German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3104/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Bavaria-Filmkunst. Ludwig Schmitz in Komödianten/|The Comedians (G.W. Pabst, 1941).

Ludwig Schmitz (1996-1953) was a short, stocky character comedian, who often appeared as comic support in German films of the 1930s. In 1939 and 1940 he and Jupp Hussels impersonated the pair Tran und Helle, who had countless entrances in short films which were shown as a contribution to the Wochenschau. He fell foul of the regime in 1941 and did not make a comeback until 1950.

Ludwig Joseph Schmitz was born in 1884 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was the son of the master cap maker Joseph Schmitz and his wife Louise née Klubschewsky. Ludwig worked in his father's business and took acting lessons on the side. He started his stage career as a teenager. Around 1900, he got his first engagement at the Stadttheater Nordhausen. Later followed engagements in Mannheim, Düsseldorf, Münster and Munich, where he normally played funny roles. He was also used as comic support in German films of the 1930s. He made his film debut with the Nazi Propaganda film Um das Menschenrecht/For the Rights of Man (Hans Zöberlein, Ludwig Schmid-Wildy, 1934). In the following years, he played supporting parts in such entertainment films as Der ahnungslose Engel/The unsuspecting angel (Franz Seitz, 1935) starring Joe Stöckel and Lucie English and Urlaub auf Ehrenwort/Furlough on Parole (Karl Ritter, 1937). He was regarded as a typical representative of Cologne humour. At the same time, he continued his theatre career and got involved in the Wehrmacht request program. From 1937 Schmitz worked mainly at Berlin theatres. In the years 1939 and 1940, he and Jupp Hussels played the pair "Tran und Helle" in countless short films which were shown as a contribution to the Wochenschau.

Despite having joined both the SS in 1934 and the NSDAP in 1937, Ludwig Schmitz was imposed with a working prohibition in 1941 because of "unworthy behaviour". The only exception was his support role as Büttenredner in Veit Harlan's melodrama Opfergang/The Great Sacrifice (Veit Harlan, 1944) starring Carl Raddatz and Kristina Söderbaum. After the war, Ludwig Schmitz could not make a comeback until 1950. Then he went on from his earlier successes and entertained the public with his typical sense of humour. A big box office hit was the Heimatfilm Grün ist die Heide/The Heath Is Green ( Hans Deppe, 1951) starring Sonja Ziemann and Rudolf Prack. From then on, he often appeared in films, including Am Brunnen vor dem Tore/At the Well in front of the Gate (Hans Wolff, 1952) starring Sonja Ziemann, and Der keusche Josef/The Chaste Joseph (Carl Boese, 1953) with Waltraut Haas. In 1954, Ludwig Schmitz died of a heart attack in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was 70. Schmitz was buried in the Lauheide forest cemetery near Telgte.

Sources: Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.

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Vintage German postcard. Ross Verlag, 187/2. Vandor-Nelson Film. Feodor Chaliapin and Dorville as Don Quichotte and Sancho Panza in Don Quichotte/ Don Quixote (Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 1933).

Russian opera singer Feodor Chaliapin (1873–1938) was an international sensation and is considered as the greatest Russian singer of the twentieth century, as well as the greatest male operatic actor ever. The possessor of a large, deep and expressive basso profundo, he was celebrated at major opera houses all over the world and established the tradition of naturalistic acting in operas. The only sound film which shows his acting style is Don Quixote (Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 1933).

Dorville (1883–1940), born on March 1, 1883 in Paris, France as Georges-Henri Dodane, was an actor, known for Circulez! (1931), Don Quichotte (1933), and Le dompteur (1938). He died on August 10, 1940 in Souillac, France.

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Vintage French postcard. Cinémagazine-Edition, No. 534. Brigitte Helm in Abwege (Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 1928), presented in France as Crise.

German actress Brigitte Helm (1908-1996) is still famous for her dual role as Maria and her double the evil Maria, the Maschinenmensch, in the silent SF classic Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927). After Metropolis she made a string of over 30 films in which she almost always had the starring role. She easily made the transition to sound films, before she abruptly retired in 1935.

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German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 122/3. Photo: Schmoll / Nero-Porten-Film. Henny Porten and Oskar Sima in the German early sound film Skandal um Eva/Scandalous Eva (Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 1930).

Sturdy and blond Henny Porten (1890-1960) was one of Germany's most important and popular film actresses of the silent cinema. She became the quintessence of German womanhood, ladylike yet kindhearted and a not a little petit bourgeois. She was also the producer of many of her own films.

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German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 122/2. Photo: Schmoll / Nero-Porten-Film. Henny Porten in Skandal um Eva/Scandalous Eva (Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 1930).

Sturdy and blond Henny Porten (1890-1960) was one of Germany's most important and popular film actresses of silent cinema. She became the quintessence of German womanhood, ladylike yet kindhearted and a not a little petit bourgeois. She was also the producer of many of her films.

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