Maria Arloisia Fein (7 April 1892 – 5 September 1965) was an Austrian actress who became a star of German theatre and film before the rise of 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 ...

s forced her departure. During her time in Germany she was largely associated with the theatrical producer/director

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 ...

and acted in plays by such writers as

Christian Friedrich Hebbel Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums ...

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

, and

Ferdinand Bruckner Ferdinand Bruckner (born Theodor Tagger; 26 August 1891 – 5 December 1958) was an Austrian-German writer and theater manager. Although his works are relatively rarely revived, ''Krankheit der Jugend'' was put on at the Cottesloe stage of Lo ...

. Between 1916 and 1932 Fein appeared in at least twenty-three

German films German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

working with pioneer movie directors

Robert Wiene Robert Wiene (; 27 April 1873 – 17 July 1938) was a German film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer, active during the Silent film, silent era. He is widely-known for directing the landmark 1920 film ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ...

, Uwe Jens Krafft,

Hanna Henning Hanna Henning (1884–1925) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. She was the most prominent and prolific women director working in the German film industry during the silent era.Foster p.180 Selected filmography * '' Bubi Is Je ...

Rochus Gliese Rochus Gliese (6 January 1891 — 22 December 1978) was a German actor, director, production designer, and Academy Award-nominated art director of early films from the 1910s and 1920s. He was born in Berlin. He is most remembered in the Uni ...

, Walter Schmidthässler,

Frederic Zelnik Frederic Zelnik (born Friedrich Zelnik; 17 May 1885 – 29 November 1950) was an Austrian producer, director, and actor. He was one of the most important producers-directors of the German silent cinema. Zelnik achieved success through period oper ...

, Albert Lastmann,

Paul Leni Paul Leni (born Paul Josef Levi, 8 July 1885 – 2 September 1929) was a German filmmaker and a key figure in German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionism, making ''Hintertreppe'' (1921) and ''Waxworks (film), Waxworks'' (1924) in German ...

Rudolf Walther-Fein Rudolf Walther-Fein (20 November 1875 – 1 May 1933) was an Austrian film director and film producer, producer of the Silent era, silent and Sound film, early sound era. He directed the first full sound film to be released in Germany ''It's You I ...

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz (; born Manó Kaminer; from 1905 Mihály Kertész; ; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silen ...

Rudolf Meinert Rudolf Meinert (1882 – 6 March 1943) was an Austrian screenwriter, film producer and film director, director. Meinert was born Rudolf Bürstein in Vienna, but worked for most of his career in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. He bec ...

, and Fritz Friedmann-Frederich. Following the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938, Fein fled to the Netherlands and in 1941 found refuge for the duration of the war in Switzerland. Fein remained active on stage over the balance of her life in her adopted Switzerland and abroad until shortly before her death.

Early life and family

Fein was born in Vienna to a Jewish family that reportedly at some point converted to Catholicism. She was the daughter of Fanny Süssermann and Otto Fein, editor of the

Neue Freie Presse ''Neue Freie Presse'' ("New Free Press") was a Viennese newspaper founded by Adolf Werthner together with the journalists Max Friedländer and Michael Etienne on 1 September 1864 after the staff had split from the newspaper ''Die Presse''. It ...

, and the older sister of Franz Fein, an author and translator of American novels. Maria Fein married the German actor

Theodor Becker Theodor Becker (23 June 1840 in Plön – 30 June 1928 in Liegnitz) was a Danish-born German civil engineer and entomologist primarily known for studies on the taxonomy of flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Dip ...

with whom she had two daughters, Thea and actress Maria Becker (1920-2012). Fein’s marriage to Becker ended in divorce in the mid-1930s after a long separation.Maria Fein, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft
Retrieved August 29, 2014
Retrieved August 29, 2014 Fein studied at the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna from 1909 to 1911 and made her professional debut at the

National Theatre Mannheim The Mannheim National Theatre () is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18th century Mannheim was the cap ...

, where she rose to play the title role in Hebbel's tragedy, ''Judith''.

Stage career

Over the next several seasons Fein appeared at the Royal Theater, Dresden, the Royal Theatre, Berlin and the Deutsches Theater, Berlin. Under the direction of Max Reinhardt, in October 1915 she played the title role in the Deutsches' production of Schiller's '' Maria Stuart''. She continued in Berlin under Reinhardt’s directing in such parts as Ariel in Shakespeare's ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' at the

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The V ...

