Karl Freund (cameraman)

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Karl Freund (born January 16, 1890 in Königinhof (Dvur Králové), Bohemia , † May 3, 1969 in Santa Monica , California ) was one of the most important cameramen during the time of silent films . Later he also worked as a film director.

Life

The son of the glazier Julius Freund and his wife Marie moved to Berlin with his parents in 1901. He began as a projectionist in 1906 and then worked as a cameraman in Belgrade and Vienna and from 1913 in Neubabelsberg . During the First World War he shot especially with Asta Nielsen and Henny Porten .

In 1919, Freund went into business for himself by founding Karl Freund-Film GmbH. He subsequently developed into the style-defining cameraman of German chamber film and continued to work with many greats in German silent film. There was a particularly close collaboration with Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau . Freund is credited with the “unleashed” camera method that he used in Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's film The Last Man (1924). He wasn't the first to use the camera without a tripod, but his shots in The Last Man are characterized by an agility that was hardly visible before.

Another highlight in his work were the recordings for the monumental film Metropolis (1926) directed by Fritz Lang . Freund also had other ideas: He “was tired of the sterile studio atmosphere and in 1927 suggested the documentary Berlin - The Symphony of the Big City . From the first light of the morning until late at night, he had everyday life in Berlin observed with cameras. In this way, an authentic portrait of the metropolis was created without a script , without stars and with unbelievable freedom of camera work, which is still unparalleled today. "

From 1929 Karl Freund was active because of the great success of The Last Man in Hollywood , where he later also worked as a director. His film The Mummy from 1932 with Boris Karloff in the leading role is his best-known directorial work, while Dracula with Bela Lugosi , made a year earlier, is probably his best American camera work. He received an Oscar for The Good Earth (1937) . He was also the cameraman for Fred Zinnemann's The Seventh Cross (1944).

From 1951 to 1956 he worked as a cameraman for the hugely successful sitcom I Love Lucy . During their production, he invented the "3-camera setup" or "multicam" system, which is now standard in television.

In 1960 Freund retired to his farm in the San Fernando Valley . Until recently he was valued as an expert in the field of film technology. In 1965 he received the gold film tape for many years of outstanding work in German film.

Karl Freund was first married to Susette Liepmannssohn (1890–1942), the daughter of the music antiquarian Leo Liepmannssohn , from 1915 to 1918 , and had a daughter. The actress Gertrude Freund geb. Hoffmann was his second wife from 1920.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Freunds Stern on the Boulevard der Stars in Berlin (2012)

Web links

Commons : Karl Freund  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The man who unleashed the camera ( memento from October 22, 2019 in the Internet Archive ) in Deutschlandfunk Kultur , calendar sheet , January 16, 2015
  2. ^ Film portal about Karl Freund
personal data
SURNAME Friend, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cameraman
DATE OF BIRTH January 16, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Queen's Court , Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH 3rd May 1969
Place of death Santa Monica