Richard Groschopp

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Richard Groschopp (born February 19, 1906 in Cölleda ; † July 8, 1996 in Kleinmachnow ) was a German film director , screenwriter , cameraman and film editor . Groschopp is considered one of the most famous and renowned DEFA directors .

life and work

Early years

Richard Groschopp was born in 1906 as the second son of a rifle hostess in Cölleda (Thuringia). The family later moved to Greiz via Erfurt , where he attended elementary school. His artistic talent was already evident during his school days; in addition to violin lessons, Groschopp also took part in theater productions. After his school education he completed an apprenticeship as a pastry chef in Erfurt, then worked as a journeyman in Kiel and from 1927 in Dresden . In addition, he was still artistically active. In addition to playing the violin, he wrote short stories and from 1929 worked on the new medium of film. After purchasing 9.5 mm cine film equipment, he made smaller films and - according to his own statements - devoured everything there was in literature on the subject of film art .

Beginnings

In addition to his work as a confectioner, he became a member of the Association of Film Amateurs and in this context wrote articles on theoretical and practical problems for the magazine "Film für alle". The first awards for his short films followed, winning various prizes at film festivals . His first film, the animated film Eine kleine Königtragödie from 1934 and the short film Bommerli from 1935 were successful, so that he redesigned his two short films on 35mm film on behalf of Fritz Boehner , who owns a commercial film studio . His film A Little King Tragedy was brought to the cinemas by Tobis as a supporting film for the film Der Herrscher by Veit Harlan , which gave him an additional reputation .

After he had passed his master's examination as a confectioner in 1936, he accepted an invitation from the advertising film producer Boehner to work as a cameraman and director for his Boehner film on July 1, 1936. Numerous orders for advertising, industrial and documentary films followed, such as for the Olympia in 1936 , where he made contributions to fencing and the Olympic Village as a cameraman under the direction of Leni Riefenstahl . With the beginning of the Second World War he was exempted from working with weapons because he produced educational films for anti-aircraft shooters and marines. In February 1945 Groschopp and his family survived the air raids on Dresden , but lost their home as a result of the attacks, so that they followed Boehner in March 1945 to Wirsberg in Upper Franconia , where the producer relocated his business.

post war period

A year later, in March 1946, Groschopp returned with his family to Dresden, where he worked again from April 1, 1946 at Boehner-Film, which was subordinate to the Soviet military administration in Germany . As a director, cameraman and film editor he produced, among other things, the newsreel Der Augenzeuge , but mainly propaganda, industrial and educational films, so that some of the first post-war film documentaries were made under his direction. With the expropriation or the transfer of Boehner-Film into public property and the renaming to DEFA-Produktion Sachsen on September 1, 1946, he finally became a filmmaker for the newly founded DEFA.

In the summer of 1950 he moved to the DEFA Studio for Feature Films in Potsdam-Babelsberg, where he directed some scenes from the DEFA film Benthin Family under the artistic direction of Slatan Dudow and Kurt Maetzig . After completing his first independent feature film, the comedy Modell Bianka from 1951, he wrote scripts for other film directors, such as 1953 Solvay Secret Files for Martin Hellberg. At the same time he developed a concept for a cabaret series around the beginning of 1953, which, after successful test productions, was premiered on May 1, 1953 under the name " Das Stacheltier ". It was a short film series that was later made by a separate production group and satirically dealt with everyday life in the GDR . The series was propagandistically directed against the capitalist adversaries from West Germany. By 1958 Groschopp had realized around 50 of the 275 “spiny animals”.

After his commitment to the quill animals, the artist concentrated again on the feature film in 1958. He filmed many contemporary subjects, such as Ware for Catalonia (1959) and 1961 the comedy Love and the Co-Pilot , which was a highly regarded audience success. His film Die Glatzkopfbande , premiered in 1963, sparked fierce controversy because it was rated as “too brutal” and later banned from movie theaters, despite the good public response. His next film, Parole from 1965, received less attention. This changed in 1967 when his Indian film Chingachgook, the big snake with Gojko Mitić as the main actor, became a major crowd puller in GDR cinemas. The DEFA-Western was his last and also his most successful movie. After his success he worked as a director for television in the GDR until he ended his work as a film and television director with the television film Filmmaker in 1971.