, Elektra in Aeschylus' ''

The Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of ...

'', Regan in Shakespeare's ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', both staged at the

Großes Schauspielhaus The Großes Schauspielhaus (Great Theater) was a theater in Berlin, Germany, designed by architect Hans Poelzig for theater director Max Reinhardt. The structure was built as a market hall in 1867 and then served as a circus and event venue. Poel ...

, and in 1919 returned to the Deutsches playing Rebekka in ''Jaákobs Traum'' by Richard Beer-Hofmann. Fein joined the Vereinigte Bühnen, Breslau for the 1921–1922 season and, between 1924 and 1926, performed at the

Theater in der Josefstadt The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following ...

, Vienna, where in 1924 she played Lady Milford in Schiller's ''

Kabale und Liebe ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'', or ''Luise Miller'' (, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, it was first performed ...

''. At the Deutsches she was Kudelka in the world premiere of Bruckner's ''Die Straf'', staged by Heinz Hilpert. After her expulsion from the Ministry of Arts in 1935, Fein left for Vienna, where she performed at various theatres including 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 ...

and

Urania Urania ( ; ; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and astrology. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass. T ...

. At the latter venue appeared as Jocasta in

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

's ''The Infernal Machine''.

Film

Fein’s film work in Berlin overwhelmingly occurred between 1916 and 1919; she appeared in just a handful of films after 1920. She began with the brothers

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

and

Conrad Wiene Conrad Wiene (; 3 February 1878 – after May 1934) was an actor, screenwriter, film producer and film director, director of Austrian and German silent film, silent films. He was the younger brother of German film director Robert Wiene. Bio ...

in '' Der Mann im Spiegel'' and ''Das Leben ein Traum'' and went on to appear in mostly

melodramas A melodrama is a dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on dial ...

and the occasional comedy over the following several years. Her final film and only

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...

was '' Frederica'', a 1932 adaptation of the book by

Ludwig Herzer Ludwig Herzer, born Ludwig Herzl, (born 18 March 1872 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, died 17 April 1939 in St. Gallen, Switzerland) was an Austrian physician and librettist. Life Ludwig Herzl, later better known under his pseudonym ''Ludwig Her ...

and

Fritz Löhner-Beda Fritz Löhner-Beda (24 June 1883 – 4 December 1942), born Bedřich Löwy, was an Austrian librettist, lyricist and writer. Once nearly forgotten, many of his songs and tunes remain popular today. He was murdered in Auschwitz III Monowitz conce ...

Later career

After Nazi annexation of Austria, Fein appeared on stage in the Netherlands, France and Switzerland. Under the direction of

Leopold Lindtberg Leopold Lindtberg (born in Vienna on 1 June 1902; died in Sils im Engadin/Segl on 18 April 1984) was an Austrian Swiss film and theatre director. He fled Austria due to the Machtergreifung in Germany and ultimately settled in Switzerland. Hi ...

, Fein appeared at the

Schauspielhaus Zürich The Schauspielhaus Zürich () is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the history of German-speaking theater. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three stages ...

as Anisja in

Leon Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's ''

The Power of Darkness ''The Power of Darkness'' (, Vlast′ t′my) is a five- act drama by Leo Tolstoy. Written in 1886, the play's production was banned in Russia until 1902, mainly through the influence of Konstantin Pobedonostsev. In spite of the ban, the play wa ...

''. Fein later returned to France, where she was detained until Maria Becker, by then a resident of Zurich, was able to secure her safe passage to Switzerland. Over the remainder of the war years Fein was active in Zurich giving evening

recitation A recitation in a general sense is the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse or other writing before an audience. Public recitation is the act of reciting a work of writing before an audience. Academic recitation In a ...

s. In 1945 Fein rejoined the ensemble of actors at the Schauspielhaus playing such characters roles as Ranjewskaja in

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

'', Sichle in the German language premiere of

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

's ''The Humiliation of the Father'', a mother in

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's ''

A Woman of No Importance ''A Woman of No Importance'' by Oscar Wilde is "a new and original play of modern life", in four acts, first given on 19 April 1893 at the Haymarket Theatre, London. Like Wilde's other society plays, it satirises English upper-class society. It ...

