for the state-controlled studio DEFA.
The Man Without Sleep is a 1926 German silent film directed by Carl Boese and starring Harry Liedtke, Maly Delschaft, and Fritz Kampers. It premiered in Berlin on 12 February 1926. The film's art direction was by Julius von Borsody.
Should We Be Silent? is a 1926 German silent drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Conrad Veidt, Walter Rilla and Henri De Vries. It was made at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's art direction was by Heinrich Richter-Berlin. The film exists only in fragmentary form.
The Mystery of Bangalore is a 1918 German silent film directed by Alexander Antalffy and Paul Leni and starring Conrad Veidt, Gilda Langer and Harry Liedtke. It is a lost film.
Lucrezia Borgia is a 1922 German silent historical film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Conrad Veidt, Liane Haid, Paul Wegener, and Albert Bassermann. It was based on a novel by Harry Sheff, and portrayed the life of the Renaissance Italian aristocrat Lucrezia Borgia (1480–1519). Botho Hoefer and Robert Neppach worked as the film's art directors, designing the period sets needed. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. Karl Freund was one of the cinematographers. Famed French director Abel Gance remade the film in 1935.
Casanova's Legacy is a 1928 German silent film directed by Manfred Noa and starring Andrée Lafayette, Maly Delschaft and Elizza La Porta.
The Wiskottens is a 1926 German silent film directed by Arthur Bergen and starring Karl Platen, Gertrud Arnold and Harry Liedtke.
Unheimliche Geschichten, titled Eerie Tales in English, is a 1919 German silent anthology film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Conrad Veidt. The film is split into five stories: The Apparition, The Hand, The Black Cat, The Suicide Club and Der Spuk.
The Empress and I is a 1933 German musical comedy film directed by Friedrich Hollaender and starring Lilian Harvey, Mady Christians and Conrad Veidt. It is also known by the alternative title of The Only Girl. The film was produced as a multi-language version. Moi et l'impératrice a separate French-language version was released as well as The Only Girl in English. The multilingual Harvey played the same role in all three films.
Cock of the Roost is a 1925 German silent comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Reinhold Schünzel, Elga Brink and Maly Delschaft. The film's sets were designed by the art director Walter Reimann.
The Passion of Inge Krafft is a 1921 German silent drama film directed by Robert Dinesen and starring Mia May, Albert Steinrück and Conrad Veidt.
Ingmar's Inheritance is a 1925 Swedish silent drama film directed by Gustaf Molander and starring Lars Hanson, Conrad Veidt and John Ekman. It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Stockholm and on location in Dalarna. The film's sets were designed by the art director Vilhelm Bryde. Based on a novel by Selma Lagerlöf, it was followed by a sequel To the Orient in 1926.
