Joe May (born Joseph Otto Mandl; 7 November 1880 – 29 April 1954) was an Austrian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and film producer and one of the pioneers of

German cinema The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 2 ...

Biography

After studying in Berlin and a variety of odd jobs, he began his career as a stage director of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In 1902 he had married the actress

Mia May Mia May (born Hermine Pfleger; 2 June 1884 – 28 November 1980) was an Austrian actress. She was married to the Austrian film producer and director Joe May and appeared in 44 films between 1912 and 1924. Her daughter was the actress Eva May ...

(born Hermine Pfleger) and took his stage name from hers.

Career

Continental-Kunstfilm

As Joe May, he made ten films for

Continental-Kunstfilm 123 Chauseestraße, Berlin, Continental-Kunstfilm's first studioThe inscription ERBAUT MDCCCXCVI (built 1906) appears on the building. Remarkably it survived World War II, and ended up on the Berlin border crossing after 1961. Chauseestraße f ...

GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

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 ...

; the first, ''In der Tiefe des Schachtes (In the Depths of the Pit)'' was released in November 1912, followed by ''Vorglühen des Balkanbrandes (The Balkan Traitors)'' (starring

Ernst Reicher Ernst Reicher (19 September 1885 – 1 May 1936) was a German-Jewish actor, screenwriter, film producer and film director of the silent era. Biography His father was the actor Emanuel Reicher, born in Galicia, then part of the Kingdom o ...

). In the spring of 1914 May directed the first three of the '

Stuart Webbs Stuart Webbs is a fictional detective who appeared in a series of German films and serials during the silent era. Webbs was one of a number of detectives with English-sounding names to appear in German cinema of the era. Like his contemporaries, s ...

' films, a popular series in which Reicher played a

gentleman detective The gentleman detective is a type of fictional character. He (or she) has long been a staple of crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories set in the United Kingdom in the Golden Age. While not necessarily aristocracy, the ...

modelled on

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

: ''

Die geheimnisvolle Villa ''Die geheimnisvolle Villa'' (lit. 'The Secret-Filled Villa') is a 1914 silent German detective film directed by Joe May and starring Ernst Reicher. It is the first in the series starring the fictional gentleman detective Stuart Webbs, modelle ...

(The Black Triangle)''; ''Der Mann im Keller (The Man in the Cellar)''; and ''Der Spuk im Haus des Professors (The Spook in the Professor's House)''.

Stuart Webbs-Film

May and Reicher fell out with the managers of Continental over the 'Stuart Webbs' films, and left Continental together.''Licht-Bild-Bühne'' no. 34, 1914, p. 37, quoted in . Having formed their own production company, Stuart Webbs-Film GmbH, they made the next in the 'Stuart Webbs' series, ''Das Panzergewölbe'' ('' The Armoured Vault'') in June 1914, using Continental-Kunstfilm's new studios at 9 Franz Joseph-Strasse,

Weissensee Studios The Weissensee Studios () was a collection of separate film production studios located in the Berlin suburb of Weissensee (Berlin), Weißensee during the silent era. History The two main studios comprising the complex were almost next-door neighb ...

, for the filming. When the

First World War 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 ...

broke out in August 1914, May had to return to his native

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. ...

to do his military service, and on his return to Berlin he and Reicher split up. May's last film at Continental was ''Der geheimnisvolle Nachtschatten (The Secret Shadows of Night)'' which he produced in December 1914, with

Harry Piel Heinrich Piel (12 July 1892 – 27 March 1963), known professionally as Harry Piel, was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer who was involved in over 150 films. Piel became a director in 1912, turning out suc ...

directing. Reicher then leased the studio at 9 Franz Joseph-Strasse from Continental, and continued to make the 'Stuart Webbs' films with his Reicher & Reicher company until 1918.

May-Film

In 1915 he founded his own film production company, May-Film GmbH and began to produce a successful series of

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

s, whose detective hero went by the name of

Joe Deebs Joe Deebs was a fictional detective who appeared in a series of German films and serials during the silent era. Along with Stuart Webbs and a number of other fictional cinema detective characters with Anglo-Saxon names, he was modeled on Arthur Con ...

. Some of these were directed by May himself, others by

;

Max Landa Max Landa (; 24 April 1873 – 8 November 1933; born Max Landau) was a Russian-born Austrian silent film and stage actor. Career Landa attended the Handelsakademie (commercial academy) in Vienna and took classes with acting teacher in the same ...

and later

Harry Liedtke Harry Liedtke (12 October 1882 – 28 April 1945) was a German film actor. Early life Liedtke was born in Königsberg, East Prussia as the seventh out of 12 children of a merchant. After his father's death in 1896, he grew up in an orphanage and ...

played the title role. In 1917 May gave

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 ...

one of his earliest breaks in the film industry as

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

on the film ''Die Hochzeit im Excentricclub ( Wedding in the Eccentric Club)'' and Lang also worked on other May films at this time. After the end of

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 ...

May-Film leased the double glasshouse studios at 5–7 Franz Joseph-Strasse (belonging to Deutsche Vitascope) in 1919 for 600,000 marks, which became known as the May-Atelier. He also built a film studio in Woltersdorf a village northeast of Berlin in

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. There he went on to produce and direct a series of popular and exotic adventure films, among them the monumental three-hour-long ''Veritas vincit'' (1919), the eight-part series ''Die Herrin der Welt (

The Mistress of the World ''The Mistress of the World'' () is an eight-part 1919 silent film made in the Weimar Republic starring Mia May in the lead role. The film, under the creative control of director Joe May, is noted for bringing together talent from across German ...