'', and the title role in

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna. He ...

's ''Medea''. In 1948 Fein toured Switzerland with Heinz Woester in their adaptation of

Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

's ''Theatre'', and the following year played Clytemnestra to the title role of Maria Becker in

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

's '' Électre''. In a subsequent Swiss tour Fein played the title role in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's ''

Mrs. Warren's Profession ''Mrs. Warren's Profession'' is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893, and first performed in London in 1902. It is one of the three plays Shaw published as ''Plays Unpleasant'' in 1898, alongside ''The Philanderer'' and '' Widowers' H ...

'' and at the

Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it curr ...

revived her role as Jocasta in ''The Infernal Machine''. In 1951 Fein returned to Berlin to perform for the first time since the Nazi era. At the

Schloss Charlottenburg Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough, and is among the largest palaces in the world. The palace was built at the end of th ...

she played Weisheit in

Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, libretto, librettist, Poetry, poet, Playwdramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, th ...

's ''Das Salzburger große Welttheater''. During the early 1950s Fein toured England, France and Switzerland giving recitations and lectures and later appeared on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

in performances that included a 1956

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

presenting an English-language adaptation of

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

's anti-war play, '' Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder''. In America Fein played

Caroline of Brunswick Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her ...

the Prince Regent George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

Walter Slezak Walter Slezak (; 3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born film and stage actor active between 1922 and 1976. He mainly appeared in German films before migrating to the United States in 1930 and performing in numerous Hollywood productio ...

in Norman Ginsbury’s ''

The First Gentleman ''The First Gentleman'' is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, and starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Joan Hopkins, and Cecil Parker. It portrays the relationships and marriage of George, Prince Regent and his tense de ...

'', but had left over creative differences by the time the show made its

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

debut on 25 April 1957. The following year she was engaged to play

Miriam Miriam (, lit. ‘rebellion’) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Torah refers to her as "Miria ...

Christopher Fry Christopher Fry (18 December 1907 – 30 June 2005) was an English poet and playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, especially '' The Lady's Not for Burning'', which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. Biograp ...

's ''The First Born'', but was replaced by

Mildred Natwick Mildred Natwick (June 19, 1905 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards. Early life Natwick was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Mildre ...

a month before its 30 April debut on Broadway. Fein remained in the United States for several years giving

one-woman shows A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

called ''An Evening of European Theatre'' in which she performed scenes taken from plays by noted European playwrights.

Final years

By 1961 Fein had returned to Switzerland, where at

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

she played the title role in Shaw's ''

''. In 1964 Fein told of her experiences in Berlin theaters prior to 1933 in a twelve episode documentary presented by the German network

Norddeutscher Rundfunk (; "North German Broadcasting"), commonly shortened to NDR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, ...

. Fein died at the home of Maria Becker in Zurich in 1965 at the age of 73.Some sources list her death occurring on 15 September rather than on 5 September.

Selected filmography

* '' The Man in the Mirror'' (1917) * '' Life Is a Dream'' (1917) * '' Maria Pavlowna'' (1919) * ''

The Conspiracy in Genoa ''The Conspiracy in Genoa'' () is a 1921 Cinema of Germany, German silent film, silent historical film, historical drama film directed by Paul Leni and starring Wilhelm Diegelmann, Maria Fein and Fritz Kortner. It is an adaptation of the 1783 pla ...

'' (1921) * '' The Little Duke'' (1924) * ''

Das Spielzeug von Paris ''Das Spielzeug von Paris'' (English title ''Red Heels'') is an Austrian silent film released in 1925, and directed by Michael Curtiz. It was the first film to feature French actress Lili Damita in the leading role. Plot A young British Bohemi ...

'' (1925) * ''

The Convicted ''The Convicted'' (German: ''Die Vorbestraften'') is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Rudolf Meinert and starring Eugen Klöpfer, Margarete Schlegel and Albert Steinrück. The film portrays a group of former prisoners who struggle to ...

'' (1927) * '' Frederica'' (1932)

Resources

External links

Maria Fein, New York Public Library Digital Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fein, Maria 1892 births 1965 deaths Austrian stage actresses Austrian film actresses Austrian silent film actresses Actresses from Vienna 20th-century Austrian actresses Austrian people of Jewish descent Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism