CCC Film (German: Central Cinema Compagnie-Film GmbH) is a German film production company founded in 1946 by

Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946. Life and career He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...

. A Polish Jew who survived the Nazi era by fleeing to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, he lost dozens of relatives to the Nazis. His primary interest was making films about the Nazi era, but after his first such film failed at the box office, throwing him into debt, he began producing entertainment films, the commercial success of which then financed his

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

-related films, some of which also became successful. In 2009, Brauner donated 21 Holocaust-related films to

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

1946–1950s

On September 16, 1946, Brauner founded CCC Film with Joseph Einstein, his brother-in-law, a

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

eer in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

,Hans Schmid
"Old Atze und der Schatz im Silbersee"
'' Heise'' Online. (August 23, 2008) Retrieved March 1, 2012 with a capital investment of 21,000 Reichsmarks in the American sector of postwar Germany. They had money, but no license from the American authorities, without which, it was impossible to produce anything. Two months later, Einstein quit the enterprise, leaving Brauner as sole owner. The first CCC-produced film was the 1947 '' King of Hearts'', followed in 1948 by partially self-autobiographical"Sein letztes Kapitel"
'' Der Tagesspiegel'' (April 21, 2008). Retrieved March 1, 2012 '' Morituri'', directed by Eugen York. ''Morituri'' tells the story of a Polish refugee from a

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

. After a few theaters were damaged, the film was boycotted by other theaters and became a

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

disaster, nearly ruining CCC Film and Brauner, and causing him to begin producing "normal films" in order to pay off his debt, as he told ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine in 2003.William Boston
"Burying the Past"
''

'' (October 1, 2003). Retrieved February 29, 2012 Postwar German audiences, struggling with devastated cities, homelessness and hunger, wanted escapist movies in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and Brauner filled that desire with a mixture of comedies,

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

s, crime stories and the occasional drama. In 1949, Brauner finally received his license from the American authorities and CCC Film produced three successful films and moved to a former Nazi munitions and poison gas factory in Haselhorst, a locality in the

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

district of

. Brauner later said, "Out of the poison-gas factory I wanted to make a dream factory." In the 1950s, CCC continued producing its proven mix of light-hearted fare and hired directors such as Carl Boese,

Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...

, Robert Adolf Stemmle, Géza von Bolváry, Akos von Ratony, Kurt Neumann,

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

and Erich Engel. Actors and actresses such as

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

, Maria Schell, Gert Fröbe,

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a ...

, Curd Jürgens and Romy Schneider were featured, some, like Kinski, making his film debut. It became one of the largest producers of postwar German-language films and helped to establish Berlin as a center of German film and television production. CCC produced ' directed by Franz Cap in 1952. In 1955, the company produced '' The Plot to Assassinate Hitler'', directed by Falk Harnack and co-written by Günther Weisenborn, about the failed July 20, 1944 attempt on

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's life.Both director Falk Harnack and screenwriter Günther Weisenborn were former members of the German Resistance and Weisenborn was imprisoned by the Nazis for several years. In addition, Harnack's brother, sister-in-law and cousins were all executed by the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. Other more challenging films from the 1950s were '' Die Ratten'' (directed by

Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German Jewish film director. His career spanned some 40 years, working extensively in the United States and France, as well as in his native country. Though he worked in many genres, he was ...

) adapted from a play by

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner Gerhart Hauptmann; ' (1956, directed by Rudolf Jugert) adapted from a book by Vicki Baum; and '' Vor Sonnenuntergang'' (1956, directed by

Gottfried Reinhardt Gottfried Reinhardt (20 March 1913 – 19 July 1994) was an Austrian-born American film director and producer. Biography Reinhardt was born in Berlin, the son of the Austrian theater director Max Reinhardt (until 1904: Max Goldmann), mana ...

), also adapted from Hauptmann. CCC produced 19 films in 1958 and began working on large productions. By the end of the 1950s, the company had built five additional film studios on its Haselhorst property, outfitting them with equipment for film and television production.

