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1-20 of 20
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Descended from a wealthy family of landowners in what was then Austria-Hungary, Franz Planer understood the importance of photography as an art form early in his life. He first stood behind the camera as a portrait photographer, working out of Vienna from 1910. He soon branched out, filming newsreels in Paris and, in 1919, joined the growing German film industry as chief cameraman for Emelka (which became Bavaria Studios in 1932), in Munich. During the 1920s and early 1930's, he acquired a reputation for style, having worked as cinematographer for such distinguished directors as F.W. Murnau and Wilhelm Thiele, most of his films being commercially popular entertainments.
Anticipating the "Anschluss" - the forcible annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler - Planer left Austria in 1937 and, using the pseudonym Frank F. Planer, sought work in Hollywood. He joined the American Society of Cinematorgaphers and was signed under contract at Columbia from 1938-45, and, again, from 1949-50 (in between working at Universal from 1947-49), filming in a variety of different genres. At this stage in his career, he often used real-life locations and shot primarily in black-and-white, in almost semi-documentary style. Like other European cinematographers, he was heavily influenced by German expressionism and used chiaroscuro lighting and stark contrasts between light and shade to achieve thematic mood requirements - particularly for films noir, such as Criss Cross (1949) and 711 Ocean Drive (1950). Planer's creative collaboration with director Max Ophüls is frequently cited as among his best work, notably the melancholic romantic drama Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948).
During the 1950s Planer was much in demand and used by many of Hollywood's top directors, including Robert Siodmak, John Huston, Edward Dmytryk and Stanley Kramer. Increasingly comfortable with color photography from 1954, Planer worked on several A-grade productions. He created a particularly realistic feel for The Caine Mutiny (1954) and The Nun's Story (1959) by utilizing sparse, functional interiors. Unusual camera angles/perspectives, tracking shots and objects inserted between camera and subject contributed to the look of the popular Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Planer never won an Academy Award, though he was nominated five times: for Champion (1949), Death of a Salesman (1951), Roman Holiday (1953), The Nun's Story (1959) and The Children's Hour (1961).- Actor
- Director
- Composer
Fritz Schulz was born on 25 April 1896 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. He was an actor and director, known for Ende schlecht, alles gut (1934), Kaczmarek (1928) and Duty Is Duty (1931). He was married to Ágnes Eszterházy. He died on 9 May 1972 in Zurich, Switzerland.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Michael Klier was born on 16 January 1943 in Karlsbad, Sudetenland, Germany [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. He is a director and writer, known for Ostkreuz (1991), Überall ist es besser, wo wir nicht sind (1989) and Der Riese (1984).- Eva Manhardt was born on 26 February 1937 in Karlsbad, Czechoslovakia [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Tagebuch eines Liebenden (1977), Der Fuchs von Övelgönne (1981) and Gefährliche Streiche (1972). She died on 2 September 2018 in Berlin, Germany.
- Kurt Beck was born on 10 March 1926 in Karlsbad, Czechoslovakia [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Tim Frazer (1963), Die Nylonschlinge (1963) and Ein Fall für Männdli (1973). He died in August 1993 in Germany.
- Nazi official Karl Hermann Frank was an ethnic German born in Karlsbad, Austria-Hungary, on January 24, 1896. His father was an ardent German nationalist and Karl was brought up steeped in the German nationalist movement. He joined the Austro-Hungarian army near the end of World War I. After the war he opened a bookstore and involved himself in ultra-right-wing political groups and secret societies. He joined the Nazi party in 1919 and operated a Nazi bookstore, from which he distributed propaganda throughout Czechoslovakia (as the country was now known) and helped form the Sudetenland branch of the Nazi party. The Czech government banned that organization in 1933, but Frank formed a new Nazi party, renamed the Sudeten German Party (SDP), in 1935. That same year he was elected to the Czech parliament. In 1938 Germany invaded and annexed the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, and Frank was given the title of Deputy Gauleiter of the Sudetenland--which gave him virtually absolute power--and his work impressed SS leader Heinrich Himmler so much that Himmler made him an SS-Brigadefuhrer that same year.
