Peter Ostermayr (18 July 1882 – 7 May 1967) was a German film producer, screenwriter and film director. Ostermayr was a pioneer during the early years of German cinema, with his brothers Franz Osten and Ottmar Ostermayr.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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he founded a company which later evolved into

Bavaria Film Bavaria Film is a German film production and distribution company. It is one of Europe's largest film production companies, with some 30 subsidiaries. History The studios were founded in 1919, when Munich-raised film producer Peter Ostermayr ...

, 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 Fir ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. 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 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 ...

. Following 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 opposi ...

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 the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

production, and specialised in

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

. He was made an honorary president of the

West German Film Producers' Association West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. 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 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 Olga, ''né ...

Filmography as producer

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

To a Woman of Honour ''To a Woman of Honour'' (german: Um eines Weibes Ehre) 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 Kirms ...

'' (1924) * '' The Csardas Princess'' (1927) * '' Volga Volga'' (1928) * '' The Lady in Black'' (1928) * ''

Napoleon at Saint Helena ''Napoleon at Saint Helena'' (german: Napoleon auf Sankt Helena) is a 1929 German silent historical film directed by Lupu Pick and starring Werner Krauss, Hanna Ralph, and Albert Bassermann. It was shot at the EFA Studios in Berlin with loc ...

'' (1929) * ''

The Peak Scaler ''The Peak Scaler'' (german: Gipfelstürmer) 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 and Hans Sohnle. Cast ...

'' (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 novel of the same title by the Swiss writer Ernst Zahn. The film's sets ...

'' (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 o ...

'' (1942) * '' The War of the Oxen'' (1943) * '' Why Are You Lying, Elisabeth?'' (1944) * ''

The Violin Maker of Mittenwald ''The Violin Maker of Mittenwald'' (german: Der Geigenmacher von Mittenwald) is a 1950 West German drama film directed by Rudolf Schündler and starring Willy Rösner, Paul Richter and Franziska Kinz. It is a heimatfilm, based on Ludwig Ganghofe ...

'' (1950) * ''

The Cloister of Martins ''The Cloister of Martins'' (german: Die Martinsklause) is a 1951 West German drama film directed by Richard Häussler and starring Willy Rösner, Gisela Fackeldey and Heinz Engelmann.Goble p.173 It is based on the novel of the same title by Lud ...

'' (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