Frederick Schrecker

Fritz Schrecker , in exile in England Frederick Schrecker , born as Friedrich Schrecker , (born January 10, 1892 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary , † July 13, 1976 in London , United Kingdom ) was an Austrian actor .

Live and act

Friedrich "Fritz" Schrecker began to play theater before the outbreak of the First World War and appeared on stages in the Austro-Hungarian provinces (including Troppau ). After the end of the war, Schrecker worked at the Vienna theaters and was a member of the ensemble of the Neue Wiener Bühne under Emil Geyer's direction for six years . Further engagements led him to the Wiener Kammerspiele , the Modern Theater and the Theater in der Josefstadt under Max Reinhardt's direction. Here Schrecker celebrated a great success as Schlesinger Effendi in the piece "Linen from Ireland".

In the 1920s, Fritz Schrecker followed a call to Berlin . In the German capital he looked at the Small Theater, the Trianon Theater , the Lessing Theater , the Theater on Nollendorfplatz and the comedians' cabaret . Up until then, Schrecker's intensive stage work hardly allowed for trips in front of the camera. In 1926 he received his first film lead role with the regimental doctor in the film adaptation of Roda-Roda's " Der Feldherrnhügel ". In 1931 the Viennese made his debut in talkies under the name of Franz Schrecker in the film satire Die Koffer des Herr OF .

When the National Socialists came to power in Germany , the Jew Fritz Schrecker initially returned to Vienna and tried to continue his theater work there. In view of the annexation of Austria in March 1938, Schrecker was again forced to flee. This time he went to England, where Schrecker, now anglicised his first name in "Frederick", participated in 1939 in London with his compatriot Marianne Walla in founding an Austrian theater in exile called "Das Laterndl". One of the Schrecker revues shown there in 1942 was called “ No Orchids for Mr. Hitler ” and was a parody of the German National Socialists. During the Second World War , Frederick Schrecker also took part in anti-Nazi information programs on the BBC . In these programs he spoke a. the title part of the fictitious "leader" -hörigen Landsers Adolf Hirnschal in the satirical broadcast series " letters of the corporal Hirnschal ". After the end of the war, Schrecker stayed for a while in the newly founded state of Israel .

Back in London, Frederick Schrecker found employment in countless television productions in the early 1950s, in which he was played predominantly German characters and other foreigners. His appearances in British theatrical productions are rarer and rarely possessed more than batch format. Until immediately before his death at the age of 84, Frederick Schrecker remained a familiar face on British television series, the last time he had a continuous role in 1975 in "The Siege of Golden Hill".

Filmography

• 1926: The Feldherrnhügel
• 1931: The suitcase of Mr. OF
• 1950: murder without killer ( Murder Without Crime )
• 1953: Innocents in Paris
• 1953: Counterspy
• 1954: The Divided Heart ( The Divided Heart )
• 1955: Breakaway
• 1955: Bat 1955 ( Oh ... Rosalinda !! )
• 1955: Secret Plan 701 ( The Master Plan )
• 1956: The Traitor
• 1956–1957: The Trollenberg Terror (TV series)
• 1958: Women in Love (TV movie)
• 1959: Beyond the Curtain
• 1960: A dead man plays the piano (Taste of Fear)
• 1967: The Billion Dollar Brain
• 1971: Deviation
• 1975: The Siege of Golden Hill (TV series)

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. 606.

Web links

• Frederick Schrecker in the Internet Movie Database (English)