German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 676/2. Photo: Decla-Ufa-Film. Fritz Alberti as Dietrich von Bern in Fritz Lang's medieval saga Die Nibelungen (1924).

Fritz Alberti (1877-1954) was a German stage and screen actor.

Fritz Alberti was born 22 October 1877 in Hanau. He studied construction at the Technical University Berlin, worked in construction and was from 1904 to 1907 Regierungsbauführer. In 1906 he shifting to a stage acting career and performed in Kassel and at the National Theatre in Mannheim. From 1921 Alberti started to act in film, first in Menschen im Rausch (1921). Alberti became famous for his supporting parts in Die Nibelungen (1924) and Metropolis (1925) by Fritz Lang, Der Student von Prag (Henrik Galeen 1926) starring Conrad Veidt, Café Electric (Gustav Ucicky 1927) with Marlene Dietrich, Das Grobe Hemd (Fritz Kaufmann 1927) etc. In 1928 only he worked in ten different films, e.g. playing one of the leads in Der Tanzstudent (Johannes Guter 1928) opposite Willy Fritsch and Suzy Vernon. In addition, he was still acting on stage, for example at the Theater am Kurfürstendamm. In the early 1930s he was still very active, as in Die Koffer des Herrn O.F. (Alexis Granowsky 1931), Meine Frau, die Hochstaplerin (Kurt Gerron 1931), and Der Mörder Dimitri Karamasoff (Fyodor Ozep/ Erich Engels 1931). In 1935 he finished his acting career and became chief treasurer of the NSBO film department. In this capacity, he castigated, inter alia, artists not enough compliant to the regime and verified requests for financial assistance from Goebbels’ foundation Künstlerdank (artist thanks). After the war, Alberti did not return to the stage but worked as a voice actor and acting teacher. Fritz Alberti died 15 September 1954 in Berlin.

Sources: IMDB, German and English Wikipedia.

Tags:   Die Nibelungen Nibelungen Legend phantasy Medieval Vintage Postcard Cinema Film Film Star Movies Star Screen Silent Sepia Ross Ross Verlag German Germany Deutsch Deutschland 1920s Weimar allemand tedesco saga Fritz Alberti Dietrich von Bern Fritz Lang Fritz Alberti

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German postcard. Decla-Ufa-Film. Ross Verlag No. 677/3. At the beginning of part 2 of Die Nibelungen, Kriemhild's Rache - after Siegfried has been killed by Hagen von Tronje - Margrave Rüdiger von Bechlaren (Rudolf Ritttner) swears loyalty to the vengeful Kriemhild (Margarete Schön) in Fritz Lang's silent film Die Nibelungen (1924).

Margarete Schön (1895 – 1985) is best known for her role as Kriemhild, the beautiful but revengeful princess of Burgundy in Fritz Lang’s silent epic Die Nibelungen (1924). The career of this German stage and film actress spanned nearly fifty years.
Rudolf Rittner (June 30, 1869 – February 4, 1943) was a German stage and screen actor, famous for his part in Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (1924).

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German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 33/2. Photo: Fritz Lang-Film / Ufa. Willy Fritsch in Spione/Spies (Fritz Lang, 1928).

From the middle of the 1920s on, charming Willy Fritsch (1901-1973) replaced Bruno Kastner and Harry Liedtke as the darling of the female cinema goers in Germany. Fritsch became the immensely popular ‘Sunny Boy’ of the Ufa operettas of the 1930s and 1940s, and with his frequent co-star Lilian Harvey he formed the 'dream team of the German cinema'.

