Peter Ostermayr (18 July 1882 – 7 May 1967) was a German film producer,

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. Ostermayr was a pioneer during the early years of German cinema, with his brothers

Franz Osten Franz Osten (23 December 1876 in Munich – 2 December 1956) was a Bavaria, Bavarian filmmaker who along with Himansu Rai was among the first retainers of Bombay Talkies. Osten partnered with Rai on a number of India's earliest blockbuster film ...

and

Ottmar Ostermayr Ottmar Ostermayr (24 October 1886 – 15 December 1958) was a German film producer. He was the brother of Franz Osten and Peter Ostermayr. From 1911 until 1914 he worked for Vienna subsidiary of the French company Eclair. In the 1920s he set up ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.350 In 1907 they took over their father's photography business and turned into a film studio. After serving in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he founded a company which later evolved into

Bavaria Film Bavaria Film GmbH is a German film production and distribution company located in Grünwald, Bavaria at the district of Munich. It is one of Europe's largest film production companies and one of the leading production and distribution companies ...

, and acquired the

Emelka Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Firs ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. While Bavaria went on to become a leading German production company, Ostermayr had left by the mid-1920s and worked at several other studios including the giant UFA. Following 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 ...

he entered

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

production, and specialized in

heimatfilm ' (, German for "homeland-films"; German singular: ') were films of a genre popular in West Germany, Switzerland, and Austria from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. '' Heimat'' can be translated as "home" (in the geographic sense), "hometown" or " ...

. He was made an honorary president of the West German Film Producers' Association. He had two sons, John and Paul born in 1908 and 1909 respectively, and a daughter Olga who was born in 1918. His son was the film director

Paul May Paul May (8 May 1909 – 25 February 1976) was a German film director and film editor, editor. He directed 40 films between 1935 and 1972. Biography He was the son of Peter Ostermayr, a film producer with Universum Film AG, and his wife O ...

Filmography as producer

* '' Trutzi from Trutzberg'' (1922) (also director) * ''

To a Woman of Honour ''To a Woman of Honour'' () is a 1924 German silent film directed by Rudolf Biebrach and starring Lucy Doraine, Georg H. Schnell and Fritz Greiner. The film's sets were designed by the art director Carl Ludwig Kirmse Carl Ludwig Kirmse (1888 ...

'' (1924) * '' The Csardas Princess'' (1927) * '' Volga Volga'' (1928) * '' The Lady in Black'' (1928) * '' Napoleon at Saint Helena'' (1929) * ''

The Peak Scaler ''The Peak Scaler'' () is a 1933 German drama film directed by Franz Wenzler and starring Franz Schmid, Walter Krieger and Mizzl Bardorf.Waldman p. 151 The film's art direction was by Otto Erdmann (art director), Otto Erdmann and Hans Sohnle. Ca ...

'' (1933) * '' Holiday From Myself'' (1934) * '' Hubertus Castle'' (1934) * ''

The Saint and Her Fool ''The Saint and Her Fool'' (German: ''Die Heilige und ihr Narr'') is a 1928 German silent drama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Dieterle, Lien Deyers and Gina Manès. It was based on a novel by Agnes Günther and premiered at ...

'' (1935) * '' Militiaman Bruggler'' (1936) * '' The Hunter of Fall'' (1936) * '' Storms in May'' (1938) * ''

Frau Sixta ''Frau Sixta'' is a 1938 German historical drama film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Gustav Fröhlich, Franziska Kinz and Ilse Werner. It is based on the 1925 Frau Sixta (novel), novel of the same title by the Swiss writer Ernst Zahn. Th ...

'' (1938) * '' Left of the Isar, Right of the Spree'' (1940) * ''

Violanta ''Violanta'', Op. 8, is a one-act opera by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The libretto is by the Austrian playwright Hans Müller-Einigen. It is Korngold's second opera, written when he was seventeen years old. Performance history It was premiered on ...

'' (1942) * '' The War of the Oxen'' (1943) * ''

Why Are You Lying, Elisabeth? ''Why Are You Lying, Elisabeth?'' (German: ''Warum lügst Du, Elisabeth?'') is a 1944 German comedy film directed by Fritz Kirchhoff and starring Carola Höhn, Paul Richter and Annie Rosar.Klaus p.119 It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in ...

'' (1944) * '' The Violin Maker of Mittenwald'' (1950) * ''

The Cloister of Martins ''The Cloister of Martins'' () is a 1951 West German drama film directed by Richard Häussler and starring Willy Rösner, Gisela Fackeldey and Heinz Engelmann.Goble p.173 Based on the novel of the same title by Ludwig Ganghofer, it was part of th ...

'' (1951) * '' Marriage Strike'' (1953) * '' The Monastery's Hunter'' (1953) * '' Hubertus Castle'' (1954) * '' The Vulture Wally'' (1956)

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1882 births 1967 deaths Film people from Bavaria People from Mühldorf German male writers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Germany-film-bio-stub