Elsa Wagner (24 January 1881 – 17 August 1975) was a German actress who appeared in numerous theatrical productions and feature films during the 20th century, including 1920's ''
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (german: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) is a 1920 German silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, ...
''.
Life and career

Born as Elisabeth Karoline Auguste Wagner on 24 January 1881 in Reval, in what is now
Tallinn, Estonia, Elsa Wagner pursued training with Maria Spettini in
Saint Petersburg, Russia prior to making her acting debut in
Berlin, Germany in 1901. In addition to her performances on tour with multiple theater productions, including ''Faust'' and ''Peer Gynt'', she went on to secure roles in more than 140 feature films, including Robert Wiene's ''Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari'' (''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'') and Karl Heinz Martin's ''Von Morgens bis Mitternachts'' (
From Morn to Midnight) in 1920,
F. W. Murnau's 1922 ''Das Brennende Acker'' (''The Burning Earth''), Gerhard Lamprecht's ''
Die Buddenbrooks'' and Wiene's
I.N.R.I.
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In the Koine Greek of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as '' Basileus ton Ioudaion'' ().
Both uses of t ...
in 1923, and E. R. Dupont's 1929 ''
Atlantik''.
[Eisner, Lotte H. ]
The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt
', pp. 349, 351, 354. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1969.
Wagner died in Berlin on 17 August 1975 and was interred at the
Cemetery Dahlem.
Selected filmography
* ''
The Wandering Light
''The Wandering Light'' (German: ''Das wandernde Licht'') is a 1916 German silent drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Henny Porten, Bruno Decarli and Theodor Becker. It was based on a short story by Ernst von Wildenbruch. A Count ...
'' (1916)
* ''
The Foreign Prince'' (1918)
* ''
The Rosentopf Case
''The Rosentopf Case'' (German: ''Der Fall Rosentopf'') is a 1918 German silent comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Lubitsch, Trude Hesterberg and Margarete Kupfer.Thomson p.145
It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. Th ...
'' (1918)
* ''
The Victors'' (1918)
* ''
The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' (1918)
* ''
Ruth's Two Husbands'' (1919)
* ''
Anita Jo'' (1919)
* ''
The Living Dead'' (1919)
* ''
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (german: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) is a 1920 German silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, ...
'' (1920)
* ''
Satanas'' (1920)
* ''
The Night of Queen Isabeau'' (1920)
* ''
The Marquise of Armiani'' (1920)
* ''
The Golden Crown'' (1920)
* ''
Monika Vogelsang'' (1920)
* ''
The Closed Chain'' (1920)
* ''
Comrades'' (1921)
* ''
Wandering Souls'' (1921)
* ''
Barmaid'' (1922)
* ''
The Treasure of Gesine Jacobsen'' (1923)
* ''
I.N.R.I.
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In the Koine Greek of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as '' Basileus ton Ioudaion'' ().
Both uses of t ...
'' (1923)
* ''
The Found Bride'' (1925)
* ''
If Only It Weren't Love'' (1925)
* ''
A Free People'' (1925)
* ''
One Minute to Twelve
''One Minute to Twelve'' (German: ''Eine Minute vor Zwölf'') is a 1925 German silent drama film directed by Nunzio Malasomma and starring Luciano Albertini, Charlotte Ander and Elsa Wagner.Grange p.211
In 1927 it was released in Britain by G ...
'' (1925)
* ''
People to Each Other
''People to Each Other'' (german: Menschen untereinander) is a 1926 German silent film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Alfred Abel, Aud Egede-Nissen, and Eduard Rothauser. The film's art direction was by Otto Moldenhauer
Otto Molden ...
'' (1926)
* ''
Children of No Importance'' (1926)
* ''
The Master of Nuremberg
''The Master of Nuremberg'' (german: Der Meister von Nürnberg) is a 1927 German silent historical comedy film directed by Ludwig Berger and starring Rudolf Rittner, Max Gülstorff and Gustav Fröhlich. It is based on the 1868 opera ''Die Meist ...
'' (1927)
* ''
The Sporck Battalion'' (1927)
* ''
The Girl with the Five Zeros'' (1927)
* ''
Lotte'' (1928)
* ''
The Old Fritz'' (1928)
* ''
Violantha
''Violantha'' is a 1928 German-Swiss silent film directed by Carl Froelich and starring Henny Porten, Mathilde Sussin and William Dieterle.Parish & Canham p.118 The film is set in Switzerland and is based on a novel by Ernst Zahn. In 1942 it w ...
