Johann
01-02-2009, 12:24 PM
I was flipping through channels last night and came across a documentary on Germans fleeing to Hollywood around the time of Hitler's rise. (Wish I knew what it was named- I don't have a TV guide)
It profiled the careers of Fritz Lang, Ernst Lubitsch, Billy Wilder, Fred Zinneman, and others.
I learned that Warner Brothers was the first American studio to make an anti-Nazi film and I learned just what these directors had to go through to have careers in the U.S.
Americans weren't sympathetic to Germans coming to America, and many had to learn to speak english and keep German conversation on the streets to a minimum.
Fritz Lang made enemies of his cast and crew with his exacting standards and was fired at the end of his first picture with Spencer Tracy, (FURY) even though many say it was Tracy's finest performance. (Even to this day).
Ernst Lubitsch did well because he adapted to the studio system better than others. He was a master at dialogue. The clips from To Be or Not To Be and Ninotchka were great.
A significant amount of time was given to profiling Peter Lorre, star of Lang's M. After the war Germans wanted him to come to Germany and help the country- he was a much-loved star in Europe. I also learned that almost every supporting cast member of Casablanca was an exile from Germany, who fled from Hitler's oppression. They paid small dues from their salaries into a special fund to help the next round of emigres who were inevitably on their way to America.
Peter Lorre said his own best acting job was in The Maltese Falcon, and the clips of his scenes were great to see again in a new context.
Damn I wish I knew what the name of that documentary was...
I try to track it down.
Most members here would love it I think.
It profiled the careers of Fritz Lang, Ernst Lubitsch, Billy Wilder, Fred Zinneman, and others.
I learned that Warner Brothers was the first American studio to make an anti-Nazi film and I learned just what these directors had to go through to have careers in the U.S.
Americans weren't sympathetic to Germans coming to America, and many had to learn to speak english and keep German conversation on the streets to a minimum.
Fritz Lang made enemies of his cast and crew with his exacting standards and was fired at the end of his first picture with Spencer Tracy, (FURY) even though many say it was Tracy's finest performance. (Even to this day).
Ernst Lubitsch did well because he adapted to the studio system better than others. He was a master at dialogue. The clips from To Be or Not To Be and Ninotchka were great.
A significant amount of time was given to profiling Peter Lorre, star of Lang's M. After the war Germans wanted him to come to Germany and help the country- he was a much-loved star in Europe. I also learned that almost every supporting cast member of Casablanca was an exile from Germany, who fled from Hitler's oppression. They paid small dues from their salaries into a special fund to help the next round of emigres who were inevitably on their way to America.
Peter Lorre said his own best acting job was in The Maltese Falcon, and the clips of his scenes were great to see again in a new context.
Damn I wish I knew what the name of that documentary was...
I try to track it down.
Most members here would love it I think.