Ernő Metzner
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Ernő Metzner (February 25, 1892 – September 25, 1953) was a film director and production designer. Metzner was born in Subotica (then
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
). He studied art at the
Budapest Academy of Fine Arts The Hungarian University of Fine Arts ( Hungarian: ''Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem'', MKE) is the central Hungarian art school in Budapest, Andrássy Avenue. It was founded in 1871 as the Hungarian Royal Drawing School ''(Magyar Királyi Min ...
, then worked as a painter and graphic artist. In 1920 he moved to Berlin and began working as an art director and production designer with some of the best-known German directors of the time:
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 ...
('' Sumurun,
The Loves of Pharaoh ''The Loves of Pharaoh'' (german: Das Weib des Pharao, aka ''The Wife of the Pharaoh'') is a 1922 German historical epic film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It starred Emil Jannings. A complete version of the film had been considered lost for ye ...
''), Robert Wiene ('' I.N.R.I.'') and
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 ...
('' Arabella''). From the 1926 ''
Secrets of a Soul ''Secrets of a Soul'' (german: Geheimnisse einer Seele) is a 1926 silent German drama film directed by G. W. Pabst. Plot Martin Fellman, a learned professor, experiences nightmares that make him believe he is going insane. He fears that he is ...
'' he developed a close and continuous partnership with
Georg Wilhelm Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...
. Metzner was art director for seven major Pabst films from 1926 to 1933, notably designing the production of '' Kameradschaft'' (1931), for which Metzner constructed realistic mining tunnels in the studio.Film Architecture and the Transnational Imagination: Set Design in 1930s ...by Tim Bergfelder, Sue Harris, Sarah Street, page 158 In 1927 Metzner began to direct films himself. His first short films are documentaries commissioned by the Social Democratic Party of Germany. His most important work is probably the 1928 short film Polizeibericht Überfall ("Police Report: Hold-Up", known in English as "Accident"). Metzner both wrote and directed this landmark of the
New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, wh ...
movement in film, banned by authorities as "brutalizing and demoralizing." As a Hungarian Jew, in 1933 Metzner emigrated from Germany to France and then to England, where he reunited with Austrian director
Friedrich Feher Friedrich Feher (born Friedrich Weiß, 16 March 1889 – 30 September 1950) was an Austrian actor and film director. He first entered the film business in 1913, starting out as an actor but quickly gravitated toward directing. He is perhaps bes ...
. From 1936 Metzner moved with his family to the United States, but found only occasional work in Hollywood. He died in
Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...
on September 25, 1953.


