Wera Liessem

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Wera Liessem (born April 23, 1909 in Altona , Schleswig-Holstein Province , Kingdom of Prussia , † September 11, 1991 ) was a German actress and dramaturge .

Life

The sister of the theater director Kurt Liessem (1900–1937), who works in South Africa and what is now Namibia , was brought to the German Theater in Cape Town by her older brother when she was 18 years old . Immediately thereafter, Wera Liessem returned to Germany, where she made her German debut at the Bamberg City Theater in 1928. This was followed by engagements in Frankfurt am Main, Zurich, at the Münchner Kammerspiele , in Berlin and at the Vienna Volkstheater , where she a. a. in Ödön von Horváths With her head through the wall played the main female role.

In addition, she went on a stage tour in 1949/50 with Hans Albers as Julie in Ferenc Molnár's Liliom .

Wera Liessem's short film career, spanning only three years, began in 1932. During this time she received roles in thirteen feature film productions and played alongside Heinz Rühmann ( dash through the bill ), Brigitte Helm ( one of us ), Viktor de Kowa ( two in the sunshine ) and Rudolf Klein-Rogge ( between heaven and earth ), in Period film Das Mädchen Johanna (with Angela Salloker as Jeanne d'Arc ), in Thea von Harbou's drama The First Right of the Child and in the National Socialist propaganda strip SA Mann Brand . In 1933 she was also given the female lead in Fritz Lang's socially critical thriller The Testament of Dr. Mabuse .

In addition, she lent as a voice actress a. a. Binnie Barnes in the German dubbing of Das Privatleben Heinrichs VIII. Her voice.

1936 Vera Liessems film career ended when she decided to deal with her then-boyfriend Odon von Horváth before the Nazis to flee Germany and after Vienna moved. After the annexation of Austria , both fled to Paris via Switzerland , where Liessem played alongside Therese Giehse and Leonard Steckel at the Zurich Schauspielhaus Theater . After Horváth's accidental death in June 1938, the actress returned to the Reich, where she continued her stage work.

In 1960 she worked one last time for the film: for the SWF production Die Reise des Simon Feder (with Carl Wery in the title role) she wrote the screenplay based on Howard Rodman's (1920–1985) drama The Explorer .

Filmography

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. 590.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Liessem, Wera
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actress and dramaturge
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Altona adElbe
DATE OF DEATH September 11, 1991