Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

Early years

Pabst was born in Raudnitz,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(today's

Roudnice nad Labem Roudnice nad Labem (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Rep ...

, Czech Republic), the son of a railroad official. While growing up in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, he studied drama at the Academy of Decorative Arts and initially began his career as a stage actor in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. In 1910, Pabst traveled to the United States, where he worked as an actor and director at the German Theater in New York City. In 1914, he decided to become a director, and he returned to recruit actors in Europe. Pabst was in France when

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began, he was arrested and held as an enemy alien and interned in a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

near Brest. * * * While imprisoned, Pabst organised a theatre group at the camp and directed French-language plays. Upon his release in 1919, he returned to Vienna, where he became director of the Neue Wiener Bühne, an

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

theatre.

Career

Pabst began his career as a film director at the behest of

Carl Froelich Carl August Hugo Froelich (5 September 1875 – 12 February 1953) was a German film pioneer and film director. He was born and died in Berlin. Biography Apparatus builder and cameraman From 1903 Froelich was a colleague of Oskar Messter, one of ...

who hired Pabst as an assistant director. He directed his first film, '' The Treasure'', in 1923. He developed a talent for "discovering" and developing the talents of actresses, such as

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an cultural icon, icon of the flapper culture, in part due to the bob cut, bob hairstyle that she helped ...

, and

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, Film producer, producer, screenwriter, Film editing, editor, photographer, and actress. She is considered one of the most controversial ...

. Film theorist

Karel Reisz Karel Reisz (21 July 1926 – 25 November 2002) was a Czech-born British filmmaker and film critic, one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Two of the best-known films he directed are '' Satur ...

noted that Pabst was among the first filmmakers to time his cuts to specific movements, using cutting on action to create seamless transitions and enhance the fluidity of his films. Pabst's best known films concern the plight of women, including ''

The Joyless Street ''Joyless Street'' (), also titled ''The Street of Sorrow'' or ''The Joyless Street'', is a 1925 German silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst starring Greta Garbo, Asta Nielsen and Werner Krauss. It is based on a novel by Hugo Bettauer ...

'' (1925) with Greta Garbo and Asta Nielsen, ''

Secrets of a Soul ''Secrets of a Soul'' () is a 1926 silent German drama film directed by G. W. Pabst. Plot Martin Fellman, a learned professor, experiences nightmares that make him believe he is going insane. He fears that he is on the verge of murdering his ...

'' (1926) with

Lili Damita Lili Damita (born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré; 10 July 1904 – 21 March 1994) was a French-American actress, singer, and dancer who appeared in 33 films between 1922 and 1937. Early life and education Lili Damita was born in Blaye, France, ...

, '' The Loves of Jeanne Ney'' (1927) with

Brigitte Helm Brigitte Helm (born Brigitte Gisela Eva Schittenhelm, 17 March 1908 – 11 June 1996) was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double named Futura, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film, ''Metropolis''. Early life Br ...

, and ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod related that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing curses ...

'' (1929) and ''

Diary of a Lost Girl ''Diary of a Lost Girl'' () is a 1929 German silent film directed by G. W. Pabst and starring American silent star Louise Brooks. The film was shot in Black-and-white#Media, black and white, and diverse versions of the film ranged from 79 minu ...

'' (1929) with American actress Louise Brooks. He also co-directed with

Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White H ...

mountain film A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on mountaineering and especially the battle of human against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the protagonists who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlighten ...

entitled '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' (1929) starring Leni Riefenstahl. After the coming of sound, he made a trilogy of films that secured his reputation: '' Westfront 1918'' (1930), ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'' (1931) with

Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, long based in the United States. In the German-speaking and classical music world, she is be ...

(based on the

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

musical), and '' Kameradschaft'' (1931). Pabst also filmed three versions of Pierre Benoit's novel '' L'Atlantide'' in 1932, in German, English, and French, titled ''Die Herrin von Atlantis'', ''The Mistress of Atlantis'', and ''L'Atlantide'', respectively. In 1933, Pabst directed ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', once again in German, English, and French versions. After making ''

A Modern Hero ''A Modern Hero'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romance drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and directed by G. W. Pabst. It is based on the novel with the same title by Louis Bromfield. It was Pabst's only American sound film, talking film an ...

'' (1934) in the USA and '' Street of Shadows'' (1937) in France, Pabst (who was planning to emigrate to the United States) was caught in France in 1939, when war was declared, whilst visiting his mother, and was forced to return to Nazi Germany. Under the auspices of propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels, Pabst made two films in Germany during this period: '' The Comedians'' (1941) and ''

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

'' (1943). Pabst directed four opera productions in Italy in 1953: '' La forza del destino'' for the

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (literal English translation: 'Florence Musical May') is an annual Italian arts festival in Florence, including a notable opera festival, under the auspices of the Opera di Firenze. The festival occurs between late A ...

in Florence (conducted by

Dimitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos (; – 2 November 1960) was a Greek and American conductor, pianist, and composer. Life and career Mitropoulos was born in Athens, the son of Yannis and Angelikē (Angeliki) Mitropoulos. His father owned a leather goods s ...

, the cast included

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian spinto soprano, lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-World War II, war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, Teatro di San Carlo, San ...

, Fedora Barbieri, Mario del Monaco, Aldo Protti,

Cesare Siepi Cesare Siepi (10 February 19235 July 2010) was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest Bass (voice type), basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, a full, resonant, w ...

), and a few weeks later, for the

Arena di Verona Festival Arena di Verona Festival (Verona Arena Festival) is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona, Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Ver ...

