Karlheinz Martin (May 6, 1886 – January 13, 1948) was a German stage and film director, best known for his

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

productions. After enjoying success with experimental productions in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, Martin went to Berlin, where he premiered

Ernst Toller Ernst Toller (1 December 1893 – 22 May 1939) was a German author, playwright, left-wing politician and revolutionary, known for his Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic ...

's anti-war drama, ''Transfiguration'' (''Die Wandlung'') on September 30, 1919. Performed in a hall seating fewer than 300 spectators, the production used the intimacy of the space to drive home the horrors of Toller's script. The sets were jagged

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), a ...

placed against blackness, and lit with harsh white spotlights. Scenes ended in blackouts not, as was customary at the time, with the curtain falling.

Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn; 12 May 1892 – 22 July 1970) was an Austrian stage and film actor and theatre director. Life and career Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn into a Jewish family. He studied at the Vienna A ...

became famous for his intense portrayal of the young hero. Martin turned to film in 1920, when he directed a cinematic adaptation of one of the most celebrated expressionist dramas,

Georg Kaiser Friedrich Carl Georg Kaiser, called Georg Kaiser, (25 November 1878 – 4 June 1945) was a German dramatist. Biography Kaiser was born in Magdeburg. He was highly prolific and wrote in a number of different styles. An Expressionist dramatist, ...

's ''

From Morn to Midnight ''From Morn to Midnight'' (german: Von morgens bis mitternachts) is a 1920 German silent expressionist film directed by Karlheinz Martin based on the 1912 play ''From Morning to Midnight'' by Georg Kaiser. It is one of the most radical films ...

'' (''Von morgens bis mitternachts'') with actor

Ernst Deutsch Ernst Deutsch, also known as Ernest Dorian (16 September 1890 – 22 March 1969), was a Jewish Austrian actor. In 1916, his performance as the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play '' The Son'' in Dres ...

as the Cashier who embezzles money from a bank and goes on a desperate search for meaning in his life in a nightmarish metropolis. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Martin revived

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

's ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " 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 Villon, with music ...

'' in Berlin, and premiered

's pacifist drama, ''

The Soldier Tanaka ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' (''Der Soldat Tanaka'').

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1920) *''

The House on the Moon ''The House on the Moon'' (German: ''Das Haus zum Mond'') is a 1921 German silent science fiction film directed by Karlheinz Martin and starring Leontine Kühnberg, Erich Pabst and Fritz Kortner.Aitken p.53 Shot at the Johannisthal Studios in a ...

'' (1921) *''

The Pearl of the Orient ''The Pearl of the Orient'' (german: Die Perle des Orients) is a 1921 German silent adventure film directed by Karlheinz Martin and starring Viggo Larsen, Carola Toelle and Tzwetta Tzatschewa. It premiered in Berlin on 12 August 1921.Grange p. 9 ...

'' (1921) * ''

Punks Arrives from America ''Punks Arrives from America'' (German: ''Punks kommt aus Amerika'') is a 1935 German comedy film directed by Karl Heinz Martin and starring Attila Hörbiger, Lien Deyers, Ralph Arthur Roberts and Sybille Schmitz. Produced and distributed by ...

'' (1935) *'' The Voice of the Heart'' (1937)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Karlheinz Film people from Freiburg im Breisgau 1886 births 1948 deaths

Selected filmography

Further reading

External links