Lothar Müthel (né Lothar Max Lütcke; 18 February 1896 – 4 September 1964) was a German stage and film actor and director.

Career

Müthel was born in

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 ...

, where he attended the acting school 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 ...

, ''Schauspielschule, Berlin''. Following the Anchluss of Austria to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, Müthel was appointed as director of the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

in Vienna. He held that position from 1939 until the fall of the Nazi regime in 1945. Under his directorship in 1943, a notoriously extreme production of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' was staged at the Burgtheater, with

Werner Krauss Werner Johannes Krauss (''Krauß'' in German; 23 June 1884 – 20 October 1959) was a German stage and film actor. Krauss dominated the German stage of the early 20th century. However, his participation in the antisemitic propaganda film '' Jud ...

Shylock Shylock () is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Merchant of Venice'' ( 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal villain. His defeat and forced conversion to Christianity form the climax ...

Death

Müthel died in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

at age 68.

Selected filmography

* '' The Galley Slave'' (1919) * '' The Golem: How He Came into the World'' (1920) as Knight Florian *'' The Woman in Heaven'' (1920) as Feodor * ''

The Mayor of Zalamea ''The Mayor of Zalamea'' () is a play written by Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681) during the Golden Age of Spanish drama. It was probably written in 1636. It is likely the play had its premiere on May 12, 1636 in the court of Philip IV o ...

'' (1920) as Juan * '' The Night of Queen Isabeau'' (1920) as Jehan *''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'' (1921) as the messenger * ''

The False Dimitri ''The False Dimitri'' () is a 1922 German silent historical film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Alfred Abel, Agnes Straub and Eugen Klöpfer.Klossner, Michael. ''The Europe of 1500–1815 on Film and Television: A Worldwide Filmograp ...

'' (1922) as the Polish envoy * ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto. Her family arranged ...

'' (1922) as Juan Borgia * '' Goetz von Berlichingen of the Iron Hand'' (1925) as Brother Martin *''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' (1926) as the monk * ''

Yorck ''Yorck'' is a 1931 German war film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Werner Krauss, Grete Mosheim and Rudolf Forster.Noack p.59 It portrays the life of the Prussian General Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg, particularly his refusal to ser ...

'' (1931) as General von Clausewitz

References

Lothar Müthel biography
cyranos.ch. Retrieved 25 January 2018. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muthel, Lothar 1896 births 1964 deaths German male stage actors German male film actors German male silent film actors German theatre directors German opera managers Sturmabteilung personnel 20th-century German male actors Male actors from Berlin