, a spectacular ''

Aïda ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'', with

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

in the title role (conducted by

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

, with del Monaco), '' Il trovatore'' and again ''La forza del destino''. He directed '' The Last Ten Days'' (1955), the first post-war German feature film to feature

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 ...

as a character.

Death

On 29 May 1967, Pabst died in Vienna at the age of 81. He was interred at the

Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's biggest cemet ...

in Vienna.

Awards

* 1941, Venice Film Festival: Gold Medal of the Biennale for Best Director for his film '' The Comedians''

Filmography

* '' The Treasure'' (1923) * '' Countess Donelli'' (1924) * '' Joyless Street'' (1925) * ''

'' (1926) * '' One Does Not Play with Love'' (1926) * ''

The Love of Jeanne Ney ''The Love of Jeanne Ney'' (), released as ''Lusts of the Flesh'' in the United Kingdom, is a 1927 German silent film, silent drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst based on a novel by Ilya Ehrenburg. Plot Jeanne is the daughter of André ...

'' (1927) * '' The Devious Path'' (1928) * ''

'' (1929) * ''

'' (1929) * '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' (dir.

, 1929) * '' Westfront 1918'' (1930) * '' Scandalous Eva'' (1930) * '' Morals at Midnight'' (dir.

Marc Sorkin Marc Sorkin or Mark Sorkin (1902–1986) was a Russian-born film editor and director.Rentschler p.277 He worked with Georg Wilhelm Pabst on a number of films as editor or assistant director. He was born in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius which w ...

, 1930) * ''

'' (1931) two versions: German and French * '' Kameradschaft'' (1931) * '' L'Atlantide'' (1932) three versions: German, French, and English * ''

'' (1933) three versions: German, French, and English * '' High and Low'' (1933) * '' Cette nuit-là'' (1933) * ''

'' (1934) * '' Street of Shadows'' (1937) * ''

The Shanghai Drama ''The Shanghai Drama'' () is a 1938 French drama film directed by G. W. Pabst and starring Christl Mardayn, Louis Jouvet and Raymond Rouleau.Kennedy-Karpat p.132-33 An exiled White Russian woman works as a cabaret singer in Shanghai to support ...

'' (1938) * '' Girls in Distress'' (1939) * '' The Comedians'' (1941) * ''

'' (1943) * '' Der Fall Molander'' (1945) * ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' () is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, wi ...

'' (1948) * '' Mysterious Shadows'' (1949) * '' Duel with Death'' (1949) * '' Call Over the Air'' (dir.

Georg C. Klaren Georg C. Klaren (1900–1962) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He worked on a number of screenplays with Herbert Juttke during the silent era, silent and early sound eras including Alfred Hitchcock's 1931 film ''Mary (1931 film), Ma ...

, 1951) * '' Voice of Silence'' (1953) * '' Cose da pazzi'' (1953) * ''

The Confession of Ina Kahr ''The Confession of Ina Kahr'' (, ) is a 1954 West German crime film directed by G. W. Pabst and starring Curd Jürgens, Elisabeth Müller and Albert Lieven. It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich and on location in Grünwald and Feld ...

'' (1954) * '' The Last Ten Days'' (1955) * '' Jackboot Mutiny'' (1955) * ''

Ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

'' (1956) * ''

Through the Forests and Through the Trees Adpositions are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in, under, towards, behind, ago'', etc.) or mark various semantic roles (''of, for''). The most common adpositions are prepositions (which precede their complemen ...

'' (1956)

References

Notes Further reading * Amengual, Barthélémy. ''G.W. Pabst''. Paris, Seghers, 1966 * Atwell, Lee. ''G.W. Pabst''. Boston, Twayne Publishers, 1977 * Baxter, John. "G.W. Pabst" in ''International Directory of Films and Filmmakers''. Chicago, 1990. pp. 376–378 * Groppali, Enrico. ''Georg W. Pabst''. Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1983 * Jacobsen, Wolfgang (ed.) ''G.W. Pabst''. Berlin, Argen, 1997 * Kagelmann, Andre and Keiner, Reinhold. "Lässig beginnt der Tod, Mensch und Tier zu ernten: Überlegungen zu Ernst Johannsens Roman ''Vier von der Infanterie'' und G. W. Pabsts Film ''Westfront 1918''" in Johannsen, Eric; Kassell (ed.) ''Vier von der Infanterie. Ihre letzen Tage an der Westfront 1918''. Media Net-Edition, 2014. S. 80-113. * * Kracauer, Siegfried. '' From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film''. Princeton, Princeton university press, 1947 * Mitry, Jean. ''Histoire du cinéma: Art et industrie'' (5 volumes) Paris, Editions Universitaires – J.P. Delarge, 1967–1980 * Rentschler, Eric (ed.) ''The Films of G.W. Pabst. An extraterritorial cinema''. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1990 * Pabst, Georg Wilhelm. "Servitude et grandeur de Hollywood" in ''Le rôle intellectuel du cinéma, Paris'', SDN-Institut International de Coopération Intellectuelle, 1937. pp. 251–255 * Van den Berghe, Marc. ''La mémoire impossible. Westfront 1918 de G.W. Pabst. Grande Guerre, soldats, automates. Le film et sa problématique vus par la 'Petite Illustration (1931), Bruxelles, 200

External links

*
"The Other Eye", Filmessay on G.W.Pabst, by Hannah Heer & Werner Schmiedel (A/USA 1991/92)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pabst, Georg Wilhelm 1885 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Austrian male actors Austrian film directors Austrian male stage actors Austrian opera directors Austrian theatre directors English-language film directors French-language film directors Silent film directors Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in World War I World War I prisoners of war held by France Male actors from Vienna People from Roudnice nad Labem Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery 20th-century Austrian screenwriters 20th-century Austrian male writers