Evelyn Holt (born Edith Toni Elsbeth Wenckens; 3 October 1908 – 22 February 2001) was a German

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Biography

The daughter of a journalist, she began her film career at

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. She quickly advanced to starring roles alongside

Gustav Fröhlich Gustav Friedrich Fröhlich (21 March 1902 – 22 December 1987) was a German actor and film director. He landed secondary roles in a number of films and plays before landing his breakthrough role of Freder Fredersen in Fritz Lang's 1927 in fil ...

and

Hans Albers Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960), also known by his nickname “der blonde Hans” (The Blond Hans), was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the m ...

. After singing lessons, she was committed in 1931 as a

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

at the Grosses Schauspielhaus in Berlin. However, the Nazi takeover ended her film career after six successful years, since she was allegedly half-Jewish. Holt was prohibited from appearing in films. She still enjoyed engagements as a soubrette at the Komische Oper in Berlin. When Jewish publisher Felix Guggenheim (1904–1976) married her in 1936, it was no longer possible. In 1938 the couple emigrated first to Switzerland, then in 1940 to England, and later to the United States. There Guggenheim was exile publisher of authors such as

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...

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 Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

, and Alfred Doblin. Evelyn Holt remained until the end of her life in the U.S. and never returned to movies.

Selected filmography

* ''

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'' (1926) * '' Orphan of Lowood'' (1926) * '' Flirtation'' (1927) * '' Die elf Teufel'' (1927) * ''

The Eighteen Year Old ''The Eighteen Year Old'' () is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Manfred Noa and starring Andrée Lafayette, Ernő Verebes, and Frida Richard. It was made at the Staaken Studios in Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of German ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Gallant Hussar ''The Gallant Hussar'' () is a 1928 German- British romance film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Ivor Novello, Evelyn Holt, and Paul Hörbiger. It was based on a story by the Hungarian writer Arthur Bárdos and Margarete-Maria ...

'' (1928) * ''

Fair Game Fair Game may refer to: Film * ''Fair Game'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * ''Fair Game'' (1986 film), an Australian action film * ''Fair Game'' (1988 film), an Italian thriller-horror film * ''Fair Game'', a 1994 television film sta ...

'' (1928) * '' Marriage in Trouble'' (1929) * ''

Crucified Girl ''Crucified Girl'' (German: ''Mädchen am Kreuz'') is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Jacob Fleck and Luise FleckPrawer p.85 and starring Valerie Boothby, Gertrud de Lalsky and Evelyn Holt. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios i ...

'' (1929) * '' The Three Kings'' (1929) * ''

The Man with the Frog ''The Man with the Frog'' (German: ''Der Mann mit dem Laubfrosch'') is a 1929 German silent crime film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Heinrich George, Hans Junkermann and Evelyn Holt.Caneppele p.53 The film's art direction Art d ...

'' (1929) * '' The Veil Dancer'' (1929) * ''

Marriage in Name Only ''Marriage in Name Only'' () is a 1930 German drama film directed by Heinz Paul and starring Evelyn Holt, Erika Dannhoff, and Wolfgang Zilzer.Bock & Bergfelder p. 397 The film's sets were designed by Robert A. Dietrich. Cast References B ...

'' (1930) * '' The Right to Love'' (1930) * ''

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

'' (1931) * ''

One Hour of Happiness ''One Hour of Happiness'' () is a 1931 German drama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Dieterle, Evelyn Holt, and Harald Paulsen.Bock & Bergfelder p. 178 It was released by the German branch of Universal Pictures. Synopsis Two wor ...

'' (1931) * '' The Scoundrel'' (1931) * ''

Three from the Unemployment Office ''Three from the Unemployment Office'' (German: ''Drei von der Stempelstelle'') is a 1932 German comedy film directed by Eugen Thiele and starring Fritz Kampers, Paul Kemp and Anton Walbrook. The film was shot at the Staaken Studios in Berlin. ...

'' (1932) * ''

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'' (1932)

Bibliography

* Prawer, S.S. ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933''. Berghahn Books, 2007.

External links

* 1908 births 2001 deaths German film actresses German silent film actresses Actresses from Berlin 20th-century German actresses Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States {{Germany-film-actor-1900s-stub