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 The German Reich, commonly referred to as the Weimar Republic,, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also r ...

Early years

Pabst was born in

Raudnitz Roudnice nad Labem (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. A steel road br ...

, Bohemia,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today's

Roudnice nad Labem Roudnice nad Labem (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. A steel road ...

, Czech Republic), the son of a railroad official. While growing up in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, he studied drama at the Academy of Decorative Arts and initially began his career as a stage actor in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. In 1910, Pabst traveled to the United States, where he worked as an actor and director at the German Theater in New York City. In 1914, he decided to become a director, and he returned to recruit actors in Europe. Pabst was in France when

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

began, he was arrested and held as an enemy alien and interned in a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military priso ...

near Brest. * * * While imprisoned, Pabst organised a theatre group at the camp and directed French-language plays. Upon his release in 1919, he returned to Vienna, where he became director of the Neue Wiener Bühne, an

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

theatre.

Career

Pabst began his career as a film director at the behest of

Carl Froelich Carl August Hugo Froelich (5 September 1875 – 12 February 1953) was a German film pioneer and film director. He was born and died in Berlin. Biography Apparatus builder and cameraman From 1903 Froelich was a colleague of Oskar Messter, one of ...

who hired Pabst as an assistant director. He directed his first film, '' The Treasure'', in 1923. He developed a talent for "discovering" and developing the talents of actresses, including

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic c ...

, Asta Nielsen,

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...

, and

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...

. Pabst's best known films concern the plight of women, including '' The Joyless Street'' (1925) with Greta Garbo and Asta Nielsen, '' Secrets of a Soul'' (1926) with Lili Damita, ''

The Loves of Jeanne Ney ''The Love of Jeanne Ney'' (german: Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney), released as ''Lusts of the Flesh'' in the United Kingdom, is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst based on a novel by Ilya Ehrenburg. Plot Jeanne is the ...

'' (1927) with Brigitte Helm, and ''

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 reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing phy ...

'' (1929) and '' Diary of a Lost Girl'' (1929) with American actress Louise Brooks. He also co-directed with

Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White He ...

mountain film A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on mountaineering and especially the battle of human against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the protagonists who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlighten ...

entitled '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' (1929) starring Leni Riefenstahl. After the coming of sound, he made a trilogy of films that secured his reputation: ''

Westfront 1918 ''Westfront 1918'' is a German war film, set mostly in the trench warfare, trenches of the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I. It was directed in 1930 by G. W. Pabst, from a screenplay by Ladislaus Vajda based on the n ...

'' (1930), ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " 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 Villon, with music ...

'' (1931) with

Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, long based in the United States. In the German-speaking and classical music world, she is bes ...

(based on the

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

and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

musical), and ''

Kameradschaft ''Kameradschaft'' ( en, Comradeship, known in France as ''La Tragédie de la mine'') is a 1931 dramatic film directed by Austrian director G. W. Pabst. The French-German co-production drama is noted for combining expressionism and realism.Butle ...

'' (1931). Pabst also filmed three versions of Pierre Benoit's novel '' L'Atlantide'' in 1932, in German, English, and French, titled ''Die Herrin von Atlantis'', ''The Mistress of Atlantis'', and ''L'Atlantide'', respectively. In 1933, Pabst directed ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'', once again in German, English, and French versions. After making '' A Modern Hero'' (1934) in the USA and '' Street of Shadows'' (1937) in France, Pabst (who was planning to emigrate to the United States) was caught in France in 1939, when war was declared, whilst visiting his mother, and was forced to return to Nazi Germany. Under the auspices of propaganda minister,

Josef Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1 ...

, Pabst made two films in Germany during this period: '' The Comedians'' (1941) and ''

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

'' (1943). Pabst directed four opera productions in Italy in 1953: ''

La forza del destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, ...

'' for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence (conducted by

Dimitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος; The dates 18 February 1896 and 1 March 1896 both appear in the literature. Many of Mitropoulos's early interviews and program notes gave 18 February. In his later interviews, howe ...

, the cast included

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post- war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. ...

, Fedora Barbieri, Mario del Monaco, Aldo Protti, Cesare Siepi), and a few weeks later, for the

Arena di Verona Festival Arena di Verona Festival (Verona Arena Festival) is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Verona ...

, a spectacular ''

Aïda ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decembe ...

