Karl Anton or Karel Anton (25 October 1898 12 April 1979) was a Bohemian-born German

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

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. ...

and

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 ...

Biography

He was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

on 25 October 1898. His father Wilhelm Anton (1861–1918) was a physician. Anton studied medicine, but left the school after his father's death. He started as a stage actor and director 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 ...

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

and Prague. During the World War I Anton made amateur documentaries with his friends

Karel Lamač Karel Lamač (27 January 1897 – 2 August 1952) was a Czech film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He directed more than 100 films in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Life Lam ...

and

Otto Heller Otto Heller, B.S.C. (8 March 1896 – 19 February 1970) was a Czech cinematographer long resident in the United Kingdom. He worked on more than 250 films, including ''Richard III'' (1955), '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) and '' Peeping Tom'' (1960) ...

. He directed his first movie, a lyrical drama ''

Gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'', in 1921. Anton is considered an early proponent of Czech lyrical cinema tradition. He founded his own production companies Antonfilm (1923–30) and Sonorfilm (1930–32). After the international success of ''

Tonka of the Gallows ''Tonka of the Gallows'' (Czech: ''Tonka Šibenice'', French: ''Tonischka'', German: ''Die Galgentoni'') is a 1930 Czech drama film directed by Karl Anton and starring Ita Rina, Vera Baranovskaya and Josef Rovenský. It is an adaptation of the ...

'' he worked in Paris for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

from 1932 to 1935. After leaving Paramount he moved to Germany in 1935. He died in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, Germany in 1979. Czech actor

Raoul Schránil Raoul Marian Kristian Schránil (24 March 1910 – 20 September 1998) was a Czech film actor. Life Schránil was born in Most on 24 March 1910. His father Rudolf Schránil was a government secretary. His mother Alexandra Poláková was a singe ...

was his cousin.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1922) * ''

The Kidnapping of Fux the Banker ''The Kidnapping of Fux the Banker'' ( cs, Únos bankéře Fuxe) is a 1923 Czech silent comedy film directed by Karl Anton. The film was inspired by the slapstick comedies about the Keystone Cops. Fashion designer Paul Poiret played himself. O ...

'' (1923) * '' The May Fairy'' (1926) * ''

'' (1930) * ''

A Girl from the Reeperbahn ''A Girl from the Reeperbahn'' (german: Ein Mädel von der Reeperbahn) is a 1930 Czech-German musical film directed by Karl Anton and starring Olga Chekhova, Trude Berliner, and Hans Adalbert Schlettow. It was made in studios in the Czech capita ...

'' (1930) * '' The Affair of Colonel Redl'' (1931) * ''

The Case of Colonel Redl ''The Case of Colonel Redl'' (German: ''Der Fall des Generalstabs-Oberst Redl'') is a 1931 German spy drama film directed by Karl Anton and starring Theodor Loos, Lil Dagover and Otto Hartmann. It was co-production between the Prague-based compa ...

'' (1931) * ''

Monsieur Albert ''Monsieur Albert'' is a 1932 French comedy film directed by Karl Anton and starring Noël-Noël, Betty Stockfeld and Marcel Barencey.Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen. ''The A to Z of French Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009. p. 167. It was ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Champion Cook ''The Champion Cook'' (French: ''Le cordon bleu'') is a 1932 French comedy film directed by Karl Anton and starring Pierre Bertin, Jeanne Helbling and Louis Baron fils.Crisp, Colin. ''Genre, Myth and Convention in the French Cinema, 1929-1939'' ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Naked Truth The Naked Truth may refer to: Literature * ''The Naked Truth'' (novel), a 1993 fictional memoir by Leslie Nielsen * ''The Naked Truth'' (book), a 2007 commentary on film ratings Film * ''The Naked Truth'' (1914 film), a silent Italian film * ...

'' (1932) * '' The Porter from Maxim's'' (1933) * ''

Monsieur Sans-Gêne ''Monsieur Sans-Gêne'' is a 1935 French romantic comedy film directed by Karl Anton and starring Fernand Gravey, Josseline Gaël and Ginette Gaubert. The following year it was remade as an American comedy ''One Rainy Afternoon'', released by Un ...

'' (1935) * ''

White Slaves White slavery (also white slave trade or white slave trafficking) refers to the slavery of Europeans, whether by non-Europeans (such as West Asians and North Africans), or by other Europeans (for example naval galley slaves or the Vikings ...

'' (1936) * ''

We Danced Around the World ''We Danced Around the World'' (german: Wir tanzen um die Welt) is a 1939 German musical film directed by Karl Anton and starring Charlotte Thiele, Irene von Meyendorff, and Carola Höhn Carola Höhn (30 January 1910 – 8 November 2005) was ...

'' (1939) * '' The Star of Rio'' (1940) * ''

The Thing About Styx ''The Thing About Styx'' (german: Die Sache mit Styx) is a 1942 German comedy crime film directed by Karl Anton and starring Laura Solari, Viktor de Kowa and Margit Symo. It was based on the novel '' Rittmeister Styx'' by Georg Mühlen-Schul ...

'' (1942) * ''

The Big Number ''The Big Number'' or ''The Big Act'' (German: ''Die große Nummer'') is a 1943 German drama film directed by Karl Anton and starring Leny Marenbach, Maly Delschaft and Paul Hoffmann. A circus film, it was originally intended to star Harry Piel ...

'' (1943) * '' Peter Voss, Thief of Millions'' (1946) * ''

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

'' (1949) * ''

The Appeal to Conscience ''The Appeal to Conscience'' (german: Ruf an das Gewissen) is a 1949 German mystery film directed by Karl Anton and starring Karl Ludwig Diehl, Werner Hinz and Gustav Diessl.Davidson & Hake p. 61 It was originally shot in 1944, but remained uncom ...

'' (1949) * '' The Exchange'' (1952) * '' The Cousin from Nowhere'' (1953) * '' The Rose of Stamboul'' (1953) * ''

We'll Talk About Love Later ''We'll Talk About Love Later'' (german: Von Liebe reden wir später) is a 1953 West German comedy film directed by Karl Anton and starring Gustav Fröhlich, Maria Holst and Liselotte Pulver.Bock & Bergfelder p. 340 It was shot at the Tempelhof ...

'' (1953) * '' Clivia'' (1954) * '' Bonjour Kathrin'' (1956) * ''

The Daring Swimmer ''The Daring Swimmer'' (german: Der kühne Schwimmer) is a 1934 German comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Ralph Arthur Roberts, Susi Lanner, and Ida Wüst. Cast *Ralph Arthur Roberts as Otto Eberlein *Susi Lanner as Käthe *Ida ...

'' (1957) * ''

Victor and Victoria ''Victor and Victoria'' (german: Viktor und Viktoria) is a 1933 German musical comedy film written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel, starring Renate Müller as a woman pretending to be a female impersonator. The following year, Schünzel ...

'' (1957) * '' The Avenger'' (1960)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anton, Karl 1898 births 1979 deaths 20th-century German screenwriters German male screenwriters German film people German film directors Czechoslovak film directors Czechoslovak male film actors German male writers German film editors German Bohemian people Silent film directors Film directors from Prague Czechoslovak emigrants to Germany