Lothar Mendes

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lothar Mendes (born May 19, 1894 in Berlin , † February 25, 1974 in London ) was a German film director and screenwriter .

Life

He attended the Sophiengymnasium in Berlin (with his future colleague Ernst Lubitsch ) and made his debut as an actor at the age of 17. A year later, Mendes appeared on stages in Bremen , Hanover and Vienna . He was active in the theaters of Carl Meinhard and Rudolf Bernauer in Berlin.

After the First World War, Mendes made contact with film. He began as a screenwriter and was able to direct his first film with leading actor and producer Michael Bohnen for the 1921 Ring film, The Secret of Santa Maria .

After further films in which well-known actors such as Lya de Putti , Paul Wegener , Lil Dagover and Conrad Veidt participated, he accepted an offer from Paramount in 1926 and went to Hollywood , where he directed, among other things, Four Springs .

In 1934 he made his debut in Great Britain with a film version of Lion Feuchtwanger's Jud Suss . Because of its philo-Semitic orientation, the film was only shown in Austria and not in National Socialist Germany. Alexander Korda then engaged Mendes for the fantasy production The Man Who Wanted to Change the World . His last British directorial work, Moonlight Sonate, around the Polish pianist and politician Ignacy Jan Paderewski , also attracted attention.

Mendes then returned to the United States and shot a few more films there. He was briefly married to actress Eva May and from 1926 to 1928 to actress Dorothy Mackaill .

Filmography (as a director)

  • 1921: The Silver King (4 parts, only co-script)
  • 1921: The Secret of Santa Maria (also co-script)
  • 1922: The Adventurer (also co-script)
  • 1923: Notes of Death (also co-script)
  • 1923: SOS The Island of Tears
  • 1924: The monk of Santarem
  • 1925: love is blind
  • 1926: The three cuckoo clocks
  • 1926: Temptation of the Senses ( Prince of Tempters )
  • 1927: Convoy
  • 1928: The King of Soho ( Street of Sin )
  • 1928: who is the murderer? ( A Night of Mystery )
  • 1928: The Scandal ( Interference )
  • 1929: Four springs ( The Four Feathers )
  • 1929: The tightrope walker ( Dangerous Curves )
  • 1929: illusion
  • 1929: The Marriage Playground
  • 1930: Paramount Parade ( Paramount on Parade )
  • 1931: Personal Maid
  • 1931: Ladies' Man
  • 1932: Arrested at midnight ( Strangers in Love )
  • 1932 deferred payment ( payment Deferred )
  • 1932: If I Had a Million (If I Had a Million)
  • 1933: The floating city ( Luxury Liner )
  • 1934: Jud Süss ( Jew Süss )
  • 1936: The man who wanted to change the world ( The Man Who Could Work Miracles )
  • 1937: Moonlight Sonata ( Moonlight Sonata )
  • 1941: International Squadron
  • 1942: Nazi Agent (only co-script)
  • 1943: Flight for Freedom
  • 1944: Tampico
  • 1946: The Walls Came Tumbling Down

literature

  • Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 5: L - N. Rudolf Lettinger - Lloyd Nolan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , pp. 389-390.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mendes, Lothar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German film director
DATE OF BIRTH May 19, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1974
Place of death London