Karl Adolf Kurt Werner Klingler (23 October 1903 – 23 June 1972) was a German

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 ...

and actor. He directed 29 films between 1936 and 1968. He was born 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 ...

and died 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 ...

, Germany.

Early life

Klingler acquired his first theatre experience in minor acting roles. He

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to the United States, where he played at a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

theater in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in 1925. Klingler starred in films, such as

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

' '' Hell's Angels'' and

Wilhelm Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Hollywood primarily as a director for much of his ...

's '' The Dance Goes On'' (a German-language version of ''

Those Who Dance ''Those Who Dance'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code crime film produced and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by William Beaudine, and starring Monte Blue, Lila Lee, William "Stage" Boyd and Betty Compson. It is a remake of the 1924 silent fil ...

'').

Career

Klingler met

Luis Trenker Luis Trenker (born Alois Franz Trenker, 4 October 1892 – 13 April 1990) was a South Tyrolean film producer, director, writer, actor, architect, Mountaineering, alpinist, and Bobsleigh, bobsledder. Biography Early life Alois Franz Trenker was b ...

to film ''

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 ...

''. Klingler was assistant director at ''

SOS Eisberg is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...

'' (1933) and '' The Prodigal Son (1934 film)''. He directed ''

The Last Four on Santa Cruz ''The Last Four on Santa Cruz'' (german: Die letzten Vier von Santa Cruz) is a 1936 German drama film directed by Werner Klingler and starring Hermann Speelmans, Irene von Meyendorff and Valéry Inkijinoff.Parish p. 507 The film was shot at the Ba ...

'' (1936). Klingler regressed to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. His new titles included ''

Condottieri (1937 film) ''Condottieri'' is a 1937 Italian historical drama film directed by Luis Trenker and starring Trenker, Loris Gizzi and Laura Nucci. It portrays the life of Giovanni de' Medici, a celebrated condottiere of the sixteenth century. A separate Ger ...

'', ''

Love Letters from Engadin ''Love Letters from Engadin'' or ''Love Letters from the Engadine'' (german: Liebesbriefe aus dem Engadin) is a 1938 German romantic comedy film directed by Luis Trenker and Werner Klingler and starring Trenker, Carla Rust and Erika von Thellmann. ...

'' (1938), '' Die letzte Runde'' (1940), and '' Wetterleuchten um Barbara'' (1941). Klingler replaced the allegedly executed director,

Herbert Selpin Herbert Selpin (29 May 1904 – 1 August 1942) was a German film director and screenwriter of light entertainment during the 1930s and 1940s. He is best known for his final film, the partly suppressed ''Titanic (1943 film), Titanic'', during the ...

, for ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

''. After the epic film was banned, Klingler's ''

Die Degenhardts ''The Degenhardts'' (german: Die Degenhardts) is a 1944 German drama film directed by Werner Klingler and starring Heinrich George, Ernst Schröder and Gunnar Möller. Karl Degenhardt, the patriarch of a family in Lübeck, leads his wife and five ...

'' (1944) was banned the following year. Klingler was unable to complete '' The Man in the Saddle'' due to the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

. His postwar credits include ''

Raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...

'' (1947) and ''

Nora's Ark ''Nora's Ark'' (german: Arche Nora) is a 1948 German drama film directed by Werner Klingler that stars Willy Maertens, Claus Hofer and Harry Meyen.Davidson & Hake p. 236 It was produced by Wandsbek Studios in Hamburg in the British Zone of Occup ...

'' (1948). He returned to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

only to be rejected. Klingler directed '' Aus dem Tagebuch eines Frauenarztes'' (1959) and ''

Spy for Germany ''Spy for Germany'' (german: Spion für Deutschland) is a 1956 West German thriller film directed by Werner Klingler that stars Martin Held, Nadja Tiller and Walter Giller. Based on a book by Will Berthold, the film depicts the mission of a German ...

'' (1956). Klingler released the film, ' (1961), about the

Nazi Eugenics Nazi eugenics refers to the social policies of eugenics in Nazi Germany, composed of various pseudoscientific ideas about genetics. The racial ideology of Nazism placed the biological improvement of the German people by selective breeding of ...

system. He filmed a version of

Bryan Edgar Wallace Bryan Edgar Wallace (1904–1971) was a British writer. The son of the writer Edgar Wallace, Bryan was also a writer of crime and mystery novels which were very similar in style to those of his father. He was named after the American politician W ...

's '' Death Packs a Suitcase'' under the title, '. His last film was '' Straßenbekanntschaften auf St. Pauli'' (1968).

Selected filmography

* '' The Dance Goes On'' (1930) * ''

'' (1936) * ''

Home Guardsman Bruggler ''Home Guardsman Bruggler'' (german: Standschütze Bruggler) is a 1936 German war film directed by Werner Klingler and starring Ludwig Kerscher, Franziska Kinz and Rolf Pinegger. It is set in the Tyrol during the First World War and depicts the ...

'' (1936) * ''

Condottieri ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europ ...

'' (directed by

, 1937) * ''

'' (directed by

, 1938) * ''

The Merciful Lie ''The Merciful Lie'' (German: ''Die barmherzige Lüge'') is a 1939 German drama film directed by Werner Klingler and starring Hilde Krahl, Elisabeth Flickenschildt and Ernst von Klipstein.Waldman p.266 The film's sets were designed by the art dire ...

'' (1939) * ''

'' (uncredited, 1943) * ''

The Degenhardts ''The Degenhardts'' (german: Die Degenhardts) is a 1944 German drama film directed by Werner Klingler and starring Heinrich George, Ernst Schröder and Gunnar Möller. Karl Degenhardt, the patriarch of a family in Lübeck, leads his wife and five ...

'' (1944) * ''

Anna Alt ''Anna Alt'' or ''Soloist Anna Alt'' (german: Solistin Anna Alt) is a 1945 German drama film directed by Werner Klingler and starring Anneliese Uhlig, Will Quadflieg and Emil Lohkamp.Hake p. 200 A gifted pianist gives up her career to support he ...

'' (1945) * ''

'' (1947) * ''

'' (1948) * ''

'' (1956) * ''

Doctor Bertram ''Doctor Bertram'' (german: Frauenarzt Dr. Bertram) is a 1957 West German drama film directed by Werner Klingler and starring Willy Birgel, Winnie Markus and Lucie Mannheim.Bock & Bergfelder p.43 It is based upon the play by Hans Rehfisch. It was ...

'' (1957) * ' (1957) * ' (1958) * ' (1962) * ''

Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse ''The Testament of Dr. Mabuse'' (german: Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse), also called ''The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse'', is a 1933 German crime-thriller film directed by Fritz Lang. The movie is a sequel to Lang's silent film ''Dr. Mabuse the Gambl ...

'' (1962) * ' (1964) * ''

The Dirty Game ''The Dirty Game'' (german: Spione unter sich, french: Guerre secrète, it, La guerra segreta) is a 1965 anthology spy film starring Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan. Robert Ryan as American General Bruce is the link between three different spy stor ...

'' (1965) * '' Street Acquaintances of St. Pauli'' (1968)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klingler, Werner 1903 births 1972 deaths Film directors from Baden-Württemberg German male film actors 20th-century German male actors Film people from Stuttgart