Albert Lieven

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Albert Lieven (born June 23, 1906 in Hohenstein / East Prussia ; † December 16, 1971 in London ) was a German actor , radio drama speaker and during the Second World War, broadcaster and reporter for the BBC's foreign service in London.

biography

His father, a well-known doctor, was director of the Hohenstein Lung Sanatorium, which opened in 1903 on the outskirts of Hohenstein . Lieven attended secondary schools in Neidenburg , Allenstein and Königsberg . His original intention was to become a doctor like his father. But because of financial problems he had to give up his studies after the First World War . So he learned a commercial profession. But shortly afterwards he played small extras on various Berlin theaters. He soon realized that this was his future career. He made his debut in 1928 at the Court Theater in Gera . The other stations were from 1929 to 1932 at the New Playhouse in Königsberg and then at the Prussian State Theater on the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. From 1933 he gave guest performances on several German-speaking theaters, for example in Vienna , Berlin and Bremen .

His career as a film actor began as early as 1932. In his first screen appearance he stood as Werner von Schumann at the side of Lucie Englisch and Paul Hörbiger in the film Annemarie, the bride of the company . A number of other quite successful films followed, such as Reifende Jugend (1933) with Heinrich George , which made him popular even then. But in 1936 he left Germany with his Jewish wife Tatjana . They reached London via France. After a short time, the actor continued his career in exile, albeit under different circumstances. He played in various theaters (for example at Wyndham's Theater ) and also went on tour. During the war he also worked for the BBC's overseas service as a newscaster and reporter. He had his first "real" film appearance in 1939 in the feature film Spy for a Day , after he had been seen in an extra role in the 1937 film Queen Victoria . The roles he played in the next few years were often very one-dimensional and in no way challenged his skills. Mostly it was Nazi villains that he portrayed. He bought a house in Farnham, Surrey , which he kept after the war.

In 1948 Lieven went to Broadway in New York . He played a role in the play Winslow Boy . Further tours followed through the USA and a number of other countries such as the Soviet Union .

In 1952 Albert Lieven was seen again in Germany. He played in various well-known films, such as with Arnim Dahl in Klettermaxe or in Night of the Decision (1956) directed by Falk Harnack with Carl Raddatz and Hilde Krahl . But he also remained active in Great Britain and played in many successful productions, now often in leading roles. He also worked for German and British television. B. 1965 as Dr. Sturm in the episode "H 2 O - Tödliches Nass (original title: A Surfeit of H 2 O)" of the series, which is also very successful in Germany, with umbrella, charm and melon at the side of Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg . At the end of the 1950s, his popularity increased in Germany through his appearances in the Edgar Wallace films and the television plays in the Francis Durbridge series . In the mid-1960s he was Bavaria-Film's preferred cast for the role of Count Yoster in the crime series Count Yoster gives himself the honor . Lieven refused, however.

He only appeared occasionally in radio plays. For example, in 1958 in the comedy Der Biberpelz by Gerhart Hauptmann with Therese Giehse , Kurt Horwitz and Edith Schultze-Westrum or in 1967 in an entry permit or A German goes to Germany , a radio play that deals with the increasing alienation of people in the two German states. In 1965 he played the leading role in the six-part film Irreplaceable , which was based on the novel of the same name by Theodor Fontane . His partners include Ingeborg Engelmann , Kornelia Boje and Otto Rouvel .

Lieven, who was married four times to Tatjana Lieven , Valerie White , Susan Shaw and Petra Peters , had two children, one from the first and one from the third marriage. He died on December 16, 1971 at the age of 65 from complications from cancer in London.

He was the grandfather of the English rugby player Toby Flood .

The films in the Durbridge series

No other actor has appeared in the television split-up after Francis Durbridge as often as Albert Lieven, four times in total. First in 1959 in the very first film adaptation. In The Other , he played boarding school teacher David Henderson, who used to work for the British secret service and now has to return to this position. In the end, he is the hero of the story, although this is not initially apparent. In 1965 he can be seen in The Keys as Inspector Hyde of Scotland Yard . He solves the case together with the second leading actor Harald Leipnitz . In Like a Flash he plays the murder victim Gordon Stewart in 1970, who is not as dead as it first appears.

The most popular and probably the most exciting six-part series was 1962 Das Halstuch , one of the most successful street sweepers of the time. Lieven played the London publisher Clifton "Terry" Morris, who is being tried to blame for a murder. But Inspector Harry Yates Heinz Drache succeeds in the end in convicting the actual murderer, and Morris is able to prevent another murder in the end. Other leading actors were Horst Tappert , Margot Trooger , Dieter Borsche and Hellmut Lange . But the film has curious elements: There is a murder on June 8th, and the investigation of the case takes about a month. So it's summer, but every time he wants to go out, Clifton Morris puts on a coat and a scarf over his suit, even though it's not so cold even in England at this time. In the novel, on the other hand, the murder takes place on January 7th, so the scarf and coat are appropriate clothing. The corpse is also found on a loaded harvesting vehicle. But what could an English landowner, represented here by Erwin Linder , harvest at the beginning of January? But both were necessary for the course of the plot. So Lieven had to sweat.

Filmography

Radio plays

literature

  • Kay Less : "In life, more is taken from you than given ...". Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. A general overview. ACABUS Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8 , p. 309.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lieven, Albert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actor
DATE OF BIRTH June 23, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Hohenstein (East Prussia)
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 1971
Place of death London