Leo Mittler (18 December 1893 – 16 May 1958) was an Austrian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Mittler was born in Vienna to a Jewish family. He attended the University of Music and Performing Arts and worked as a playwright and director in the German theatre. Mittler then switched to work in the German film industry during the

silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. Mittler's best known film as director was '' Beyond the Street'' (1929), a "street film" influenced by

Soviet cinema The cinema of the Soviet Union includes films produced by the constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their pre-Soviet culture, language and history, albeit they were all regulated by the central government in Moscow. ...

.Prawer p.89 Mittler also spent time at the American company

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

's French subsidiary based at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont Film Company, Gaumont making films there. A second studio was a ...

in Paris. Following the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

rise to power in 1933, Mittler spent many years in exile in several countries, including Britain and France, before settling in the United States during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Mittler's career as a director had all but ended in the mid-1930s, after making the

Stanley Lupino Stanley Richard Lupino Hook (15 June 1893 – 10 June 1942), known professionally as Stanley Lupino, was an English actor, dancer, singer, librettist, director and short story writer. During the 1930s, Lupino appeared in a successful series of ...

musical comedy ''

Cheer Up Cheer Up may refer to: Film, theatre and television *''Cheer Up'', 1917 musical by John Raymond Hubbell * Cheer Up (1924 film), American silent comedy directed by Stephen Roberts (director) * ''Cheer Up'' (film), 1936 British comedy film directed ...

'' (1936), but he worked occasionally as a screenwriter. Mittler wrote the original story of the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

pro-Soviet film ''

Song of Russia ''Song of Russia'' is a 1944 American war film made and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The picture was credited as being directed by Gregory Ratoff, though Ratoff became ill near the end of the five-month production, and was replaced by L� ...

'' (1944) which was later investigated by the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

for its alleged

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

sympathies. Mittler returned to Germany post-war, dying there in 1958. Before his death, he worked in German theatre and television.

Selected filmography

Director

* ''

We'll Meet Again in the Heimat ''In der Heimat, da gibt's ein Wiedersehn!'' (English: "We'll meet again in the Homeland") is a 1926 German silent film directed by Leo Mittler and Reinhold Schünzel.Ashkenazi p.135 It shares its name with a popular song title. The film's art d ...

'' (1926) * ''

Serenissimus and the Last Virgin ''Serenissimus and the Last Virgin'' (German:''Serenissimus und die letzte Jungfrau'') is a 1928 German silent film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Hans Junkermann, Adolphe Engers and Adele Sandrock.Gerhard Lamprecht. ''Deutsche Stummfil ...

'' (1928) * '' Beyond the Street'' (1929) * ''

There Is a Woman Who Never Forgets You ''There Is a Woman Who Never Forgets You'' (German: ''Es gibt eine Frau, die dich niemals vergißt'') is a 1930 German drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Iván Petrovich, Lil Dagover and Helene Fehdmer.Canziani p.306 Its shooting ...

'' (1930) * '' The King of Paris'' (1930, German) * '' The King of Paris'' (1930, French) * '' Tropical Nights'' (1931) * '' The Incorrigible'' (1931) * '' The Concert'' (1931) * '' Sunday of Life'' (1931) * '' Every Woman Has Something'' (1931) * ''

Reckless Youth Thomas Carter (born September 18, 1974) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name: Reckless Youth. He has competed in numerous North American Independent circuit, independent Professiona ...

'' (1931) * ''

The Leap into the Void ''The Leap into the Void'' (German: ''Der Sprung ins Nichts'') is a 1932 American drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Cilly Feindt, Aribert Mog and Sigurd Lohde.Horak p.113 It was made at the Joinville Studios in Paris as the German ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Night at the Hotel ''The Night at the Hotel'' (French: ''Une nuit à l'hôtel'') is a 1932 French drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Marcelle Romée, Jean Périer and Betty Stockfeld.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.113 It was made at the Joinville Studios in P ...

'' (1932) * '' Nights in Port Said'' (1932) * ''

The Faceless Voice ''The Faceless Voice'' (French: ''La voix sans visage'') is a 1933 French drama film. It was directed by Leo Mittler, and starred Lucien Muratore, Véra Korène and Jean Servais.Oscherwitz & Higgins p. 281 Plot The singer Saltore is accused o ...

'' (1933) * '' Honeymoon for Three'' (1935) * ''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group the Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as the Band's "farewell concert a ...

'' (1936) * ''

'' (1936)

Screenwriter

* '' Sixteen Daughters and No Father'' (1928) * ''

The Mayor's Dilemma ''The Mayor's Dilemma'' (French: ''Les otages'') is a 1939 French drama film directed by Raymond Bernard and starring Annie Vernay, Saturnin Fabre and Fernand Charpin. It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris and on location in Chézy- ...

'' (1939) * ''

The Ghost Ship ''The Ghost Ship'' is a 1943 American black-and-white psychological thriller film starring Richard Dix and directed by Mark Robson. It was produced by Val Lewton for RKO Radio Pictures as part of a series of low-budget horror films. The fil ...

'' (1943) * ''

'' (1944)

References

Bibliography

* Mayhew, Robert. ''Ayn Rand And Song Of Russia: Communism And Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood''. Scarecrow Press, 2005. * Prawer, S.S. ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933''. Berghahn Books, 2005.

External links

* 1893 births 1958 deaths Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to the United States Austrian male dramatists and playwrights Austrian film directors Austrian television directors Film people from Vienna Austrian male screenwriters 20th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Austrian male writers 20th-century Austrian screenwriters {{Austria-film-bio-stub