Nero-Film AG was a German

film production Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

company founded in 1925 and based 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 ...

during the

Weimar era The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclaimed itself, as ...

History

The company's name was derived from the names of its two founders: the letters "NE" stood for the name of the entrepreneur

Heinrich Nebenzahl Heinrich Nebenzahl (1870–1938) was an Austrian-born film producer.Prawer p.7 In 1925 he founded the German production company Nero Film which prospered under the management of his son Seymour Nebenzahl. In 1933 the Jewish Nebenzahls were force ...

, and the letters "RO" for the initials of director

Richard Oswald Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald. Early life and career Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, ...

. It was founded as ''Nero-Film GmbH'', a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

, and was converted into an ''

Aktiengesellschaft (; abbreviated AG ) is a German language, German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e., one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria ...

'', ''Nero-Film AG'', in 1927. Under the influence of Nebenzahl's son

Seymour Nebenzal Seymour Nebenzal (22 July 1899 – 23 September 1961) was an American-born Jewish-German film producer. He produced 46 films between 1927 and 1961. Biography Germany He got into film production through his father Heinrich Nebenzahl (1870� ...

, Nero-Film was one of the most artistically ambitious production companies in Germany, and with directors like G.W. Pabst and

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 ...

it produced a number of major films of the Weimar era, such as ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod related that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing curses ...

'', ''

Westfront 1918 ''Westfront 1918'' is a German war film, set mostly in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I. It was directed in 1930 by G. W. Pabst, from a screenplay by Ladislaus Vajda based on the novel ''Vier von der Infanterie'' by Ernst J ...

'', ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "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 V ...

'', '' M'', '' Kameradschaft'', '' L'Atlantide'' and ''

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse ''The Testament of Dr. Mabuse'' (), also called ''The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse'', is a 1933 German crime-thriller film directed by Fritz Lang. The movie is a sequel to Lang's silent film ''Dr. Mabuse the Gambler'' (1922) and features many cast a ...

''. In the film industry, the bourgeois-democratic Nero-Film and the proletarian Prometheus Film were the last bulwark against the rise of artistic

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Seymour Nebenzal was forced to emigrate, and Nero-Film AG was put out of business. ''

'' became the first film censored by 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 ...

government; Nebenzal and Director

appeared before Reich Minister of Propaganda

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

, who ordered ''Mabuse'' destroyed and banned it from the Reich. Nebenzal, using his American passport, fled that evening to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and then to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he re-established his company as Production Nero Film and, among other French productions, collaborated with the Director

Anatole Litvak Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (10 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), commonly known as Anatole Litvak, was a Russian-American filmmaker. Born to Jewish parents in Kiev, he began his theatrical training at age 13 in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, ...

to produce ''Mayerling'', a huge success for the star,

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

. Fleeing again to Los Angeles, as the Nazis invaded France, Nebenzal again re-established the company under the name of Nero Films Inc. Nebenzal's son, Harold, still manages the films in the Nero collection, including supervising a new print of his father's remake for Columbia Pictures in 1951 of '' M'', directed by

Joseph Losey Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American film and theatre director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Hollywood ...

that was featured at

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

Film Festival in 2016.

Selected filmography

* '' Die Gefangene von Shanghai'' (1927) * ''

Das letzte Fort ''The Last Fort'' () is a 1928 German silent war filmKoepnick p. 68 directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Rolla Norman, Maria Paudler and Albert Steinrück. Cast * Rolla Norman as Major Leblanc * Maria Paudler as Yvonne, seine Tochter * Albe ...

'' (1928) * '' Tragödie im Zirkus Royal'' (1928) * '' Die Büchse der Pandora'' (1929) * '' Menschen am Sonntag'' (1930) * '' Vier von der Infanterie'' (1930) * '' Skandal um Eva'' (1930) * '' Die 3 Groschen-Oper'' (1931) * ''

Ariane Ariane may refer to: *Ariana (name), also Ariane, Arianne Arts * ''Ariane'' (Martinů), an opera by Bohuslav Martinů, first performed 1961 * ''Ariane'' (Massenet), an opera by Jules Massenet, first performed 1906 * ''Ariane'' (film), a 1931 ...

'' (1931) * '' M'' (1931) * '' Kameradschaft'' (1931) * '' L'Atlantide'' (1932) three versions: German, French, and English * ''

Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse ''The Testament of Dr. Mabuse'' (), also called ''The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse'', is a 1933 German crime-thriller film directed by Fritz Lang. The movie is a sequel to Lang's silent film '' Dr. Mabuse the Gambler'' (1922) and features many cast ...

'' (1933) As Production Nero Film * '' Le Sexe faible'' (1933) * ''

La crise est finie ''The Crisis is Over'' (French: ''La crise est finie'') is a 1934 French musical comedy film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Albert Préjean, Danielle Darrieux and Marcel Carpentier. Many of those who worked on the film were exiles from Na ...

'' (1934) * '' La Vie parisienne'' (1936) * ''

Mayerling Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden (district of Austria), Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Vienna Woods, Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), so ...

'' (1936) * '' Le Roman de Werther'' (1938) * ''

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) As Nero Films Inc. * ''

We Who Are Young ''We Who Are Young'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Harold S. Bucquet, written by Dalton Trumbo and starring Lana Turner, John Shelton and Gene Lockhart. Plot Co-workers Bill (Shelton) and Margie (Turner) fall in love and marry agains ...

'' (1940) * ''

Hitler's Madman ''Hitler's Madman'' is a 1943 World War II drama directed by Douglas Sirk. It is a fictionalized account of the 1942 assassination of Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich and the resulting Lidice massacre, which the Germans committed as revenge. The ...

'' (1943) * '' Summer Storm'' (1944) * ''

Whistle Stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a bus stop, stop or train station, station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or drop ...

'' (1945) * '' The Chase'' (1946) * '' Heaven Only Knows'' (1947) * ''

Siren of Atlantis ''Siren of Atlantis'', also known as ''Atlantis the Lost Continent'', is a 1949 American black-and-white fantasy-adventure film, distributed by United Artists, that stars Maria Montez and her husband Jean Pierre Aumont. It was the first feature sh ...

'' (1948) * '' M'' (1951) * '' Bis zum Ende aller Tage'' (1961)

's son

Harold Nebenzal Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts ...

continued the three-generation tradition of Nero-Film through the production of such motion picture masterpieces as ''Cabaret'' and ''Gabriela''.

References

External links

* (in German) * (in German) Film production companies of Germany Weimar culture 1925 establishments in Germany 1933 disestablishments in Germany Mass media companies established in 1925 Mass media companies disestablished in 1933 Mass media in Berlin {{germany-org-stub

History

Selected filmography

Further reading

References

External links