In 1939 Himmler promoted him to SS-Gruppenfuhrer and appointed him Secretary of State of the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, second in power only to Reich Protector Konstantin von Neurath. Frank was also placed in charge of the protectorate's police and SS forces. He used that power to hunt down and eliminate any trace of Czech resistance to the German occupation of the area. However, his boss von Neurath believed in taking a more conciliatory approach to the problem. Frank chafed at this "softer" approach, and determined to undermine von Neurath and take over his position. In September of 1941 German leader Adolf Hitler dismissed von Neurath from all of his duties except that of Reich Protector. Though Frank worked hard to be appointed Deputy Protector, that job was given to the notorious Reinhard Heydrich. However, Frank and Heydrich found that they worked well together, and soon began a ruthless campaign to rid the "protectorate" of dissidents, political opponents and Jews, arresting and killing dozens of political opponents and rounding up ever larger numbers of Jews and shipping them to concentration camps.
In May of 1942 Heydrich was assassinated by Czech partisans near the villages of Lidce and Lazaky. Heydrich was replaced by Kurt Daluege, and he and Frank devised the idea of the liquidation of the two villages; all adult males were shot, the women and children were shipped off to concentration camps and the two villages and the two villages were totally destroyed, and all traces of them were wiped off the face of the earth. In 1943 Frank was appointed Reich Minister for Bohemia and Moravia, and later that year Himmler promoted him SS-Obergruppenfurer and General of Police in Prague. He was also made a Waffen-SS General.
In May of 1945 the Germans received information about a possible uprising in Prague. Frank made a radio address in which he proclaimed that he would crush any uprising and leave "a sea of blood". As Allied forces fought their way closer to the city and appeared to be on the brink of taking it, the Czech people poured into the streets to welcome them. Frank ordered his soldiers and police to open fire on any groups of people that gathered in the streets, and they did.
Eventually American troops did take Prague and Frank fled to the Czech city of Pilsen, but on May 9, 1945, he surrendered to US forces there. The newly reconstituted Czech government requested his extradition to Prague to be tried for the crimes he committed there. His trial took place in late March and early April of 1946. He was convicted of war crimes--including the destruction of Lidice--and sentenced to death.
On May 22, 1946, he was hanged in the courtyard of Pankrac Prison in Prague before a crowd of more than 5000. - Max Blonda was born on 11 July 1898 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. Max was a writer, known for From Today Until Tomorrow (1997) and Von Heute auf Morgen, Opera in un atto op. 32 (2011). Max was married to Arnold Schönberg. Max died on 14 February 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
André Mattoni was born on 23 February 1900 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Ein Sommernachtstraum (1925), Land der Sehnsucht (1950) and Waltz Melodies (1938). He died on 11 January 1985 in Vienna, Austria.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Uta Priew was born on 3 August 1944 in Karlsbad, Germany. She is an actress, known for Tristan und Isolde (1995), Die Spur des Bernsteinzimmers (1992) and Götterdämmerung (1992).- Franz Steinmüller was born on 14 June 1911 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary. He is an actor, known for Fernfahrer (1963), Ein Königreich für ein Bett (1963) and Komische Geschichten mit Georg Thomalla (1961).
- Walter Becher was born on 1 October 1912 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. He died on 25 August 2005 in Pullach, Bavaria, Germany.
- Walter Serner's life and especially his death have been shrouded in mystery. The last thing that was heard of him was a letter he wrote on October 13th, 1927. He disappeared and it is still unknown what happened or where and when he died. Serner's work was never really accepted by the literary establishment. It was 're-discovered' at the end of the sixties. He spent most of his life travelling through Europe
- Vienna, Berlin, Munich, but also Paris, Zürich, Geneva, Naples and
- Richard Teschner was born on 22 March 1879 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. He was a director, known for Der geheimnisvolle Spiegel (1928). He was married to Emma Pacher-Paulik. He died on 4 July 1948 in Vienna, Austria.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Franz Allers was born on 6 August 1905 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. He is known for Hansel and Gretel (1954), The Fabulous Fifties (1960) and Sunday Showcase (1959). He was married to Jane Furch and Caroline Shaffer. He died on 26 January 1995 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Composer
Walter Kaufmann was born on 1 April 1907 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. He was a composer, known for Jagran (1936), Hillmen Go to War (1944) and This Modern Age (1946). He died on 9 September 1984 in Bloomington, Indiana, USA.- Karin Stoiber was born on 6 July 1943 in Karlsbad, Sudetenland, Germany [now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic]. She has been married to Edmund Stoiber since 23 February 1968. They have three children.