'', with

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

in the title role (conducted by

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

, with del Monaco), ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mo ...

'' and again ''La forza del destino''. He directed '' The Last Ten Days'' (1955), the first post-war German feature film to feature

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 ...

as a character.

Death

On 29 May 1967, Pabst died in Vienna at the age of 81. He was interred at the

Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...

in Vienna.

Awards

* 1941, Venice Film Festival: Gold Medal of the Biennale for Best Director for his film '' The Comedians''

Filmography

* '' The Treasure'' (1923) * '' Countess Donelli'' (1924) * '' Joyless Street'' (1925) * '' Secrets of a Soul'' (1926) * '' One Does Not Play with Love'' (1926) * '' The Love of Jeanne Ney'' (1927) * '' The Devious Path'' (1928) * ''

'' (1929) * '' Diary of a Lost Girl'' (1929) * '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' (dir.

, 1929) * ''

'' (1930) * '' Scandalous Eva'' (1930) * '' Morals at Midnight'' (dir. Marc Sorkin, 1930) * ''

'' (1931) two versions: German and French * ''

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

'' (1933) three versions: German, French, and English * '' High and Low'' (1933) * '' Cette nuit-là'' (1933) * '' A Modern Hero'' (1934) * '' Street of Shadows'' (1937) * '' The Shanghai Drama'' (1938) * '' Girls in Distress'' (1939) * '' The Comedians'' (1941) * ''

'' (1943) * '' Der Fall Molander'' (1945) * ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and p ...

'' (1948) * '' Mysterious Shadows'' (1949) * '' Duel with Death'' (1949) * '' Call Over the Air'' (dir. Georg C. Klaren, 1951) * '' Voice of Silence'' (1953) * '' Cose da pazzi'' (1953) * '' The Confession of Ina Kahr'' (1954) * '' The Last Ten Days'' (1955) * '' Jackboot Mutiny'' (1955) * ''

Ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ...

'' (1956) * '' Through the Forests and Through the Trees'' (1956)

References

Notes Further reading * Amengual, Barthélémy. ''G.W. Pabst''. Paris, Seghers, 1966 * Atwell, Lee. ''G.W. Pabst''. Boston, Twayne Publishers, 1977 * Baxter, John. "G.W. Pabst" in ''International Directory of Films and Filmmakers''. Chicago, 1990. pp. 376–378 * Groppali, Enrico. ''Georg W. Pabst''. Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1983 * Jacobsen, Wolfgang (ed.) ''G.W. Pabst''. Berlin, Argen, 1997 * Kagelmann, Andre and Keiner, Reinhold. "Lässig beginnt der Tod, Mensch und Tier zu ernten: Überlegungen zu Ernst Johannsens Roman ''Vier von der Infanterie'' und G. W. Pabsts Film ''Westfront 1918''" in Johannsen, Eric; Kassell (ed.) ''Vier von der Infanterie. Ihre letzen Tage an der Westfront 1918''. Media Net-Edition, 2014. S. 80-113. * Kracauer, Siegfried. ''De Caligari à Hitler. Une histoire psychologique du cinéma allemand'', Paris, Flammarion, 1987 * Mitry, Jean. ''Histoire du cinéma: Art et industrie'' (5 volumes) Paris, Editions Universitaires – J.P. Delarge, 1967–1980 * Rentschler, Eric (ed.) ''The Films of G.W. Pabst. An extraterritorial cinema''. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1990 * Pabst, Georg Wilhelm. "Servitude et grandeur de Hollywood" in ''Le rôle intellectuel du cinéma, Paris'', SDN-Institut International de Coopération Intellectuelle, 1937. pp. 251–255 * Van den Berghe, Marc. ''La mémoire impossible. Westfront 1918 de G.W. Pabst. Grande Guerre, soldats, automates. Le film et sa problématique vus par la 'Petite Illustration (1931), Bruxelles, 200

External links

*
"The Other Eye", Filmessay on G.W.Pabst, by Hannah Heer & Werner Schmiedel (A/USA 1991/92)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pabst, Georg Wilhelm 1885 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Austrian male actors Austrian film directors Austrian male stage actors Austrian theatre directors Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery English-language film directors French-language film directors Male actors from Vienna Mountaineering film directors Austrian opera directors People from Roudnice nad Labem Silent film directors World War I prisoners of war held by France Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in World War I 20th-century Austrian screenwriters 20th-century Austrian male writers