Brigitte Helm (born Brigitte Gisela Eva Schittenhelm, 17 March 1906 – 11 June 1996) was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double named Futura, in

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

's 1927

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

, ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

''.

Early life and film career

Brigitte Gisela Eva Schittenhelm was born on 17 March 1906 in Berlin, the daughter of Gretchen Gertrud Martha Schittenhelm (née Tews) and Edwin Alexander Johannes Schittenhelm. Helm's first role was that of Maria in ''

'', which she began work on while only 18 years old. After ''Metropolis'', Helm made over 30 other films, including

talking pictures 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 before ...

, before retiring in 1935. Her other appearances include '' The Love of Jeanne Ney'' (1927), ''

Alraune ''Alraune'' (German for ) is a novel by German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers published in 1911. It is also the name of the female lead character. The book originally featured illustrations by Ilna Ewers-Wunderwald. Legend The basis of the story o ...

'' (1928), '' L'Argent'' (1928), ''Gloria'' (1931), ''

The Blue Danube "The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314 (German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed on 15 Februa ...

'' (1932), '' L'Atlantide'' (1932), and ''

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

'' (1934). Helm was considered for the title role in ''

Bride of Frankenstein ''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring Boris Kar ...

'' before

Elsa Lanchester Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British-American actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary '' Variety'', 31 December 1986. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the F ...

was given the role. She signed a ten-year contract with

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

in 1925.

Personal life

Helm was involved in several traffic accidents, and was briefly imprisoned. According to the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

's Press Chief

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

Otto Dietrich's book, ''The Hitler I Knew'',

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

saw that manslaughter charges against her from an automobile accident were dropped. Helm married her second husband, Dr. Hugo Kunheim, an industrialist, after her film contract expired in 1935. Helm stated that she retired from films because she was "...disgusted with the Nazi takeover of the film industry..." In 1935, she moved to Switzerland, where she had four children with Kunheim. In her later years, she refused to grant any interviews concerning her film career. Helm died, 11 June 1996, in Ascona, Switzerland.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1927), director:

* '' At the Edge of the World'', (''Am Rande der Welt'', 1927), director:

Karl Grune Karl Grune (22 January 1890 – 2 October 1962) was an Austrian film director and writer who made many silent films in the 1920s. Grune was born into a Jewish familySiegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German ...

* '' The Love of Jeanne Ney'' (''Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney'', 1927), director:

G.W. Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

* ''

'' (1928), director:

Henrik Galeen Henrik Galeen (7 January 1881 – 30 July 1949) was an Austrian-born actor, screenwriter and film director considered an influential figure in the development of German Expressionist cinema during the silent era. Early years Considerable mystery ...

; title role * '' The Devious Path'' also known as ''Abwege'' (1928) director: G.W. Pabst * '' Yacht of the Seven Sins'' (''Die Yacht der sieben Sünden'', 1928), directors:

Jacob Fleck Jacob Fleck (8 November 1881 in Vienna as Jacob Julius Fleck – 19 September 1953, also in Vienna) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, film producer and cameraman. He is noted for his long-standing professional partnership with his wife ...

Luise Fleck Luise Fleck, also known as Luise Kolm or Luise Kolm-Fleck, née Louise or Luise Veltée (1 August 1873–15 March 1950), was an Austrian film director, and has been considered the second ever female feature film director in the world, after A ...

* '' L'Argent'' (1928), director:

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

* ''

Scandal in Baden-Baden ''Scandal in Baden-Baden'' (German: ''Skandal in Baden-Baden'') is a 1929 German silent film directed by Erich Waschneck and starring Brigitte Helm, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur and Henry Stuart.Bock & Bergfelder p.33 The film's sets were designed by t ...

'' (''Skandal in Baden-Baden'', 1929), director:

Erich Waschneck Erich John Waschneck (29 April 1887, in Grimma, Kingdom of Saxony – 22 September 1970, in Berlin) was a German cameraman, director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early life Erich was the son of Karl Hermann Waschneck, a blacksmith, and hi ...

* '' Manolescu'' (1929), director:

Victor Tourjansky The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * Victor (1951 film), ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * Victor (1993 film), ...

* ''

The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna ''The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna'' (German: ''Die wunderbare Lüge der Nina Petrowna'') is a 1929 German silent film, silent drama film directed by Hanns Schwarz and starring Brigitte Helm, Francis Lederer and Warwick Ward. It was the last b ...

'' (''Die wunderbare Lüge der Nina Petrowna'', 1929), director:

Hanns Schwarz Hanns Schwarz (11 February 1888 – 27 October 1945) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna on 11 February 1888. Biography He directed twenty four films between 1924 and 1937 in both English and German. During the late silent and ...

* ''

The Singing City ''The Singing City'' (German: ''Die singende Stadt'') is a 1930 German musical film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Jan Kiepura, Brigitte Helm and Walter Janssen. The film's sets were designed by the art director Oscar Werndorff. An ...