- Cinematographer
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
From school year 1961-62 until 1966, Václav Vích taught filming at the new born Institute for Cinema and Television (Cine-TV) in Rome, Italy. Actually he was one of the co-founder of Cine-TV, with the legendary principal Prof. Dora Besesti. Cine-TV is now named after Roberto Rossellini and is one of the main specialized secondary public schools of Cinema, Television, Photography, Ad Graphic and visual forming set crews in Italy. Many students became successful professionals in Italy and around the world.- Sound Department
Károly Pulváry was born on 19 July 1907 in Karlsbad (Csehország). He is known for Pókháló (1936), Három csengö (1941) and Dunaparti randevú (1936). He died in 1999 in Alexandria City, Virginia, USA.- Heinrich Fischer was born on 22 August 1896 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary. He was a writer and actor, known for Der entscheidende Augenblick (1957), Schlußrunde (1965) and Der Herr im ersten Stock (1957). He died on 16 March 1974 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany.
- Writer
- Director
Ivan Soeldner was a versatile publicist. Journalist, film critic, photographer, dramaturg, screenwriter and director. He was born on the run from the advancing German army on November 18, 1939 in Belgrade. His father was arrested by the Nazis for activities in the resistance and executed in May 1942. Ivan spent the rest of the war with his mother in Palestine. After graduating from high school in Karlovy Vary he graduated from the Department of Film and Television Science in Prague. He ended it in 1963. During his studies interrupted for political reasons, he completed compulsory military service. For the second year in the Studio of Czechoslovak Army Film as an assistant director on the two-part editing film Testimony. After graduation, he worked as an editor of the press department of the Film Institute. From September 1963 as a dramaturge at the Documentary Film Studio, later as a dramaturge for News Film and from October 1969 as a director of Short Film
Since his secondary school studies, he has devoted himself to journalism. He accompanied his texts on important personalities of culture, especially filmmakers from home and abroad, with his own photos. In addition to film, he was also interested in music and theater. He has worked with a number of magazines and newspapers. Czechoslovak, Polish and German. Soeldner's reportage from film and music festivals in Venice, Canes, Midem and Karlovy Vary, where he photographed not only Claudia Cardinal, Alain Delon, Federico Fellini or Marcello Mastroianni, accompanied by analysis of films, still provide valuable evidence of a new wave of Czechoslovak film. During normalization, however, he could only publish film reviews and interviews under a pseudonym.
He originally wrote only short comments on short films. Later, however, he shot a number of them, including classic film weeklies for domestic cinemas. Fever (1964) focused on the beginning beat band, Olympic. Hallo Satchmo (b. 1965) was about the stay of legendary trumpeter Louis Armstrong in Prague (working with director Jan Spata). The stripper (1967) brought an open confession to a young woman from Düsseldorf who had been a stripper in West German bars for ten years. This author's short film quickly ended up locked in a vault. The same fate was met by the medium-length Czechoslovak Spring 68 (1968) or the films Dubcek (1968) and the Sixth President on Ludvik Svoboda (1968), which he worked with director Bohuslav Musil. In addition, Ivan Soeldner made short films Czechoslovakia in Pictures (1968), Top Manager (1970) and Czech Puppets (1970). And as author and director, he has made portraits of foreign singers, Mireille Mathieu (1967) or Ivo Robic from Yugoslavia (1967).
He was in the News Film at all important events of the Prague Spring and subsequent occupation. Together with cameraman Holomek, on August 21, 1968, they made the very first film evidence of the occupation of Prague by Warsaw Pact troops, headed by the Soviet Army. He composed so-called occupation weeklies (he also wrote accompanying texts), which were not warmed up in cinemas for a long time. By order from above, most copies were withdrawn and discarded. As a dramaturge of the News Film, he compiled a unique documentary called Look Man, which captured the closing speech of the infamous Communist Prosecutor Josef Urvalek in a fabricated trial that ended in the death penalty for the former General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Rudolf Slansky. The footage of the never-published documentary appeared again in the public after the Velvet Revolution, and subsequently in new programs about the dark time of the 1950s.
The most extensive work of Ivan Soeldner was a television series from the history of Czech popular music, Grandsupertingltangl, which includes in fourteen episodes song production from shoppers, through Hasler, Friml, RA Dvorsky, tramp song, folk music, movie melodies, musical comedy, Jezek, Voskovec and Werich, swing, conductor Karel Vlach, mass song and theater Semafor. The guide was Soeldner's phenomenal cousin, the legendary Czech actor, poet and co-founder of the famous Semafor theater, Jiri Suchy. The day after the last episode, on August 15, 1970, on his way to Olomouc to see his wife and little son, Ivan Soeldner tragically died in a car accident. After the Velvet Revolution he received from the Union of Film and Television Artists posthumously Moral Rehabilitation for the injustices caused by the Communist regime. And director Rudolf Krejcik made one of his most recent film weekends for domestic cinemas entitled Under the Brand Soe (1990).