Albert Lieven (born Albert Fritz Liévin; 22 June 1906 – 22 December 1971) was a German actor.
Early life
Lieven was born in
Hohenstein,
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
. His father was the head physician of the
Tuberculosis sanatorium Hohenstein, where Lieven grew up. He started to study medicine but stopped the studies for financial reasons.
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Career
Lieven started his career at theaters in Gera
Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...
and Königsberg
Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
. His first screen role was in the German film '' Annemarie, die Braut der Kompanie'' (''Bride of the Company'') in 1932. During the next four years he appeared in another sixteen films, including the German film adaptation of '' Charley's Aunt''.[
Owing to the rise of the ]Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
in Germany and his wife Tatjana being Jewish, they moved to Britain in 1937. However, he spent the years of the Second World War mainly in roles depicting Nazis in British films, not finding them overly challenging as an actor.
Lieven appeared on the London stage in 1939 in the comedy ''Rake's Progress'' (not the later Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French W ...
film of the same title), but was largely acting in films (among them ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' is a 1943 British romantic-war film written, produced and directed by the British film-making team of Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and ...
'', 1943). In 1943 he appeared in the West End production '' The Lisbon Story''.
Lieven appeared in many cinema productions, and in 1940, he was credited in seven, in all of which he played the role of a German.
He was under contract to Rank for five years from 1945. It has been claimed that he only appeared in one film during this contract, '' Sleeping Car to Trieste''. In fact, however, he appeared in several other films for companies controlled by Rank during this period, as part of his contract. These included '' Marry Me!'' (1949), which was made for Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, east London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The co ...
, and ''Frieda'' (1947), made for Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
, both of which were subsidiaries of Rank.
He returned to Germany in 1951, and appeared in many films made there. He also was in films both in Britain and Hollywood.
Family
Married four times, Lieven is the grandfather of the England rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player Toby Flood. Lieven died in London.
Selected filmography
* '' Annemarie, die Braut der Kompanie'' (1932) as Fähnrich Werner v. Schumann
* '' I by Day, You by Night'' (1932) as Wolf
* ''Kampf um Blond'' (1933) as Victor
* '' Ripening Youth'' (1933) as Knud Sengebusch, Abiturient
* ''Die vom Niederrhein'' (1933) as Hans Steinherr
* ''Es tut sich was um Mitternacht'' (1934) as Nikolaus 'Nicki' Durmann
* '' Charley's Aunt'' (1934) as Jack Chesney
* ''Krach um Jolanthe'' (1934) as Wesemeier, der neue Lehrer
* '' Miss Liselott'' (1934) as Peter Wendt, Architekt
* '' Trouble with Jolanthe'' (1934) as Wesemeier, der neue Lehrer
* ''Eine Siebzehnjährige'' (1934) as Walter
* ''Glückspilze'' (1935) as Hans Berding
* '' Hermine and the Seven Upright Men'' (1935) as Karl
* '' Make Me Happy'' (1935) as William Davenport
* '' Carnival in Flanders'' (1936) as Johann Brueghel
* ''Kater Lampe'' (1936) as Fritz Neumerkel – Schnitzergeselle
* '' A Woman of No Importance'' (1936) as Gerald Arbuthnot
* ''Victoria the Great
''Victoria the Great'' is a 1937 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook and Walter Rilla. When Laurence Housman's play '' Victoria Regina'' was banned by the Lord Chamberlain (in 1935 the r ...
'' (1937) as Minor Role (uncredited)
* ''The Deacon and the Jewess'' (1939) as Simon
* '' Spy for a Day'' (1940) as Capt. Hausemann
* '' For Freedom'' (1940) as Fritz
* ''Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
'' (1940) as U-Boat Commander U.37
* '' Let George Do It!'' (1940) as German Radio Operator (uncredited)
* '' Night Train to Munich'' (1940) as Concentration Camp Guard (uncredited)
* '' Neutral Port'' (1940) as Capt. Grosskraft
* '' Mr. Proudfoot Shows a Light'' (1941) as German
* '' Jeannie'' (1941) as Count von Wittgestein
* ''The Big Blockade
''The Big Blockade'' was a 1942 British black-and-white war propaganda film in the style of dramatised documentary. It was film director, directed by Charles Frend and starred Will Hay, Leslie Banks, Michael Redgrave and John Mills. It was film ...