Filmography

* '' Sumurun'' (1920) - Production Design * ''
The Bull of Olivera ''The Bull of Olivera'' (german: Der Stier von Olivera) is a 1921 German silent historical drama film directed by Erich Schönfelder and starring Emil Jannings. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The film's art direction was by ...
'' (1921) - Costumes * ''
The Loves of Pharaoh ''The Loves of Pharaoh'' (german: Das Weib des Pharao, aka ''The Wife of the Pharaoh'') is a 1922 German historical epic film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It starred Emil Jannings. A complete version of the film had been considered lost for ye ...
'' (1922) - Costumes * ''
Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...
'' (1922) - Costumes * ''
Fridericus Rex ''Fridericus Rex'' (German: ''Fridericus Rex - 1. Teil: Sturm und Drang'') is a 1922 German silent historical film directed by Arzén von Cserépy and starring Otto Gebühr, Albert Steinrück and Gertrud de Lalsky. It portrays the life of t ...
'' (in four parts, 1922-1923) - Production Design * '' Salome'' (1923) - Production Design * '' Old Heidelberg'' (1923) - Production Design * '' I.N.R.I.'' (1923) - Production Design, Costumes * '' Explosion]'' (1923) - Costumes * Arabella'' (1924) - Costumes * ''
Wood Love ''Wood Love'' (German title: ''Ein Sommernachtstraum'') is a 1925 German silent comedy film directed by Hans Neumann and starring Werner Krauss, Valeska Gert and Alexander Granach. It was an adaptation of William Shakespeare's '' A Midsummer N ...
'' (1925) - Production Design, Costumes * ''
Secrets of a Soul ''Secrets of a Soul'' (german: Geheimnisse einer Seele) is a 1926 silent German drama film directed by G. W. Pabst. Plot Martin Fellman, a learned professor, experiences nightmares that make him believe he is going insane. He fears that he is ...
'' (1926) - Production Design * ''At the beginning was the Word'' (1927) - Director * ''Naftalin'' (1927) - Director * ''Free Ride'' (1928) - Director * ''It rises'' (1928) - Director * '' Mikosch Comes In'' (1928) * ''
Accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researche ...
'' (1928) - Director, Screenplay * ''Destiny'' (1928) - Director * '' Hotel of Secrets'' (1929) - Production Design * ''
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) - Production Design * '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' (1929) - Features * '' Westfront 1918'' (1930) - Production Design * '' Rivals for the World Record'' (1930) - Director, Screenwriter, Production Design * '' Kameradschaft'' (1931) - Production Design * '' The Unknown Guest'' (1931) * '' The Firm Gets Married'' (1931) * '' L'Atlantide'' (1932) - Production Design * ''
Monsieur, Madame and Bibi ''Monsieur, Madame and Bibi'' (French: ''Monsieur, Madame et Bibi'') is a 1932 French-German comedy film directed by Jean Boyer and Max Neufeld and starring René Lefèvre, Marie Glory and Florelle.Crisp p. 395 It was the French-language ver ...
'' (1932) - Production Design * ''
Scandal on Park Street ''Scandal on Park Street'' (german: Skandal in der Parkstraße) is a 1932 German film directed by Franz Wenzler and starring Camilla Spira, Fritz Kampers, and Kurt Lilien. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is t ...
'' (1932) * ''
A Bit of Love ''A Bit of Love'' (german: Ein bißchen Liebe für Dich) is a 1932 German comedy film directed by Max Neufeld and starring Lee Parry, Magda Schneider, and Hermann Thimig.Bock & Bergfelder, p. 550 It was made at the Johannisthal Studios in Ber ...
'' (1932) * ''
Gypsies of the Night ''Gypsies of the Night'' (german: Zigeuner der Nacht) is a 1932 German film directed by Hanns Schwarz and starring Jenny Jugo, Hans Brausewetter, and Paul Kemp. A separate French-language version '' Happy Hearts'' was also released. The film's ...
'' (1932) * ''
The Marathon Runner ''The Marathon Runner'' (german: Der Läufer von Marathon) is a 1933 German sports film directed by Ewald André Dupont and starring Brigitte Helm, Hans Brausewetter and Ursula Grabley. It was based on a 1928 novel by Werner Scheff, adapted by ...
'' (1933) * '' High and Low'' (1933) - Production Design * '' Princess Charming'' (1934) - Production Design * ''
Chu Chin Chow ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of '' Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tal ...
'' (1934) - Production Design * '' Oh, Daddy!'' (1935) - Production Design * '' The Tunnel'' (1935) - Production Design * ''
The Robber Symphony ''The Robber Symphony'' is a 1936 British musical film directed by Friedrich Feher. Cast * Hans Feher as Giannino * Magda Sonja as Giannino's mother * George Graves as Giannino's grandfather * Michael Martin Harvey as Man with straw hat * ...
'' (1936) - Production Design * '' Seven Sinners'' (1936) - Production Design * '' O.H.M.S.'' (1937) - Production Design * ''
Take My Tip ''Take My Tip'' is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Mason (who stage managed some musical revues in the past), produced by Michael Balcon and starring Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Harold Huth and Frank Cellier. It ...
'' (1937) - Production Design * ''
The Great Awakening ''The Great Awakening'' is the fourth studio album from the Christian rock band Leeland, released on September 20, 2011. ''The Great Awakening'' received a nomination to the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album The ...
'' (1941) - Production Design * '' It Happened Tomorrow'' (1944) - Production Design * ''
The Macomber Affair ''The Macomber Affair'' is a 1947 film directed by Zoltan Korda and distributed by United Artists. Set in British East Africa, its plot concerns a fatal love triangle involving a frustrated wife, a weak husband, and the professional hunter who co ...
'' (1947) - Production Design


References


External links


Erno Metzner in filmportal (German language)
*
Biography on movie-zeit.de (German language)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzner, Erno 1892 births 1953 deaths German film directors Film people from Subotica German production designers Hungarian Jews Hungarian University of Fine Arts alumni Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States