Walter Riml

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Walter Riml (born September 23, 1905 in Innsbruck ; † June 21, 1994 in Steinach am Brenner ) was an Austrian cameraman and film actor .

Life

The 2.05 m tall Tyrolean attended an arts and crafts school and worked as a carpenter and interior designer in the twenties. During the economic depression he worked as a station manager for the construction of the Igls-Patscherkofel cable car . As a passionate skier, he came into contact with mountain film pioneer Arnold Fanck in 1926 . He engaged him through his Berg- und Sport-Film GmbH as a porter and skier for the silent film The Big Jump . Initially impressed by his skiing skills, Dr. Fanck soon also the acting talent of Walter Riml. At the side of Leni Riefenstahl , Hannes Schneider , Rudi Matt , Gustav Diessl and Ernst Udet he played for example. B. in the films Adventure in Engadin or SOS Eisberg and was able to show his great skiing skills and comedic talent there as an actor. His role as a Hamburg carpenter at the side of Guzzi Lantschner in the films The White Rush and North Pole - Ahoi! . The two were considered the German answer to the Danish comedian duo Pat & Patachon . To the North Pole - ahoy! there was no longer a movie with this comedic duo. Walter Riml later said that this was done on the instructions of Goebbels , who said “this is not German humor”. The “instruction” becomes understandable when one knows that the figures of the Hamburg carpenters Tetje & Fietje probably go back to the Jewish vaudeville artists, the Wolf brothers . Even at the beginning of his film career, however, Walter Riml was also interested in the camera trade. As early as 1927 he became a camera assistant for Hans Schneeberger and Richard Angst . It is therefore part of the Freiburg School .

In 1930 Leni Riefenstahl hired Walter Riml as the second cameraman and still photographer for her film Das Blaue Licht . Riefenstahl and Riml knew each other from their collaboration with Arnold Fanck. The world's most famous pictures of Leni Riefenstahl as a junta from this film, as well as most of the work recordings published so far, come from Walter Riml. Then he was hired by Leni Riefenstahl as one of 19 cameramen for her film Triumph des Willens . In 1935 she commissioned Walter Riml to search for a motif in Spain for her planned film Tiefland . Due to a lack of funds, the search had to be canceled later. Riml remained a specialist in mountain and documentary films for a long time , for example in the Luis Trenker films Der Berg ruft and love letters from the Engadin, thanks to his mountaineering and skier qualities, with the then very bulky device. The collaboration between Walter Riml and Arnold Fanck continued even after the National Socialists came to power. In the mid-1930s, Walter Riml accompanied his mentor on a trip to Japan, where he was involved in the film The Samurai's Daughter (1936) and documentaries, including Japan's holy volcano .

During the Second World War he filmed as a war correspondent and was behind the camera for a few short documentaries. A bomb attack in Berlin in 1944 destroyed many of his documents and film materials, including over 30,000 negative images from his trips to Japan and Greenland. Planned film projects with the American film producer Paul Kohner could no longer be realized. After the end of the war, Walter Riml was initially hired as a cameraman by the American Army as a special reporter. In 1946 he was involved, together with director Eduard Wieser and Hubert Koffou, in setting up the only Tyrolean film studio (1946–1952) in Thiersee to date . Riml was behind the camera in six of the 18 films shot in Thiersee . He was also the camera operator for the film Das doppelte Lottchen , shot in Tyrol . In addition, the cameraman was involved in the newly founded Tyrolean Film Union and was the deputy chairman, Theo von Hörmann .

Riml's only son Christian was born during the shooting of the first Austrian color film Kind der Donau with Marika Rökk (1949). Walter Riml stood behind the camera in numerous typical Heimat films over the next few years. In The Silent Angel (1954) and Rosen-Resli (1954) he filmed the child star Christine Kaufmann . Walter Riml also had the camera work for the 1955 Harald Reinl film Solange du Lebst , a war film with Marianne Koch and Adrian Hoven in the leading roles. He often worked with Harald Reinl, with whom he was also on friendly terms.