)'' (1919–20) as well as the two-part adventure film ''Das indische Grabmal (

The Indian Tomb ''The Indian Tomb'' () is a 1918 novel by the German writer Thea von Harbou. It tells the story of a German architect who is commissioned by an Indian maharajah to create a large monument, only to learn that it is meant for the maharajah's unfai ...

)'' (1921) starring

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt ( , ; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German and British actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man ...

and written by

and

Thea von Harbou Thea Gabriele von Harbou (27 December 1888 – 1 July 1954) was a German screenwriter, novelist, film director, and actress. She is remembered as the screenwriter of the science fiction film classic ''Metropolis'' (1927) and for the 192 ...

. These featured Mia May in leading roles and she regularly worked under her husband's direction in a number of melodramas like ''

Tragedy of Love ''Tragedy of Love'' (German: ''Tragödie der Liebe'') is a 1923 German silent film directed by Joe May and starring Mia May, Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Erich Kettelhut, Paul Leni and E ...

'' (1922/23) co-starring

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz; 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss-born German actor who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for starring in '' ...

. Their teenage daughter

Eva May Eva Maria Mandl (29 May 1902 – 10 September 1924), known professionally as Eva May, was an Austrian actress. She was the daughter of the film director Joe May and his wife actress Mia May. In 1924, she committed suicide by gunshot. Biography E ...

(born 1902 in Vienna) tried to build her own career as an actress but committed suicide in 1924 after the end of her third marriage with the film directors Manfred Liebenau,

Lothar Mendes Lothar Mendes (19 May 1894 – 24 February 1974) was a German-born screenwriter and film director. His two best known films are ''Jew Süss (1934 film), Jew Süss'' (1934) and ''The Man Who Could Work Miracles'' (1936), both productions for Briti ...

and

Manfred Noa Manfred Noa (22 March 1893 – 5 December 1930) was a German film director. Noa was described by Vilma Bánky, who he directed twice, as her "favourite director". Noa's 1924 film ''Helena (1924 film), Helena'' has been called his "masterpiece" alt ...

. Towards the end of the 1920s, May moved away from adventure films and produced more realist works, notable among them the World War I love-triangle ''

Heimkehr ''Homecoming'' (German: ''Heimkehr'') is a 1941 Nazi German anti-Polish propaganda film directed by Gustav Ucicky. Filled with heavy-handed caricature, it justifies extermination of Poles with a depiction of relentless persecution of ethnic Germ ...

(The Return Home)'' (1928) and the contemporary thriller ''

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). During the early years of sound film he worked as a producer for

Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...

Ufa Ufa is a city in Russia and the capital of the republic of Bashkortostan. UFA or Ufa may also refer to: Places * Ufa (river), a river in Russia; a tributary of the Belaya * Ufa International Airport, near the Russian city * Ufa railway statio ...

then for different production companies in Germany, Austria and France directing a series of multilingual versions in German and French among those is ''Ihre Majestät die Liebe / Son altesse l'amour'' (1930) one of the best musical comedies of the Weimar Cinema.

Emigration to the United States

In 1933 he and Mia, along with many others in the German film industry, emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he was able to establish himself as director, mainly for

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, although his work was mainly on what would be regarded as

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

. His most notable works of this period were the Kay Francis vehicle ''

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

'', a remake of the 1935 German film ''

Mazurka The Mazurka ( Polish: ''mazurek'') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character defined mostly by the prominent mazur's "strong accents unsystematically placed on the seco ...

'', ''

The House of the Seven Gables ''The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance'' is a Gothic fiction, Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England fam ...

'' and ''

The Invisible Man Returns ''The Invisible Man Returns'' is a 1940 American horror science fiction film directed by Joe May. The film stars Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey and John Sutton. The film is a sequel to the 1933 film ''The Invisible Man'', and the ...

'' (1940). He also worked with the

Dead End Kids The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York City who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play '' Dead End'' in 1935. In 1937, producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film. They ...

during this period, helming two films, '' You're Not So Tough'' (1940) and '' Hit the Road'' (1941), despite constant friction with his juvenile delinquent cast members. ''

'' is especially interesting, in that May's film is an exact copy of Austrian director

Willi Forst Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs (7 April 1903 – 11 August 1980) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer. As a debonair actor he was a darling of the German language, German-speaking film audiences, as ...

's ''

'', right down to the last fade and dissolve, with every shot timed to run exactly the same length, and using the same music as Forst's original film. May's last film was the wartime comedy featuring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

in a small role, '' Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More'', made in 1944 by the King Brothers and released through

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

Death

After retiring as a director, May and his wife opened the Blue Danube Restaurant in Los Angeles which was not a successful business venture. He died on April 29, 1954, after a long illness. He is interred in the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

in Hollywood, California.

Partial filmography

May served as director unless otherwise noted.

References

Notes Sources * * * * *

External links

*
Joe May
at

filmportal.de filmportal.de is an online database of information related to German film. It includes extensive information on films and filmmakers as well as articles on film issues. The website was released on occasion of the 54th Berlin International Film ...

(English) {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Joe 1880 births 1954 deaths Austrian expatriates in Germany Austrian Jews Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Film people from Berlin Film people from Vienna Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States