The 1960s

At the end of the 1950s, CCC began a string of Karl May films and historical dramas and Brauner brought important directors back from exile, such as

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

William Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood primarily a ...

and Gerd Oswald. In 1959, the company produced '' The Tiger of Eschnapur'' and '' The Indian Tomb'', directed by Lang; in 1960, '' Mistress of the World'' directed by Dieterle; and ''

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

'' directed by Henry Levin in 1964. The company also began co-producing low-budget films by American

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

directors like

Hugo Fregonese Hugo Geronimo Fregonese (8 April 1908 – 11 January 1987) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter who worked both in Hollywood and his home country during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema.''Cine Na ...

and Russ Meyer. Brauner tried to establish a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

production base, but abandoned this after making two films, one of which was '' Station Six-Sahara'' (1962) by Seth Holt. In the mid-1960s, the

French New Wave The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French European art cinema, art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentat ...

introduced a new, more realistic and contemporary way of filmmaking. Brauner pursued just one such project, called '' Man and Beast'' and directed by Edwin Zbonek. The effort was neither a commercial nor an artistic success. CCC then returned to its safe formula of entertainment ventures, such as Karl May films, a series of Doctor Mabuse films and movies with sequels, such as '' The Treasure of the Aztecs'' and its sequel, '' The Pyramid of the Sun God''. Nonetheless, when German television station ZDF moved to

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

and no longer used CCC facilities to produce their programs, Brauner was forced to reverse his company's expansion of just a few years earlier.

The 1970s and beyond

In 1970, CCC Film co-produced '' The Garden of the Finzi Continis'' (''Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini'') directed by Vittorio De Sica, which won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for ''Best Foreign Language Film''. With his large studio space less in demand and his staff already reduced from over 200 in the 1950s to 85, Brauner closed the studios and laid off his remaining employees in September 1970,Hans Schmid
"Winnetou und der Häuptling der Komantschen: Atze Brauner jagt Karl May"
'' Heise'' Online. (August 23, 2008). Retrieved March 2, 2012 afterwards working instead on occasional projects, such as ' in 1974, directed by

Aleksander Ford Aleksander Ford (born Mosze Lifszyc; 24 November 1908 in Kiev, Russian Empire – 4 April 1980 in Naples, Florida, United States, U.S.) was a Polish film director and head of the Polish People's Army of Poland, People's Army Film Crew in the Sov ...

; '' Eine Liebe in Deutschland'' in 1983, directed by

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...

; and '' Hanussen'' in 1988, directed by István Szabó. He also continued to produce projects related to Nazi

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s, such as '' Die Weiße Rose'' in 1983, directed by Michael Verhoeven; '' Europa Europa'' in 1990, directed by Agnieszka Holland and nominated for an Oscar. In 2003, he produced ''

Babi Yar Babi Yar () or Babyn Yar () is a ravine in the Ukraine, Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during Eastern Front (World War II), its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. The first and ...

'', directed by the American director Jeff Kanew, about the mass executions at

, which included 12 members of Brauner's family. In 2006, Brauner produced '' The Last Train'', directed by

Joseph Vilsmaier Joseph Vilsmaier (, 24 January 1939 – 11 February 2020) was a German film director who began his career as a technician and cameraman. He is internationally known for films such as ''Comedian Harmonists (film), Comedian Harmonists''. Life Bo ...

and Dana Vávrová, about the last transport of Jews from Berlin to Auschwitz. In 2009, Brauner donated 21 of his Holocaust-related films to

, and in his honor, Yad Vashem named its media research center after him.Liat Benhabib and Mimi Ash
"Visual Center Receives Artur Brauner Film Collection"
(PDF) ''

Jerusalem Quarterly Magazine'' Vol. 57, (April 2010), p. 20. Retrieved March 1, 2012

Notes

References

Sources

, ''Mich gibt's nur einmal – Rückblende eines Lebens.'' Munich (1978) * Claudia Dillmann, ''Artur Brauner und die CCC – Filmgeschäft, Produktionsalltag, Studiogeschichte 1946–1990.'' Frankfurt am Main (1990)

External links

CCC Film
official website. (Homepage has link (top, right) for English version, then use the navigation bar for English pages.)

Dirk Jasper Film Lexicon. Republished from Concorde Film. (November 2006). Retrieved March 1, 2012
Artur Brauner-Archiv
Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt/Main {{DEFAULTSORT:CCC Film Film production companies of Germany Entertainment companies of Germany