Gerhard Menzel (29 September 1894 – 4 May 1966) was a German
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
. He wrote for nearly 40 films between 1933 and 1965. He was supportive of
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
and worked for
Nazi propaganda
The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation o ...
. He was responsible for writing the script of ''
Heimkehr
''Heimkehr'' (English: "Homecoming") is a 1941 Nazi German anti-Polish propaganda film directed by Gustav Ucicky.
It received the rare honor "Film of the Nation" in Nazi Germany, bestowed on films considered to have made an outstanding contribut ...
'', one of the most infamous pieces of Nazi cinema, which featured racism and hateful images of Poles.
[The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife By Eric Rentschler page 132]
He was born in
Waldenburg,
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...
, Germany (now
Walbrzych, Poland) and died in
Comano,
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
, Switzerland.
Selected filmography
* ''
Morgenrot'' (1933)
* ''
Refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. '' (1933)
* ''
Night in May
''Night in May'' (french: Nuit de mai) is a 1934 German comedy film directed by Henri Chomette, Gustav Ucicky and Raoul Ploquin. It starred Käthe von Nagy, Fernand Gravey and Annie Ducaux. It is the French-language version of UFA's ''The Young ...
'' (1934)
* ''
The Young Baron Neuhaus
''The Young Baron Neuhaus'' (German: ''Der junge Baron Neuhaus'') is a 1934 German historical drama film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Viktor de Kowa, Käthe von Nagy and Christl Mardayn. Produced and distributed by UFA, it was shot at ...
'' (1934)
* ''
Savoy Hotel 217
''Savoy Hotel 217'' (German: ''Savoy-Hotel 217'') is a 1936 German drama film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Hans Albers, Brigitte Horney and Alexander Engel. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. The film's sets were designed ...
'' (1936)
* ''
Under Blazing Heavens
''Under Blazing Skies'' or ''Under Blazing Heavens'' (German: ''Unter heißem Himmel'') is a 1936 German adventure film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Hans Albers, Lotte Lang and Aribert Wäscher.Kreimeier p.237 It was shot at the Babel ...
'' (1936)
* ''
Wells in Flames
''Wells in Flames'' (French: ''Puits en flammes'') is a 1937 German adventure film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Josseline Gaël, George Rigaud and Suzy Vernon.Rentschler p.289 It is the French-language version of '' City of Ana ...
'' (1937)
* ''
La Habanera'' (1937)
* ''
Woman in the River
''Woman in the River'' (German: ''Frau im Strom'') is a 1939 drama film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Hertha Feiler, Attila Hörbiger and Oskar Sima.Hake, Sabine. ''Popular Cinema of the Third Reich''. University of Texas Press, 2001. ...
'' (1939)
* ''
A Mother's Love'' (1939)
* ''
Robert Koch
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the Vibrio ...
'' (1939)
* ''
Heimkehr
''Heimkehr'' (English: "Homecoming") is a 1941 Nazi German anti-Polish propaganda film directed by Gustav Ucicky.
It received the rare honor "Film of the Nation" in Nazi Germany, bestowed on films considered to have made an outstanding contribut ...
'' (1941)
* ''
The Great King
''The Great King'' (german: Der große König) is a 1942 German drama film directed by Veit Harlan and starring Otto Gebühr. It depicts the life of Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786. It received the rare "Film of the N ...
'' (1942)
* ''
Destiny
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often ...
'' (1942)
* ''
Late Love
''Late Love'' (German: ''Späte Liebe'') is a 1943 German historical drama film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Paula Wessely, Attila Hörbiger and Inge List.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Werner Schlichting. It ...
'' (1943)
* ''
The Heart Must Be Silent
''The Heart Must Be Silent'' (German: ''Das Herz muß schweigen'') is a 1944 German drama film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Paula Wessely, Mathias Wieman and Werner Hinz.Von Dassanowsky p.83 It was produced by Wien Film in the Austria ...
'' (1944)
* ''
The Sinner'' (1951)
* ''
Hanussen'' (1955)
* ''
Ich suche Dich
''Ich suche Dich'' (''"I Seek You"'' ) is a 1956 German film based on the 1940 play '' Jupiter Laughs'' by A. J. Cronin. It is directed by O. W. Fischer, who also stars in the film, and also features Anouk Aimée, Nadja Tiller, and Otto Brüg ...
'' (1956)
* ''
King in Shadow
''King in Shadow'' (german: Herrscher ohne Krone) is a 1957 Western German historical drama film directed by Harald Braun and starring O. W. Fischer, Odile Versois and Horst Buchholz.Klossner, Michael. ''The Europe of 1500–1815 on Film and Tel ...
'' (1957)
References
External links
*
1894 births
1966 deaths
German male screenwriters
Kleist Prize winners
People from the Province of Silesia
People from Wałbrzych
German male writers
Nazi propagandists
20th-century German screenwriters
{{Screen-writer-stub