Willy (sometimes credited as Willi) Fritsch was born as Wilhelm Egon Fritz Fritsch in Kattowitz in German Silesia (now Katowice, Poland), in 1901. He was the son of Lothar Fritsch, a farmer and machine manufacturer, and his wife Anni (née Bauckmann). In 1912 he moved with his family to Berlin, where he planned to become a mechanic. In 1919 he took up acting lessons from the actor Gustav Sczimek. Fritsch debuted with a small role at Max Reinhardt's famous Deutsches Theater. There and at the affiliated Kammerspiele (Chamber theatre) he was cast in smaller stage roles, and played young lovers and comic parts. In 1922, he joined the Max Reinhardt Ensemble on its tour through Scandinavia. From 1921 on, Fritsch began to appear as a supporting player in films, like the sound experiment Miss Venus (Ludwig Czerny, 1921). In 1923, he auditioned for the leading role of a blind artist in the melodrama Seine Frau, die Unbekannte/His Mysterious Adventure (Benjamin Christensen, 1923), which was then re-written in order to fit his rather sunny nature.

Willy Fritsch convincingly played the would-be son of an aristocrat in Der Farmer aus Texas/The Farmer from Texas (Joe May, 1925), which made him the new star of the production company Ufa. Next he starred as the dashing Lieutenant Niki in Ein Walzertraum/A Waltz-Dream (Ludwig Berger, 1925), which turned out to be a significant success in the USA. At AllMovie, Janiss Garza writes: "This UFA silent, based on an old operetta, is far more light-hearted and spirited than the moody, heavy-handed fare that generally came out of Germany." Ufa intervened when United Artists offered Fritsch a contract. His next films, Der Prinz und die Tänzerin/The Prince and the Dancer (Richard Eichberg, 1926) and Der letzte Walzer/The Last Waltz (Arthur Robison, 1927) basically followed the formula of Ein Walzertraum. Fritsch only occasionally altered his now well-established film image in Spione/Spies (1928) and Frau im Mond/Woman in the Moon (1929), both directed by Fritz Lang. Hal Erickson notes at AllMovie: "Spies (Spione) was the first independent production of German 'thriller' director Fritz Lang. The years-ahead-of-its-time plotline involves Russian espionage activity in London. The mastermind is Haghi (Rudolph Klein-Rogge), a supposedly respectable carnival sideshow entertainer. Heading the good guys is Agent 326 (Willy Fritsch), with the help of defecting Russian spy Sonya (Gerda Maurus). The film moves swiftly to several potential climaxes, each one more exciting than its predecessor. Haghi's ultimate demise is a superbly staged Pirandellian vignette. Anticipating Citizen Kane by a dozen years, director Lang dispenses with all transitional dissolves and fade-outs, flat-cutting territory from one scene to another."

Willy Fritsch took singing lessons in order to prepare himself for the sound film Melodie des Herzens/Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929) with Dita Parlo. His breakthrough came after being paired with Lilian Harvey in Liebeswalzer/The Love Waltz (Wilhelm Thiele, 1930) and the two were also engaged privately. Liebeswalzer established Harvey and Fritsch as the immensely popular 'dream team of the German cinema'. Their next films such as Hokuspokus/Hocuspokus (Gustav Ucicky, 1930), the historical romance Der Kongress tanzt/Congress Dances (Erik Charell, 1931), Ein blonder Traum/A Blonde's Dream (Paul Martin, 1932) - co-written by Billy Wilder, and especially Die Drei von der Tankstelle/Three Good Friends (Wilhelm Thiele, 1930), were huge international box-office hits. Fritsch and Harvey appeared together in twelve films. Each of these films featured several songs, which became popular hits and were also released on records, and thereby further added to the popularity of the two stars. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "If a poll had ever been conducted amongst fans of international musical-comedy star Lillian Harvey, the actress's most popular vehicle would probably have been Die Drei von Der Tankstelle (Three From the Gas Station) - with Congress Dances running a very close second. The story opens as three debt-ridden young men pool what is left of their savings to open a roadside service station. Their most frequent customer is the wealthy, winsome Ms. Harvey, who frequently shows up fetchingly clad in hiking shorts. Each of the young men falls in love with the girl, unbeknownst to the other two. Which one will she choose? Most likely, the one who sings the best - and that would be Lillian Harvey's frequent screen vis-a-vis Willy Fritsch."

