Paul Leni (born Paul Josef Levi; 8 July 1885 – 2 September 1929) was a German filmmaker and a key figure in

German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

, making ''

Hintertreppe ''Hintertreppe'' (English: ''Backstairs'') is a 1921 silent film. This was the first movie by German director Leopold Jessner, in cooperation with Paul Leni. Carl Mayer specifically wrote this for Leopold Jessner, who would go on to direct '' E ...

'' (1921) and '' Waxworks'' (1924) in Germany, and '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1927), ''

The Chinese Parrot ''The Chinese Parrot'' (1926) is the second novel in the Charlie Chan series of mystery novels by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the first in which Chan travels from Hawaii to mainland California, and involves a crime whose exposure is hastened by t ...

'' (1927), ''

The Man Who Laughs ''The Man Who Laughs'' (also published under the title ''By Order of the King'' from its subtitle in French) is a novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in England beg ...

'' (1928), and ''

The Last Warning ''The Last Warning'' is a 1928 American mystery film directed by Paul Leni, and starring Laura La Plante, Montagu Love, and Margaret Livingston. ''The Last Warning'' was also one of the very last silent films Universal made — except it was a ...

'' (1928) in the United States.

Life and career

Das Plakat Sonderheft Der Film 1920 Titel

Paul Josef Levi was born to a Jewish family in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. He became an avant-garde painter at the age of 15, he studied at Berlin's Academy of Fine Arts, and subsequently worked as a theatrical set designer, working for a number of theatres in Berlin (but not with

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...

). In 1913, he started working in the German film industry designing film sets and/or costumes for directors such as

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 a ...

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

Richard Oswald Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald. Early career Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began h ...

, and

E. A. 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 ...

. During World War I, Leni started directing as well with films such as ''Der Feldarzt'' (''Das Tagebuch des Dr. Hart'', 1917), ''Patience'' (1920), ''Die Verschwörung zu Genua'' (1920/21) and ''Backstairs'' (1921). '' Waxworks'' (1924) was planned as a four-part omnibus feature, but the last part was not shot when money ran out. He also made a series of unusual short

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

films ''Rebus-Film Nr. 1–8'', which were filmed

crossword puzzle A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answ ...

s. Leni designed short prologues for festive film premieres in Berlin cinemas, such as Lubitsch's '' Forbidden Paradise'' (1924),

Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of silent films through the 1930s. Brenon was among the early film ...

's ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

'' (1924), and E. A. Dupont's ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' (1925). In 1927, he accepted

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

's invitation to become a director at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

and moved to Hollywood. There Leni made a distinguished directorial debut with '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1927), an adaptation of

John Willard John Willard ( 1657 - August 19, 1692) was one of the people executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. He was hanged on Gallows Hill, Salem on August 19, 1692. At the time of the first allegations of witchc ...

's stage play. The film had a great influence over Universal's later classic "

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the prope ...

" horror series, and was subsequently remade several times, notably in 1939 with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

. The following year he directed the big budget ''

'' (based on the novel by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

), one of the most visually stylized of late period silent films. His final film was ''

'', envisioned as a companion film for ''The Cat and the Canary'' due to its predecessor's popularity. Leni died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on 2 September 1929, of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

brought on by an untreated tooth infection, only eight months after its release. He was 44.

Filmography

German films

''As art director'' * ''Ein Ausgestoßener'' (1913) (dir:

) * '' The Man in the Chot of AMSA ZUBAIR'' (1914) (dir: Joe May) * '' The Armoured Vault'' (1914) (dir: Joe May) * ''Der Katzensteg'' (1915) (dir:

Max Mack Max Mack (1884–1973) was a German screenwriter, film producer and director during the silent era. He is particularly known for his 1913 film ''The Other''. He directed, and co-starred in, an early film adaptation of ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' in ...

) * ''Der Blusenkönig'' (1917) (dir:

) * '' The Ring of Giuditta Foscari'' (1917) * '' Veritas Vincit'' (1919) (dir: Joe May) * ''

Intoxication Intoxication — or poisoning, especially by an alcoholic or narcotic substance — may refer to: * Substance intoxication: ** Alcohol intoxication ** LSD intoxication ** Toxidrome ** Tobacco intoxication ** Cannabis intoxication ** Cocaine i ...

