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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 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 ...
's 1927 film ''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...
''. He remained a popular film star in Germany until the 1950s.


Early life and career

Gustav Fröhlich was born an illegitimate child in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
and was raised by foster parents. Before becoming an actor, he worked for a short time as an editor of a provincial newspaper and as the author of popular novels. During
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 ...
, he also volunteered for duty in occupied
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
as a press supervisor.


Weimar Republic

Gustav Fröhlich began his stage career in the early 1920s at minor theatres in Germany. He quickly achieved more important roles and appeared as '' The Prince of Homburg'' at the Deutsche Theater under the direction of
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
. One of Fröhlich's first film roles was composer
Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...
in ''Paganini'' in 1922. This was followed by a string of bit parts and supporting roles in films. He landed his breakthrough role as the "dashing" Freder Fredersen in
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 ...
's epic film ''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...
'' (1927). Fröhlich described Lang as a demanding director, recalling that "In scenes of physical discomfort, he tormented his actors until they did suffer". Although the film itself was a financial failure, it established him as a leading film star in Germany. He was also notable for his appearance in ''
Asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
'' (1929), in which his restrained performance is still impressive today. In 1930, he was called to Hollywood to play roles in German versions of American films such as ''Die heilige Flamme'' and ''Kismet''. He often appeared in musicals or comedies as a romantic hero and smart gentleman.


Third Reich

In 1933, Fröhlich directed the film '' Rakoczy-Marsch'', in which he also portrayed the leading role. He would direct another seven films and was screenwriter on five, until the 1950s. During the Third Reich, Gustav Fröhlich remained one of the foremost male stars in German film (along with
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 ...
, Willy Fritsch and
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 ...
). Between 1931 and 1935, Fröhlich was married to Hungarian opera star, and actress Gitta Alpár, with whom he had a child, Julika. For a time, he lived with the actress Lida Baarova until she became involved with the Nazi propaganda minister,
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
. There is also an unconfirmed story that Fröhlich slapped Goebbels in a fit of jealous rage.''The Ciano Diaries 1939-1943'', entry of February 13, 1939. In 1937, he rented his house in
Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...
to Hitler's architect,
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of W ...
. In 1941, he served in the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
'' Landschützen-Regiment'' and in the same year, married Maria Hajek. They remained married until her death in 1987.


Later life

Gustav Fröhlich was seldom involved in Nazi
propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...
s, a fact that helped him to establish a new film career after World War II. He remained a busy actor after the war but his roles changed from leading men to supporting parts as he got older. His best-known role during this time was perhaps in '' Die Sünderin'' (1951) with
Hildegard Knef Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (; 28 December 19251 February 2002) was a German actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English-language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff. Early years Hildegard Knef was born in Ulm in 19 ...
, in which Fröhlich portrayed a terminally ill painter. ''Die Sünderin'' caused a scandal because of its open treatment of several taboos such as nudity, suicide and euthanasia. Fröhlich retired from the film business in 1956, but he still managed to make occasional film and television appearances until the early 1980s. In 1973, he received the
German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...
for Lifetime Achievements. From 1956, Fröhlich lived in
Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...
, Switzerland, where he died in 1987, from complications after surgery.


Selected filmography


References


External links

*
Photographs of Gustav Fröhlich
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frohlich, Gustav 1902 births 1987 deaths 20th-century German male actors German male film actors German male silent film actors German male stage actors Male actors from Hanover People from Lugano