Other work

Groschopp worked his life as a director for short films and especially for amateur films, wrote countless articles for them and was appointed President of the GDR's National Center for Amateur Films. He was also editor-in-chief of the magazine “Film für alle” from 1956 to 1960 and wrote countless manuals for amateur filmmakers. From 1959 to 1962 he headed the directing department at the German Academy for Film Art in Potsdam-Babelsbergden .

Richard Groschopp was married to the publicist Ursula Madrasch-Groschopp and lived in Kleinmachnow from 1958 until his death in 1996 .

Filmography

Unless otherwise stated, it is a short film.

  • 1932: Aristocrats screenplay, direction, camera and editing
  • 1932: Little Mutz's Wonderful Adventures Screenplay, direction, production, camera and editing
  • 1934: A Little King Tragedy Screenplay, direction, production, camera, editing and sound
  • 1936: Winkel des Glücks Screenplay, direction and editing
  • 1937: Lace-making in the Erzgebirge script, direction, camera and editing
  • 1937: Manufacture of toys in the Erzgebirge, script, direction, camera and editing
  • 1937: Script, direction, camera and editing with Federbusch and Harnisch
  • 1937: Chalk extraction on Rügen Script, direction, camera and editing
  • 1937: Children save script, direction and editing
  • 1937: Production of the W 9 alternating current meter. Screenplay, direction, camera and editing
  • 1937: Elbestadt bei Nacht Screenplay, direction, camera and editing
  • 1937: Bommerli screenplay, direction, production, camera and editing
  • 1938: Tournament games screenplay, direction and editing
  • 1938: Trajektverkehr Germany - Sweden Screenplay, direction, camera and editing
  • 1938: Eine Grenzstelle Script, direction and editing
  • 1936–1938: Olympia. 1st part: Festival of the Nations (cinema propaganda film) camera work
  • 1936–1938: Olympia. Part 2: Festival of Beauty (cinema propaganda film) Camera work
  • 1939: From sparkling sparks to sounding funk script, direction and editing
  • 1941: Wischauer Sprachinsel screenplay, direction and camera
  • 1941: Wir Mädels von Arwa script, director, camera and editor
  • 1942: Hosiery in the Erzgebirge, script, director and editor
  • 1942: Strophil director, camera and editor
  • 1942: Kleine Elsaßfahrt Screenplay, direction, camera and editing
  • 1944: Land between the Vosges and the Rhine Script, direction, camera and editing
  • 1944: Get to know warships Screenplay, direction, camera and editing
  • 1944: Get to know merchant ships. Screenplay, direction, camera and editing
  • 1944: Das Gänseliesel Screenplay, direction, camera and editing
  • 1950: Benthin family (feature film) director
  • 1950: Kampf um Wasser Screenplay, direction and production management
  • 1951: Model Bianka (feature film) screenplay and direction
  • 1952: Secret Files Solvay (cinema propaganda film) screenplay
  • 1953–1958: Das Stacheltier (satirical short film series, around 50 episodes) screenplay and direction
  • 1955: 52 weeks are a year (feature film) script and direction
  • 1958: They all knew each other (feature film) screenwriting and directing
  • 1959: Ware for Catalonia (feature film) script and direction
  • 1959: Before the lightning strikes (feature film) script and direction
  • 1962: Acquittal for lack of evidence (feature film) script and director
  • 1962: Die Glatzkopfbande (feature film) screenplay and direction
  • 1963: Carl von Ossietzky (TV feature film) director
  • 1965: Parole (feature film) Director
  • 1967: Chingachgook, the Great Snake (feature film) screenplay and director
  • 1968: Secret Command Ciupaga (three-part TV miniseries) directed
  • 1971: Offer from Schenectady (TV feature film) script and direction
  • 1971: Filmmaker (TV feature film), screenplay and director

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Groschopp, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German film director, screenwriter, cameraman and film editor
DATE OF BIRTH February 19, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Kölleda , Thuringia
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 1996
Place of death Kleinmachnow near Berlin