'' (''Die singende Stadt'', 1930), director

Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...

* ''

'' (1930), director: Richard Oswald; title role * '' Gloria'' (1931), director:

Hans Behrendt Hans Behrendt (28 September 1889 – 1942) was a German-Jewish actor, screenwriter and film director. He was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942. Selected filmography Screenwriter * '' Catherine the Great'' (1920) ...

* '' Gloria'' (1931), director:

Yvan Noé Yvan Noé (1895–1963) was a French playwright, screenwriter and film director.Driskell p.146 He was married to the actress Pierrette Caillol who sometimes performed alongside him. Selected filmography * '' Gloria'' (1931) * '' Mademoiselle Mozar ...

* '' In the Employ of the Secret Service'' (''Im Geheimdienst'', 1931), director:

Gustav Ucicky Gustav Ucicky (6 July 1899 – 27 April 1961) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He was one of the more successful directors in Austria and Germany from the 1930s through to the early 1960s. His work covered a wid ...

* ''

'' (1932), director:

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wif ...

* '' The Countess of Monte Cristo'' (''Die Gräfin von Monte-Christo'', 1932), director: Karl Hartl * '' The Mistress of Atlantis'' (''Die Herrin von Atlantis'', 1932) director: G.W. Pabst * '' Three on a Honeymoon'' (''Hochzeitsreise zu dritt'', 1932), director: Erich Schmidt * '' Honeymoon Trip'' (''Voyage de noces'', 1933), directors: Germain Fried,

Joe May Joe May (born Joseph Otto Mandl; 7 November 1880 – 29 April 1954) was an Austrian film director and film producer and one of the pioneers of German cinema. Biography After studying in Berlin and a variety of odd jobs, he began his career as ...

, Erich Schmidt * ''

The Marathon Runner ''The Marathon Runner'' (german: Der Läufer von Marathon) is a 1933 German sports film directed by Ewald André Dupont and starring Brigitte Helm, Hans Brausewetter and Ursula Grabley. It was based on a 1928 novel by Werner Scheff, adapted by ...

'' (''Der Läufer von Marathon'', 1933), director:

Ewald André Dupont Ewald André Dupont (25 December 1891 – 12 December 1956) was a German film director, one of the pioneers of the German film industry. He was often credited as E. A. Dupont. Early career A newspaper columnist in 1916, Dupont became a screenwri ...

* '' Spies at Work'' (''Spione am Werk'', 1933), director:

Gerhard Lamprecht Gerhard Lamprecht (6 October 1897 – 4 May 1974) was a German film director, screenwriter and film historian. He directed 63 films between 1920 and 1958. He also wrote for 26 films between 1918 and 1958. Life and career Lamprecht was fasci ...

* '' The Star of Valencia'' (''L'Étoile de Valencia'', 1933), director:

Serge de Poligny Serge de Poligny (1903–1983) was a French screenwriter and film director. Career Serge de Poligny was born in Paris in 1903. He studied art at the École des Beaux-Arts in the class of the painter Maurice Denis. In 1925 he joined the French ...

* '' Happy Days in Aranjuez'' (''Die schönen Tage von Aranjuez'', 1933), director: Johannes Meyer * ''

Inge and the Millions ''Inge and the Millions'' (german: Inge und die Millionen) is a 1933 German comedy film directed by Erich Engel and starring Brigitte Helm, Carl Esmond, and Paul Wegener. Produced by UFA, it was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. The fil ...

'' (''Inge und die Millionen'', 1933), director:

Erich Engel Erich Gustav Otto Engel (14 February 1891 – 10 May 1966) was a German film and theatre director.He is often confused with another German film director called Erich Engels, who specialised in comedy, and crime films. Biography Engel was b ...

* ''

'' (1934), director: Karl Hartl * '' The Island'' (''Die Insel'', 1934), director: Hans Steinhoff * '' Count Woronzeff'' (''Fürst Woronzeff'', 1934), director:

Arthur Robison Arthur Robison (June 25, 1883 – October 20, 1935) was a German film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed 20 films between 1916 and 1935. Selected filmography * '' A Night of Horror'' (1916) * '' What Belongs to Darkne ...

* '' An Ideal Husband'' (''Ein idealer Gatte'', 1935), director:

Herbert Selpin Herbert Selpin (29 May 1904 – 1 August 1942) was a German film director and screenwriter of light entertainment during the 1930s and 1940s. He is best known for his final film, the partly suppressed ''Titanic'', during the production of which h ...

* ''Wie im Traum'' (1978, short), director: Egon Haase

References

Notes

External links

*
Virtual History - Tobacco cards

German Brigitte Helm Memorial page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helm, Brigitte 1906 births 1996 deaths 20th-century German actresses Actresses from Berlin German film actresses German silent film actresses Emigrants from Nazi Germany to Switzerland

Early life and film career

Personal life

Selected filmography

References

Notes

Further reading

External links