Leo Mittler (18 December 1893 – 16 May 1958) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

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. ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

. Mittler was born 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 ...

, then the capital of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire 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 ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He attended the

University of Music and Performing Arts The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

and worked as a playwright and director in the German theatre. Mittler then switched to work in the booming German film industry during the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. Mittler's best known film as director was ''

Beyond the Street ''Beyond the Street'' (german: Jenseits der Straße) is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Lissy Arna, Paul Rehkopf, and Fritz Genschow. The film is in the Weimar tradition of "street films", which examined the ...

'' (1929), a "street film" influenced by

Soviet cinema The cinema of the Soviet Union includes films produced by the constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their pre-Soviet culture, language and history, albeit they were all regulated by the central government in Moscow. M ...

.Prawer p.89 As well as his work in the German industry, Mittler also spent time at the American company

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

-subsidiary based at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont making films there. A second studio was added to the original ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Following the

Nazi 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 ...

rise to power in 1933, Mittler spent many years in exile in several countries including Britain and France before settling in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Mittler's career as a director had all but ended in the mid-1930s, after making the Stanley Lupino musical comedy '' Cheer Up'' (1936), but he worked occasionally as a screenwriter. Mittler wrote the original story of the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

pro-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

film ''

Song of Russia ''Song of Russia'' is a 1944 American war film made and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The picture was credited as being directed by Gregory Ratoff, though Ratoff collapsed near the end of the five-month production, and was replaced by Lás ...

'' (1944) which was later investigated by

HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

for its alleged

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

sympathies. Mittler returned to Germany post-war, and died there in 1958. Before his death, he worked for German theatre and television.

Selected filmography

Director

* ''

We'll Meet Again in the Heimat ''We'll Meet Again at Home'' (German: ''In der Heimat, da gibt's ein Wiedersehn!'') is a 1926 German silent film directed by Leo Mittler Leo Mittler (18 December 1893 – 16 May 1958) was an Austrian playwright, screenwriter and film director. ...

'' (1926) * ''

Serenissimus and the Last Virgin ''Serenissimus and the Last Virgin'' (German:''Serenissimus und die letzte Jungfrau'') is a 1928 German silent film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Hans Junkermann, Adolphe Engers and Adele Sandrock.Gerhard Lamprecht. ''Deutsche Stummfilme, ...

'' (1928) * ''

'' (1929) * ''

There Is a Woman Who Never Forgets You ''There Is a Woman Who Never Forgets You'' (German: ''Es gibt eine Frau, die dich niemals vergißt'') is a 1930 German drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Iván Petrovich, Lil Dagover and Helene Fehdmer.Canziani p.306 It was origina ...

'' (1930) * '' The King of Paris'' (1930, German) * '' The King of Paris'' (1930, French) * '' Tropical Nights'' (1931) * ''

The Incorrigible ''The Incorrigible'' (Spanish: ''La incorregible'') is a 1931 film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Enriqueta Serrano, Tony D'Algy and Gabriel Algara.Finkielman p.172 Made at the Joinville Studios in Paris, it is the Spanish-language version ...

'' (1931) * '' The Concert'' (1931) * '' Sunday of Life'' (1931) * ''

Every Woman Has Something ''Every Woman Has Something'' (German: ''Jede Frau hat etwas'') is a 1931 American comedy film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Trude Berliner, Willy Clever and Kurt Vespermann.Stach & Morsbach p.54 It is the German-language version of the 19 ...

'' (1931) * ''

Reckless Youth Thomas Carter (born September 18, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Reckless Youth. He has competed in numerous North American independent promotions including the East Coast Wrestling Association, Comba ...

'' (1931) * '' The Leap into the Void'' (1932) * ''

The Night at the Hotel ''The Night at the Hotel'' (French: ''Une nuit à l'hôtel'') is a 1932 French drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Marcelle Romée, Jean Périer and Betty Stockfeld.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.113 It was made at the Joinville Studios in ...

'' (1932) * ''

Nights in Port Said ''Nights in Port Said'' (French: ''Les nuits de Port Said'') is a 1932 French drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Renée Héribel, Gustav Diessl and Oskar Homolka.Waldman & Slide p.72 It was shot at the Joinville Studios in Paris. The ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Faceless Voice ''The Faceless Voice'' (French: ''La voix sans visage'') is a 1933 French drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Lucien Muratore, Véra Korène and Jean Servais.Oscherwitz & Higgins p. 281 Plot The singer Saltore is accused of murder ...

'' (1933) * '' Honeymoon for Three'' (1935) * ''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert a ...

'' (1936) * '' Cheer Up'' (1936)

Screenwriter

* ''

Sixteen Daughters and No Father ''Sixteen Daughters and No Father'' (German: ''Sechzehn Töchter und kein Papa'') is a 1928 German silent comedy film directed by Adolf Trotz and starring Paul Graetz and Camilla Spira.Parish p.533 The film's art direction was by August Rina ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Ghost Ship ''The Ghost Ship'' is a 1943 American black-and-white psychological thriller film, with elements of mystery and horror, directed by Mark Robson, starring Richard Dix and featuring Russell Wade, Edith Barrett, Ben Bard and Edmund Glover, alo ...

'' (1943) * ''

'' (1944)

References

Bibliography

* Mayhew, Robert. ''Ayn Rand And Song Of Russia: Communism And Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood''. Scarecrow Press, 2005. * Prawer, S.S. ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933''. Berghahn Books, 2005.

External links

* 1893 births 1958 deaths Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United States after the Anschluss Austrian male dramatists and playwrights Austrian film directors Austrian television directors Film people from Vienna Austrian male screenwriters 20th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Austrian male writers 20th-century Austrian screenwriters {{Austria-film-bio-stub