Willy Fritsch had a long-term contract with Ufa and was paid a monthly salary of 20.000 Reichsmark per month, which was doubled during the 1930s. Eschewing his trademark sunny boy persona, Fritsch proved his range as a character actor in films like Ich bei Tag und Du bei Nacht/I by Day, You by Night (Ludwig Berger, 1932) co-starring Käthe von Nagy, Walzerkrieg/The Battle of the Walzes (Ludwig Berger, 1933) opposite Renate Müller, and the satirical romp Amphitryon/Amphitryon - Happiness from the Clouds (Reinhold Schünzel, 1935) with Paul Kemp. Fritsch managed to survive the Hitler era without any loss of prestige. After the end of the war, he relocated to Hamburg. He spoofed his own image as the romantic lover in Film ohne Titel/Film Without a Title (Rudolf Jugert, 1947), and excelled as the comical conférencier in Herrliche Zeiten/Fun Times (Erik Ode, Günter Neumann, 1949). Although still in high demand, Fritsch didn't find satisfying roles in West-Germany's post-war cinema. He continued to appear on stage and in films until the early 1960s. He remained a popular figure, partly due to his work as the host of nostalgic radio shows. Since 1937, he was married to dancer and actress Dinah Grace until her death in 1963. They had two sons, Michael and Thomas. After his wife's death he decided to retire. With his son Thomas Fritsch he starred in his final film, Das hab ich von Papa gelernt/I Learned It from Daddy (Axel von Ambesser, 1964). In 1963 he had published his memoir … das kommt nicht wieder/That will never come back, and in 1965 he was honoured with the Filmband in Gold, for his long and important work for the German film. Willy Fritsch died of heart failure in 1973 in Hamburg, Germany. He was 72.

Sources: Filmportal.de, Stephanie D'heil (Steffi-line - German), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), IMDb and Wikipedia.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

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French postcard by Editions du Globe, no. 512. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). Stewart Granger in Moonfleet (Fritz Lang, 1955).

English actor Stewart Granger (1913–1993) made over 60 films but is mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was quoted: “I've never done a film I'm proud of”. Tall, dark, dignified, and handsome, Granger became England's top box office star in the 1940s which attracted Hollywood's attention.

For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.

Tags:   Stewart Granger Stewart Granger British Actor European Film Star Cinema Film Cine Kino Hollywood Movie Movies Picture Screen Filmster Star Vintage Postcard Postkarte Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Globe E.D.U.G. Moonfleet 1955 Fritz Lang Fritz Lang

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German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 516/4, 1919-1924. Photo: May-Film. Mia May and Ernst Matray in Hilde Warren und der Tod (Joe May, 1917), scripted by Fritz Lang.

Famous actress Hilde Warren rejects the marriage proposal of her theatre manager (Mierendorff), preferring her art. When Death (Georg John) tempts her, she rejects him. She falls in love with the handsome criminal Hector Roger (Bruno Kastner), who dies in a shootout with the police. Hilde is desperate when she discovers she is bearing his child, so Death visits her again, but in vain. Years after, the father’s vices seem inherited in their son Egon, and Hilde feels she is responsible. The theatre manager still wants to marry Hilde, but she cannot accept his condition to abandon her son. Death visits her third time but to no avail. The spoiled Egon (Ernst Matray), once an adult, turns into a criminal when Hilde refuses him money. Fleeing for the police, he asks his mother for money to get away, but she menaces him with a gun. In a fight, she shoots him. Condemned to jail, she finally welcomes Death.

Mia May (1884-1980) was one of the first divas of the German cinema. She starred in many films of her husband, producer, writer and director Joe May. Ernst Matráy (1891-1978) was a Hungarian dancer, choreographer, actor and film director. In Berlin, he worked with Max Reinhardt and Ernst Lubitsch. Together with his wife Maria Solveg, he later did the choreography for some classic Hollywood films.

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