In 1957 he was one of the first western cameramen to travel to the Soviet Union with three other European colleagues . The result was the Russia documentary We saw with our eyes - Russia today . In the mid-1960s, a lot of work followed for the emerging new medium, television. Riml stands for Professor Heinz Haber's successful TV series "Our Neighbors in Space", the Austrian TV series "Mario", and the TV series "Window Gazer" behind the camera. There were also television reports about well-known athletes such as Jesse Owens , Carl Kaufmann , Bubi Scholz , Jutta Heine and Martin Lauer as well as film portraits about Freddy Quinn and Abi & Esther Ofarim . In 1960, Walter Riml was hired as a cameraman for the first three episodes of the first season of the now legendary crime series Funkstreife Isar 12 .

Until 1962 he was responsible for the camera work in many well-known mountain and homeland films. 1962, the American director was John Sturges noticed him and hired him as a second cameraman for the film The Great Escape (The Great Escape). Riml filmed the international stars Steve McQueen , Richard Attenborough and Charles Bronson there . His great ability as a mountain film specialist was asked again in 1969 for the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service for the difficult filming of the mountain and ski scenes. His last work was a documentary for US television in 1970 for the film The Last Valley with Michael Caine and Omar Sharif .

In order to secure his pension, because many of his work records were destroyed during the war, Walter Riml worked for 10 years as a house craftsman and carpenter in a hotel in Innsbruck .

At almost 89 years of age, the former cameraman died on June 21, 1994 after a serious cancer illness.

In his long film life he has been behind the camera for over 100 feature and documentary productions.

Filmography

actor

camera operator

literature

"Busted Chains - The Great Escape", behind the scenes, photographs by cameraman Walter Riml, publisher Helma Türk & Christian Riml, self-published 2013

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Testimony about the activities of W. Riml v. December 21, 1927, estate of Walter Riml
  2. 1930: The white intoxication. Walter Riml's estate, accessed on January 23, 2011 (film program + photos).
  3. Confirmation letter from director Dr. Arnold Fanck on working as a camera assistant at Schneeberger und Angst, dated October 4, 1935. The letter is in the estate of Walter Riml.
  4. ^ Leni Riefenstahl: Fight in snow and ice. 69. Hesse & Becker Verlag, Leipzig 1933
  5. ^ Leni Riefenstahl: Memoirs. S. 144. A. Knaus Verlag Munich-Hamburg 1987
  6. 1931: The blue light. Walter Riml's estate, archived from the original on January 23, 2011 ; Retrieved on January 23, 2011 (historical outline, still photos and work photos by Walter Riml).
  7. ^ Leni Riefenstahl: Memoirs. P. 21ff. A. Knaus Verlag Munich-Hamburg 1987
  8. 1936: Japan. Walter Riml's estate, archived from the original on January 23, 2011 ; accessed on January 23, 2011 (extract from passport + photos).
  9. ^ Filmkurier of May 5, 1936. Article: Walter Riml writes from Japan .
  10. ^ Filmkurier of October 12, 1936. Article: Walter Riml - A cameraman tells .
  11. Correspondence between Walter Riml and Paul Kohner between February and April 1937. The correspondence is in the estate of Walter Riml.
  12. Helma Türk: Filmland Tyrol! - A journey through Tyrol's film history. P. 29ff. Self-published, Innsbruck-Bad Reichenhall 2007
  13. ^ Newspaper voice of Tyrol v. March 19, 1947, Article Tyrolean filmmakers want to be able to work , founding meeting
  14. Tiroler Tageszeitung v. March 3, 1947, article Constituent assembly of Tyrolean filmmakers
  15. 1956: Russia - Russia. Walter Riml's estate, accessed on January 23, 2011 (photographs).
  16. ^ Contract as a cameraman between the Bavaria Atelier Gesellschaft MBH Munich and Walter Riml dated November 8, 1960. The contract is part of Walter Riml's estate.
  17. ^ "Busted Chains - The Great Escape" Behind the scenes, photographs by the cameraman Walter Riml, published by Helma Türk & Christian Riml, self-published 2013 [1]
  18. Photo gallery. Walter Riml's estate, archived from the original on January 23, 2011 ; accessed on January 23, 2011 (work recordings vd filming).
  19. 1968: James Bond. Walter Riml's estate, accessed on January 23, 2011 (document + photos).