Franz Eichberger (actor)
Franz Eichberger (* around 1916 in Puchberg am Schneeberg ; † May 29, 1991 ) was an Austrian actor .
life and career
Franz Eichberger came to film through Leni Riefenstahl . The director was looking for a suitable actor to play the role of the young shepherd Pedro for her film adaptation of the opera Tiefland . As she writes in her autobiography , at the Kandahar ski race in 1939 in St. Anton am Arlberg, she became aware of the then 23-year-old Austrian, who optically corresponded to her ideas of the film character. After the war, however, it was claimed in the magazine " Revue " that Riefenstahl had 2,000 mountain troops marched past him several times in order to be able to choose a suitable actor. Riefenstahl has resolutely denied this claim and insisted on its version. The latter was confirmed in affidavits by Eichberger and her then assistant Harald Reinl . An article from the early 1940s, on the other hand, says that the director chose an actor from among the mountain troops.
Actually a medical soldier , Eichberger had been assigned by the Wehrmacht to work as a ski instructor in the Arlberg region. He turned out to be extremely shy, but test shots confirmed his acting talent. However, there were problems with his dialect, so he received language lessons at a Berlin drama school. After the war, Eichberger received other role offers. In 1947 he was seen in the Austro-French coproduction Winter Melodie . He later filmed with important directors such as Georg Wilhelm Pabst ( The Trial , Mysterious Depth ) and Helmut Käutner ( The Last Bridge ), but mostly received only minor supporting roles. Only in the Adalbert Stifter filming Bergkristall (1949) was he given a leading role. After I marry the director (1960) Eichberger ended his film career.
Filmography
- 1947: Winter Melody ( Les amours de Blanche Neige )
- 1948: The trial
- 1949: Mysterious depth
- 1949: rock crystal
- 1954: lowlands
- 1954: The last bridge
- 1955: The dairymaid from St. Kathrein
- 1959: 12 girls and 1 man
- 1960: I marry the director
Web links
- Franz Eichberger in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Franz Eichberger at filmportal.de
References and comments
- ^ Leni Riefenstahl: Memoirs. Cologne 2000, page 358
- ↑ See Jürgen Trimborn: Riefenstahl: A German career. Chapter: Flying high
- ↑ See Jürgen Trimborn: Riefenstahl: A German career. Chapter: Flying high
- ^ Leni Riefenstahl: Memoirs. Cologne 2000, page 360
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Eichberger, Franz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian film actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1916 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Puchberg am Schneeberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 29, 1991 |