Josef “Sepp” Allgeier (6 February 1895 – 11 March 1968) was a German cinematographer who worked on around fifty features,

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

and short films. He began his career as a cameraman in 1911 for the Expreß Film Co. of Freiburg. In 1913 he filmed newsreels in the Balkans. He then became an assistant to

Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White He ...

, a leading director of

Mountain films A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on mountaineering and especially the battle of human against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the protagonists who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlighten ...

. He worked frequently with Luis Trenker and

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...

, both closely associated with the genre. He was Riefenstahl's lead cameraman on her 1935 propaganda film ''

Triumph of the Will ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his n ...

''. 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 opposi ...

, Allgeier filmed material for

newsreels A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

. He later worked in

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

television.Reimer & Reimer p.39 His son is the cinematographer Hans-Jörg Allgeier.

Selected filmography

* '' Mountain of Destiny'' (1924) * '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926) * '' The Great Leap'' (1927) * ''

Alpine Tragedy ''Alpine Tragedy'' (german: Alpentragödie) is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Robert Land and starring Lucy Doraine, Arnold Korff and Vladimir Gajdarov.Grange p. 265 The film was based on the 1909 novel of the same title by Richar ...

'' (1927) * '' Milak, the Greenland Hunter '' (1928) * '' Struggle for the Matterhorn'' (1928) * ''

Diary of a Lost Girl ''Diary of a Lost Girl'' (german: Tagebuch einer Verlorenen) is a 1929 German silent film directed by G. W. Pabst and starring American silent star Louise Brooks. It is shot in black and white, and various versions of the film range from 79 m ...

'' (1929) * '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' (1929) * '' Storm Over Mont Blanc'' (1930) * ''

Mountains on Fire ''Mountains on Fire'' (german: Berge in Flammen) is a 1931 German war film directed by Karl Hartl and Luis Trenker and starring Trenker, Lissy Arna and Luigi Serventi. The film was based on Luis Trenker's novel of the same title, partly based ...

'' (1931) * '' The Rebel'' (1932) * '' Baroud'' (1932) * ''

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 ...

'' (1934) * ''

The Champion of Pontresina ''The Champion of Pontresina'' (german: Der Springer von Pontresina) is a 1934 German-Swiss comedy film directed by Herbert Selpin and starring Sepp Rist, Rudolf Klicks and Eric Helgar.Clarke & Doel p. 152 Production It is also known by the alt ...

'' (1934) * '' Frisians in Peril'' (1935) * '' Escape Me Never'' (1935) * ''

Ewiger Wald ''Ewiger Wald'' is a 1936 German film directed by Hanns Springer and Rolf von Sonjevski-Jamrowski. The film's international English title was ''Enchanted Forest''. Commissioned by Alfred Rosenberg's cultural organization Militant League for Germa ...

'' (1936) * '' Militiaman Bruggler'' (1936) * '' The Great Barrier'' (1937) * '' The Mountain Calls'' (1938) * ''

A German Robinson Crusoe ''A German Robinson Crusoe'' (german: Ein Robinson) is a 1940 German drama film directed by Arnold Fanck and starring Herbert A.E. Böhme, Marieluise Claudius, and Claus Clausen. Written by Arnold Fanck and Rolf Meyer, the film is a modern-day ...

'' (1940) * '' The Sinful Village'' (1940) * '' Wetterleuchten um Barbara'' (1941) * ''

Border Post 58 ''Border Post 58'' (german: Grenzstation 58) is a 1951 West German crime film directed by Harry Hasso and starring Hansi Knoteck, Mady Rahl and Elise Aulinger.Höfig p.144 Cast * Hansi Knoteck as Anna Leitner * Mady Rahl as Retta Schwaiger * El ...

'' (1951)

References

Bibliography

* Allgeier, Sepp (1931) ''Die Jagd nach dem Bild; 18 Jahre als Kameramann in Arktis und Hochgebirge'' Stuttgart: J. Engelhorns nachf. OCLC 9001961 * von Savigny, Brigitte; Allgeier, Sepp (1999) ''Sepp Allgeier Fotografien eines Kamerapioniers'' Furtwangen DesignConcepts-Verl.
''Sepp Allgeier Archetype of a Camera Man''
(1999) film by Sigrid Faltin * Klien, Arno (2004) “Sepp Allgeier and the First High Mountain Movie” in 3rd FIS Ski History Conference at Winter! Sport! Museum! Mürzzuschlag, Austria pg 11 * Von Moltke, Johannes (2005
''No Place Like Home: Locations of Heimat in German Cinema''
University of California Press pg 45 * Masia, Seth (September 2006
"Moving Pictures"
''Skiing Heritage Journal'' Vol 18 #3:37 * Allen, E. John B. (2007
''The Culture and Sport of Skiing: From Antiquity to World War II''
Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press pg 262 * Reimer, Robert Charles & Reimer, Carol J. (2010) ''The A to Z of German Cinema'' Rowman & Littlefield

External links

Sepp Allgeier
at

filmportal.de filmportal.de is an online database of information related to German film. It includes extensive information on films and filmmakers as well as articles on film issues. The website was released on occasion of the 54th Berlin International Film Fe ...

* 1895 births 1968 deaths Film people from Freiburg im Breisgau People from the Grand Duchy of Baden German cinematographers {{Germany-film-bio-stub