'' (1942) as German: Gunter
* '' The Young Mr. Pitt'' (1942) as Talleyrand
* ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' is a 1943 British romantic-war film written, produced and directed by the British film-making team of Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and ...
'' (1943) as von Ritter
* ''The Yellow Canary
''The Yellow Canary'' is a 1963 American thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Pat Boone and Barbara Eden. It was adapted by Rod Serling from a novel by Whit Masterson, who also wrote the novel that was the basis for Orson Welles' '' ...
'' (1943) as Captain Jan Orlock
* '' English Without Tears'' (1944) as Felix Dembrowski
* '' The Seventh Veil'' (1945) as Maxwell Leydon
* '' Beware of Pity'' (1946) as Lt. Anton Marek
* '' Frieda'' (1947) as Richard
* '' Sleeping Car to Trieste'' (1948) as Zurta
* '' Marry Me!'' (1949) as Louis (uncredited)
* '' The Dark Light'' (1951) as Mark
* '' Hotel Sahara'' (1951) as Lt von Heillicke
* '' The Dubarry'' (1951) as Alfred Collien
* '' Klettermaxe'' (1952) as Max Malien
* '' Fritz and Friederike'' (1952) as Henry de Voss
* '' Desperate Moment'' (1953) as Paul Ravitch
* '' The Rose of Stamboul'' (1953) as Achmed Bey
* '' Beloved Life'' (1953) as Joachim von Bolin
* '' Homesick for Germany'' (1954) as Fred Berger
* '' Spring Song'' (1954) as Dr. Andermatt
* '' The Confession of Ina Kahr'' (1954) as Dr. Pleyer
* '' The Song of Kaprun'' (1955) as Peter Dahle
* '' Des Teufels General'' (1955) as Oberst Friedrich Eilers
* '' Ripening Youth'' (1955) as Studienrat Dr. Crusius
* '' The Fisherman from Heiligensee'' (1955) as Wolfgang von Döring
* '' Night of Decision'' (1956) as Albert Vernon
* '' Loser Takes All'' (1956) as Hotel Manager
* '' The House of Intrigue'' (1956) as Matt
* '' The Battalion in the Shadows'' (1957)
* ''All the Sins of the Earth
''All the Sins of the Earth'' () is a 1958 West German drama film directed by Fritz Umgelter and starring Barbara Rütting, Ivan Desny and Paul Dahlke (actor), Paul Dahlke.Bock & Bergfelder p. 79
Cast
References
Bibliography
*
Externa ...
'' (1958) as Judge
* ' (1958) as Pierre de Motestant
* '' Subway in the Sky'' (1959) as Carl
* '' Conspiracy of Hearts'' (1960) as Col. Horstein
* '' Brainwashed'' (1960) as Hartmann
* '' Foxhole in Cairo'' (1960) as Gen. Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...
* ''Frau Irene Besser'' (1961)
* '' The Guns of Navarone'' (1961) as Commandant
* '' The Devil's Daffodil'' (1961) as Raymond Lyne
* ' (1962, TV miniseries) as Terry Morris
* '' Death Trap'' (''Edgar Wallace Mysteries
The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''Th ...
'', 1962) as Paul Heindrick
* '' The Devil's Agent'' (1962), as Inspector Huebling
* '' Freddy and the Song of the South Pacific'' (1962) as Siebzehnstern
* '' Mystery Submarine'' (1963) as Captain Neymarck
* '' The Victors'' (1963) as Herr Metzger
* '' Death Drums Along the River'' (1963) as Dr. Franz Weiss
* '' Traitor's Gate'' (1964) as Trayne
* ' (1965, TV miniseries) as Detective Inspector Hyde
* '' City of Fear'' (1965) as Dr. Paul Kovac
* ''African Gold'' (1965) as Karl Du Val
* '' The Avengers'', episode 4-9 ('' A Surfeit of H2O'') (1965) as Dr. Sturm
* '' The Gorilla of Soho'' (1968) as Henry Parker
* ' (1970, TV miniseries) as Gordon Stewart
* '' Die Feuerzangenbowle'' (1970) as Member of the Round table
References
*''Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies'', 14th edition, Harper Collins, 2001;
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieven, Albert
1906 births
1971 deaths
People from Olsztynek
Actors from East Prussia
20th-century German male actors
German male film actors
German male stage actors
German male television actors
Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom