art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
and
set designer
Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly train ...
who worked for many years 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 ...
.
Germany
Feld was born Rudi Feilchenfeld in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, the elder brother of the actor
Fritz Feld
Fritz Feld (October 15, 1900 – November 18, 1993) was a German-American film character actor who appeared in over 140 films in 72 years, both silent and sound. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop" s ...
. He served in the German army during World War I and then began his early career designing
posters
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. ...
for
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
and
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
shows, before graduating to creating
film set
A set is artificially constructed scenery used in theatre, film and TV. In the latter two cases there are many reasons to build or use a set instead of travelling to a real location, such as budget, time, the need to control the environment, or ...
s. Feld worked in the
German film industry
The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg Studio, Babelsberg became a household synon ...
during the boom years of the late
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 ...
. He was employed by the German
Major studio
Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, th ...
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 ...
as head of
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
.Ward p.193 He designed the exterior displays of the flagship UFA
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
Ufa-Palast am Zoo
The Ufa-Palast am Zoo, located near Berlin Zoological Garden in the New West area of Charlottenburg, was a major Berlin cinema owned by Universum Film AG, or Ufa. Opened in 1919 and enlarged in 1925, it was the largest cinema in Germany until 19 ...
for each new
premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
.
Exile
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, the
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 ...
Feld went into exile. Feld settled in
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
where he briefly owned a
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
. In 1937 he emigrated to 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 ...
and from the mid-1940s he found regular work in the American film industry. Feld was frequently employed by smaller Hollywood studios such as
Eagle-Lion
Eagle-Lion Films was a British-American film production company owned by J. Arthur Rank intended to distribute British productions in the United States.
In 1947, it acquired Robert R. Young's PRC Pictures, a small American production company, ...
during the post-
World War II
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 ...
years, and worked as a draftsman for MGM. He continued working until 1969.
Partial filmography
* ''
Miss Rockefeller Is Filming
''Miss Rockefeller Is Filming'' (german: Miss Rockefeller filmt) is a 1922 German silent comedy film directed by Erich Schönfelder and starring Paul Otto, Stella Arbenina and Georg Alexander.Hake, Sabine. ''The Cinema's Third Machine: Writing ...
'' (1922)
* ''
William Tell
William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
'' (1923)
* ''
King of Women
''King of Women'' (german: Der Frauenkönig) is a 1923 German silent comedy film directed by Jaap Speyer and starring Georg Alexander, Stella Arbenina, and Ralph Arthur Roberts.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Rudi Feld
Ru ...
'' (1923)
* ''
Leap Into Life
''Leap Into Life'' (german: Der Sprung ins Leben) is a 1924 German silent drama film directed by Johannes Guter and starring Xenia Desni, Walter Rilla and Paul Heidemann. It features one the earliest film appearances of the future star Marlene D ...
Express Train of Love
''Express Train of Love'' (German:''Blitzzug der Liebe'') is a 1925 German silent comedy film directed by Johannes Guter and starring Ossi Oswalda, Willy Fritsch and Lillian Hall-Davis. It premiered on 6 May 1925 at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berl ...
'' (1925)
* ''
The Wooing of Eve
''The Wooing of Eve'' or ''Journey into Adventure'' (german: Die Fahrt ins Abenteuer) is a 1926 German silent film directed by Max Mack and starring Ossi Oswalda, Willy Fritsch and Agnes Esterhazy.
The film's sets were designed by the art direc ...
Voice in the Wind
''Voice in the Wind'' is a 1944 American film noir directed by Arthur Ripley and written by Friedrich Torberg, based on a story written by Arthur Ripley. The drama features Francis Lederer, Sigrid Gurie and J. Edward Bromberg.
Plot
Jan Foley (L ...
Whistle Stop
In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...
'' (1946)
* ''
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
'' (1947)
* ''
Adventures of Gallant Bess
''Adventures of Gallant Bess'' is a 1948 American contemporary Western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Cameron Mitchell, Audrey Long, Fuzzy Knight, James Millican, and John Harmon. It was filmed in Cinecolor. It has no connection ...
'' (1948)
* ''
The Argyle Secrets
''The Argyle Secrets'' is a 1948 American film noir mystery thriller written and directed by Cy Endfield and starring William Gargan and Marjorie Lord. It was based on a half-hour radio play by Endfield, originally heard on CBS's '' Suspense''. T ...
My Dear Secretary
''My Dear Secretary'' is a 1948 American comedy film written and directed by Charles Martin (1910-1983) and starring Laraine Day, Kirk Douglas, Keenan Wynn, and Helen Walker. The supporting cast features Rudy Valee, Alan Mowbray and Irene Rya ...
Impact
Impact may refer to:
* Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period
* Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US
Science and technology
* Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event
* Impac ...
'' (1949)
* ''
Guilty of Treason
''Guilty of Treason'' is a 1950 American drama film directed by Felix E. Feist and starring Charles Bickford, Bonita Granville and Paul Kelly. Also known by the alternative title ''Treason'', it is an anti-communist and anti-Soviet film about th ...
Hellcats of the Navy
''Hellcats of the Navy'' is a 1957 American black-and-white World War II submarine film drama from Columbia Pictures, produced by Charles H. Schneer and directed by Nathan Juran. The film stars Ronald Reagan and his wife, billed under her scre ...
'' (1957)
* ''
Escape from Red Rock
''Escape from Red Rock'' is a 1957 American Western film written and directed by Edward Bernds. The film stars Brian Donlevy, Eilene Janssen, Gary Murray, Jay C. Flippen, William Edward Phipps and Myron Healey. The film was released in Decembe ...
The Gun Hawk
''The Gun Hawk'' is a 1963 American Western film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, Ruta Lee and Rod Lauren.
Plot
Gunslinger Rory Calhoun dispenses his own brand of justice in this action-packed Western adventu ...
'' (1963)
References
Bibliography
* Prawer, S.S. ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910–1933''. Berghahn Books, 2005.
* Ward, Janet. ''Weimar Surfaces: Urban Visual Culture in 1920s Germany''. University of California Press, 2001.