'' (1919) (dir: Ernst Lubitsch) * ''

The White Peacock ''The White Peacock'' is the first novel by D. H. Lawrence, published in 1911, though with 1910 on the title page. Lawrence started the novel in 1906 and then rewrote it three times. The early versions had the working title of ''Laetitia.'' Ma ...

'' (1920) (dir:

) * '' The Vulture Wally'' (1921) (dir: E. A. Dupont) * ''

Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy me ...

'' (1921) (dir:

) * ''

Children of Darkness ''Children of Darkness'' is a 1983 American documentary film on PBS produced by Ara Chekmayan and Richard Kotuk. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It is about mentally ill and emotionally troubled children an ...

'' (1921) * ''Frauenopfer'' (1921/22) (dir:

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 ...

) * ''

Tragedy of Love ''Tragedy of Love'' (German: ''Tragödie der Liebe'') is a 1923 German silent film directed by Joe May and starring Mia May, Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Erich Kettelhut, Paul Leni and ...

'' 1922) (4 parts, dir: Joe May) * ''

The Countess of Paris ''The Countess of Paris'' (German: ''Die Gräfin von Paris'') is a 1923 German silent film directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki and Joe May and starring Mia May, Emil Jannings and Erika Glässner. It was the sequel to '' Tragedy of Love''. The film ...

'' (1923) * ''

The Farmer from Texas ''The Farmer from Texas'' (german: Der Farmer aus Texas) is a 1925 German silent film, silent comedy film directed by Joe May and starring Mady Christians, Willy Fritsch, and Lillian Hall-Davis. It was based on the play ''Kolportage'' by Georg Ka ...

'' (1925) (dir: Joe May) * ''

The Wife of Forty Years ''The Wife of Forty Years'' (German: ''Die Frau von vierzig Jahren'') is a 1925 German silent drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Diana Karenne, Vladimir Gajdarov and Sig Arno. The film's art direction was by Paul Leni.Kasten & ...

'' (1925) (dir: Richard Oswald) * '' Dancing Mad'' (1925) (dir:

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of ''Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité'' (''Memoirs and Adventures of a Ma ...

'' (1926) (dir:

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 ...

) * ''Einspänner Nr. 13 / Fiaker Nr. 13'' (1926) (dir: Michael Kertész) * '' The Golden Butterfly'' (1926) (dir: Michael Kertész) * '' Maytime'' (1926) (dir:

Willi Wolff Willi is a given name, nickname (often a short form or hypocorism of Wilhelm) and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Willi Apel (1893–1988), German-American musicologist * Willi Boskovsky (1909–1991), Austrian violin ...

) ''As director (and art director)'' * 1917 ''

Dr. Hart's Diary ''Dr. Hart's Diary'' (German: ''Das Tagebuch des Dr. Hart'') is a 1917 German silent war film directed by Paul Leni and starring Heinrich Schroth, Käthe Haack and Dagny Servaes. The film depicts a German field hospital in occupied Russian Poland ...

/ Der Feldarzt / Das Tagebuch des Dr. Hart'' * 1917 ''Prima vera '' * 1917 ''Dornröschen'' * 1918 '' The Mystery of Bangalore'' * 1919 '' The Platonic Marriage'' * 1919 ''

Prince Cuckoo ''Prince Cuckoo'' (german: Prinz Kuckuck) is a 1919 German silent drama film directed by Paul Leni and starring Conrad Veidt, Olga Limburg, and Magnus Stifter. It premiered at the Marmorhaus. It is now considered a lost film. It was shot at the ...

'' * 1920 ''

Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...

'' * 1920/21 '' The Conspiracy in Genoa'' * 1921 ''Hintertreppe'' (dir with

Leopold Jessner Leopold Jessner (3 March 1878 – 13 December 1945) was a noted producer and director of German Expressionist theater and cinema. His first film, '' Hintertreppe'' (1921), is considered a major turning point which paved the way for the later ...

) * 1924 '' Waxworks'' (''Das Wachsfigurenkabinett'') * 1925/26 ''Rebus-Film Nr. 1–8'' (series of short films)

Universal Studio films

* '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1927) * ''

'' (1927) * ''

'' (1928) * ''

'' (1928/29)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leni, Paul 1885 births 1929 deaths Film people from Stuttgart English-language film directors 19th-century German Jews German emigrants to the United States