Conrad Wiene (3 February 1878 – after May 1934) was an actor,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

and director of Austrian and German

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

. He was the younger brother of German film director

Robert Wiene Robert Wiene (; 27 April 1873 – 17 July 1938) was a film director of the silent era of German cinema. He is particularly known for directing the German silent film ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' and a succession of other German Expressionism, ...

Biography

Conrad Wiene was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, younger son of the successful actor Carl Wiene, in whose footsteps Conrad initially followed as a stage and screen actor. He co-directed his first films with his elder brother Robert, and later made almost twenty feature films, mostly silent. On most of them he also wrote the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

s. He worked in Berlin, Prague and Breslau (

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

) and above all in Vienna, where several of his silent films were shot in the

Schönbrunn Studios The Schönbrunn Studios were film studios located in the Austrian capital Vienna in the grounds of the Schönbrunn Palace. It took over the site of the old palm house, which had been replaced by the newer Palmenhaus Schönbrunn in the 1880s. Estab ...

(''Schönbrunn-Ateliers''). His name was connected with the first proposal in 1930 in Vienna to film

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. Feuchtwanger's Ju ...

's 1925

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

Jud Süß (, "Süss the Jew") is a 1940 Nazi German historical drama and propaganda film produced by Terra Film at the behest of Joseph Goebbels. It is considered one of the most antisemitic films of all time. The film was directed by Veit Harlan, who ...

'' ("Jew Süss"), but the project never reached the production stage. With the arrival and dominance of

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

, Wiene worked in Germany. After

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

took power in Germany in 1933, Wiene, who was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Siegbert Salomon Prawer Siegbert Salomon Prawer (15 February 1925 – 5 April 2012) was Taylor Professor of the German Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. Life and works Prawer was born on 15 February 1925 in Cologne, Germany, to Jewish parents ...

, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910–1933'',

Berghahn Books Berghahn Books is a New York and Oxford-based publisher of scholarly books and academic journals in the humanities and social sciences, with a special focus on social & cultural anthropology, European history, politics, and film & media s ...

(2007), p. 211 left Berlin for Vienna. He left Vienna in May 1934 and his subsequent fate is unknown.

Selected filmography

* ''

Eros in Chains ''Eros in Chains'' (German: ''Eros in Ketten'') is a 1929 Austrian-German silent drama film directed by Conrad Wiene and starring Emmy Flemmich, Maly Delschaft and Walter Slezak.Dassanowsky p.38 Cast * Emmy Flemmich as Frau Maria Reinke * ...

'', 1932 (director) * ''

Viennese Waltz Viennese waltz (german: Wiener Walzer) is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in b ...

'', 1932 (director) * ''Durchlaucht amüsiert sich'', 1931/1932 (director) * '' A Waltz by Strauss'' (1931) (director) * ''

Madame Bluebeard ''Madame Bluebeard'' (German: ''Madame Blaubart'') is a 1931 Austrian drama film directed by Conrad Wiene and starring Lil Dagover, Harry Frank and Otto Hartmann.Waldman p.31 The film's sets were designed by the art director Hans Ledersteger. ...

'', 1930/1931 (director and producer) * ''Das Geheimnis der Martha Lüders'', 1930 (director) * ''Eine Dirne ist ermordet worden'', 1930 (director); the last Austrian silent film; press screening on February 28, 1930 (Haydn-Kino) * ''

'', 1929 (director and screenplay) * ''Revolution der Jugend'', 1929 (director and screenplay) * ''

The Fourth from the Right ''The Fourth from the Right'' (German: ''Die vierte von rechts'') is a 1929 German silent comedy film directed by Conrad Wiene and starring Ossi Oswalda, Betty Bird and Arthur Pusey.Habel p.197 The film's sets were designed by the art director ...

'' (1929) (director) * ''

Strauss Is Playing Today ''Strauss Is Playing Today'' (german: Heut' spielt der Strauss) is a 1928 German silent drama film directed by Conrad Wiene and starring Alfred Abel, Hermine Sterler and Imre Ráday. The film was made at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin.Jung, Ul ...

'' (''Der Walzerkönig''), 1928 (director) * ''

Excluded from the Public ''Excluded from the Public'' (German: ''Unter Ausschluß der Öffentlichkeit'') is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Conrad Wiene and starring Werner Krauss, Maly Delschaft and Vivian Gibson.St. Pierre p.207 It was shot at the Staak ...

'' (1927) (director) * ''

Trude Trude is a Germanic Old Norse feminine given name meaning "strength". The name is now most commonly found in Germany and German-speaking countries and in Norway. It is sometimes used as a diminutive of the given names Gertrude and Gertrud. ...

'', 1926 (director and screenplay) * ''Die kleine Dingsda'', 1926 (director and screenplay) * ''Ich hatt' einen Kameraden'', 1926 (director) * ''

The Clever Fox ''The Clever Fox'' (German: ''Der krasse Fuchs'') is a 1926 German silent comedy film directed by Conrad Wiene and starring Hans Brausewetter, Clementine Plessner and Werner Pittschau. The film premiered in Berlin on 4 March 1926.Grange p.220 ...

'' (1926), (director and screenplay) * ''

Curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

'', 1925 (director and screenplay) * ''

The Power of Darkness ''The Power of Darkness'' (russian: Власть тьмы, Vlast′ t′my) is a five- act drama by Leo Tolstoy. Written in 1886, the play's production was forbidden in Russia until 1902, mainly through the influence of Konstantin Pobedonostsev. ...

'' (''Die Macht der Finsternis''), 1923/1924 (director) * '' The Inheritance'', 1922(director and screenplay) * '' The Testament of Joe Sivers'' (1922) (director) * ''Glanz und Elend der Kurtisanen'' 1920 (director) * ''Glanz und Elend der Kurtisanen'' 1920 (director) * ''Die Spinne'', 1919 (director) * ''Zwei Welten'', 1919 (director and screenplay) * ''Am Tor des Lebens'', 1918 (director) * ''Der Stärkere'', 1918 (director and screenplay) * ''Der letzte Erbe von Lassa'', 1918 (director and screenplay) * ''Der vorsichtige Kapitalist'', 1918 (director and screenplay) * ''Das verschnupfte Miezerl'', 1917 (director) * ''Dem Frieden entgegen'', 1917 (director) * ''Frank Boyers Diener'', 1917/1918 (director) * ''Veilchen Nr. 4'', 1917 (director) * ''Der Mann im Spiegel'', 1916 (director) * ''Die Dame mit der Maske'', 1916 (director) * ''Der Evangelimann'', 1914 (director) * '' The Weapons of Youth'', 1912/1913 (actor)

Notes

External links

*
Filmportal.de: Conrad Wiene

References

* Bono, F., Canappele, P., Krenn, G., 1999: ''Elektrische Schatten: Beiträge zur österreichischen Stummfilmgeschichte''. Verlag Filmarchiv Austria. , {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiene, Conrad 1878 births Austrian Jews German people of Austrian-Jewish descent Silent film directors Film people from Vienna Year of death unknown