'' (1928)
* ''
Luther'' (1928)
* ''
The Burning Heart'' (1929)
* ''
Marriage in Trouble
''Marriage in Trouble'' (German: ''Ehe in Not'') is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Elga Brink, Walter Rilla and Evelyn Holt. It was shot at the EFA Studios in Berlin. The film's art direction was by Franz ...
'' (1929)
* ''
Rustle of Spring'' (1929)
* ''
Atlantik'' (1929)
* ''
The Trunks of Mr. O.F.'' (1931)
* ''
Three from the Unemployment Office'' (1932)
* ''
The Eleven Schill Officers'' (1932)
* ''
What Men Know'' (1933)
* ''
Music in the Blood'' (1934)
* ''
The Girl Irene
''The Girl Irene'' (german: Das Mädchen Irene) is a 1936 German drama film directed by Reinhold Schünzel and starring Lil Dagover, Sabine Peters and Geraldine Katt. It is based on the British play ''Sixteen'' by Aimée Stuart about the widowed ...
'' (1936)
* ''
Moscow-Shanghai'' (1936)
* ''
The Divine Jetta'' (1937)
* ''
Daphne and the Diplomat'' (1937)
* ''
Capers'' (1937)
* ''
Unternehmen Michael'' (1937)
* ''
Dangerous Game'' (1937)
* ''
Anna Favetti'' (1938)
* ''
You and I'' (1938)
* ''
Freight from Baltimore'' (1938)
* ''
Dance on the Volcano'' (1938)
* ''
Target in the Clouds
''Target in the Clouds'' (German: ''Ziel in den Wolken'') is a 1939 German drama film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Albert Matterstock, Leny Marenbach and Brigitte Horney. It was based on a novel by Hans Rabl. The film portrays t ...
'' (1939)
* ''
Her First Experience
''Her First Experience'' (german: Ihr erstes Erlebnis) is a 1939 German romance film directed by Josef von Báky and starring Ilse Werner, Johannes Riemann and Charlott Daudert.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Willy Schiller. L ...
'' (1939)
* ''
The Leghorn Hat'' (1939)
* ''
Police Report'' (1939)
* ''
Heimkehr'' (1941)
* ''
A Gust of Wind'' (1942)
* ''
Front Theatre
''Front Theatre'' (German: ''Fronttheater'') is a 1942 German drama film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Heli Finkenzeller, René Deltgen and Lothar Firmans.
It was made at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and the Cinetone S ...
'' (1942)
* ''
Tell the Truth'' (1946)
* ''
And the Heavens Above Us'' (1947)
* ''
Wozzeck'' (1947)
* ''
No Place for Love'' (1947)
* ''
Thank You, I'm Fine'' (1948)
* ''
Night of the Twelve
''Night of the Twelve'' (german: Die Nacht der Zwölf) is a 1949 German crime film directed by Hans Schweikart and starring Rudolf Fernau, Ferdinand Marian and Mady Rahl.Davidson & Hake p. 60
It was made at the Bavaria Studios in Munich in 1945. ...
'' (1949)
* ''
The Marriage of Figaro'' (1949)
* ''
Christina'' (1953)
* ''
Love's Awakening'' (1953)
* ''
The Stronger Woman'' (1953)
* ''
Before God and Man'' (1955)
* ''
La Paloma'' (1959)
* ''
Crime After School'' (1959)
* ''
The Haunted Castle'' (1960)
* ''
Sweetheart of the Gods'' (1960)
* ''
Emil and the Detectives
''Emil and the Detectives'' () is a 1929 novel set mainly in Berlin, by the German writer Erich Kästner and illustrated by Walter Trier. It was Kästner's first major success and the only one of his pre-1945 works to escape Nazi censorship. T ...
'' (1964)
* ''
Our Willi Is the Best
''Our Willi Is the Best'' (german: Unser Willi ist der Beste ) is a 1971 German comedy film directed by Werner Jacobs and starring Heinz Erhardt, Ruth Stephan and Rudolf Schündler. Now retired from his civil service job, Willi becomes a door-to-d ...
'' (1971)
* ''
The Pedestrian
"The Pedestrian" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury. This story was originally published in the August 7, 1951 issue of '' The Reporter'' by The Fortnightly Publishing Company. It is included in the collection ...
'' (1973)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Elsa
1881 births
1975 deaths
German stage actresses
German film actresses
Baltic-German people
German silent film actresses
20th-century German actresses
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany