Otto Rippert (22 October 1869 – 15 January 1940) was a German film director during the

silent film 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, when ...

era.

Biography

Rippert was born in

Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...

, Germany, and began his career as a stage actor, working in theatres in Baden-Baden, Forst (Lausitz),

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

and 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 ...

. In 1906, he acted his first film in Baden-Baden for the French

Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in ...

. In 1912 he appeared (complete with stick-on beard) as the millionaire

Isidor Straus Isidor Straus (February 6, 1845 – April 15, 1912) was a Bavarian-born American Jewish businessman, politician and co-owner of Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served for just over a year as a member of the United State ...

in ''

In Nacht und Eis ''In Nacht und Eis'' (English: "In Night and Ice"), also called ''Der Untergang der Titanic'' ("The Sinking of the ''Titanic''") and ''Shipwrecked in Icebergs'' in the US, is a 1912 German adventure-disaster drama film about the sinking of RMS ' ...

'', one of the first films about the sinking of the ''

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 ...

''. The film was made by

Continental-Kunstfilm 123 Chauseestraße, Berlin, Continental-Kunstfilm's first studioThe inscription ERBAUT MDCCCXCVI (built 1906) appears on the building. Remarkably it survived East_Berlin.html"_;"title="World_War_II,_and_ended_up_on_the_East_Berlin">World_War_II, ...

of Berlin, where Rippert continued to work as a director, making some ten motion pictures between 1912 and 1914. However, his reputation as one of the pioneers of German silent film rests on some of his later achievements, for example '' Homunculus'' and ''

The Plague of Florence ''The Plague in Florence'' (German: ''Pest in Florenz'') is a 1919 German silent historical film directed by Otto Rippert for Eric Pommer's Deutsche Eclair (Decla) production company. The screenplay was written by Fritz Lang.Workman, Christopher; ...

''. '' Homunculus'', produced by Deutsche Bioskop in 1916, is a six-part serial

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

film involving mad scientists, superhuman androids and sinister technology. The script was written by Robert Reinert, and the film foreshadows various elements of

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

's 1927 ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

'', as well as serving as a model for later adaptations of Mary Shelley's ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

'' rather than the original 1910 version. The subject-matter of ''Homunculus'' is similar to an earlier film about a monstrous man-made being, '' Der Golem'' (

Paul Wegener Paul Wegener (11 December 1874 – 13 September 1948) was a German actor, writer, and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema. Acting career At the age of 20, Wegener decided to end his law studies and conce ...

, 1915). Fritz Lang wrote the script for Rippert's historical epic ''

'' (1919), the first film (of sixteen, as of 2007) to feature the

black plague The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

. The cameraman was Emil Schünemann, who was behind the lens for ''In Nacht und Eis''. After 1924, Rippert stopped directing films and worked as a

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

. He had a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 1937 and died in Berlin in 1940.

Filmography

;Actor *''

'', directed by

Mime Misu Mime Misu (21 January 1888 – 1953)"Mime Misu"
KinoTV.com. Accessed 21 February 2016. ( ...

(1912) ;Director *'' Zwischen Himmel und Erde'' (1912) *''Die fremde Legion'' (1912) *''Gelbstern'' (1912) *''Mannequins (1913 film)'' (1913) *''Zertrümmerte Ideale'' (1913) *''Scheingold'' (1913) *''Wie die Blätter...'' (1913) *''Surry der Steher'' (The Cyclist's Last Leap) (1913) *''Nach dem Tode'' (1913) *''Die Mustercollection'' (1914) : (All the above films were produced by

) *'' Homunculus, 1. Teil - Der künstliche Mensch'' (1916) *'' Homunculus, 2. Teil - Das geheimnisvolle Buch'' (1916) *'' Homunculus, 3. Teil - Die Liebestragödie des Homunculus'' (1916) *'' Homunculus, 4. Teil - Die Rache des Homunculus'' (1916) *'' Homunculus, 5. Teil - Die Vernichtung der Menschheit'' (1916) *'' Homunculus, 6. Teil - Das Ende des Homunculus'' (1916) *''Friedrich Werders Sendung'' (1916) *''BZ-Maxe & Co.'' (1916) *''Der Tod des Erasmus'' (1916) * ''

The Knitting Needles ''The Knitting Needles'' (German: ''Die Stricknadeln'') is a 1916 German silent comedy film directed by Hubert Moest and Otto Rippert and starring Erich Kaiser-Titz, Käthe Haack and Olga Engl.Bock & Bergfelder p.433 Cast * Erich Kaiser-Titz as ...

'' (1916) *''Das Buch des Lasters'' (1917) *''Der Schwur der Renate Rabenau'' (1917) *''Wer küßt mich?'' (1917) *''Wenn die Lawinen stürzen'' (1917) *''Das Mädel von nebenan'' (1917) *''

Der Fremde Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Oc ...

'' (1917) *''Und wenn ich lieb' nimm dich in acht...!'' (1917) *''Die Tochter der Gräfin Stachowska'' (1917) *''Die gute Partie'' (1917) *''Die Krone des Lebens'' (1918) *''Der Weg, der zur Verdammnis führt, 1.Teil - Das Schicksal der Aenne Wolter'' (1918) *''Das Glück der Frau Beate'', co-director

Alwin Neuß Carl Alwin Heinrich Neuß (17 June 1879 – 30 October 1935) was a German film director and actor, noted for playing Sherlock Holmes in a series of silent films during the 1910s. He also played the dual role of Jekyll and Hyde in the 1910 Danish ...

(1918) *''Baroneßchen auf Strafurlaub'' (1918) *''Arme Lena'' (1918) *''Heide-Gretel'' (1918) *''Das verwunschene Schloß'' (1918) *''Die fromme Helene'' (1918) *''Inge (1918 film)'' *''Der Weg, der zur Verdammnis führt, 2.Teil - Hyänen der Lust'' *''Hotel Wasserhose'' * ''

'' (1919) * ''

The Woman with Orchids ''The Woman with Orchids'' (German: ''Die Frau mit den Orchideen'') is a 1919 German silent film directed by Otto Rippert and starring Carl de Vogt, Werner Krauss and Gilda Langer.Hardt p.217 Cast * Carl de Vogt * Werner Krauss * Gilda Langer Ref ...

'' (1919) * ''

The Dance of Death The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...

'' (1919) * '' Countess Walewska'' (1920) *''Der Menschheit Anwalt'' *''Schatten einer Stunde'' *''Wie Satan starb'' *''Teufelchen'' *'' Aschermittwoch'' (1921) *''Susanne Stranzky'' *''Die Abenteuer der schönen Dorette'' *''

Die Beute der Erinnyen ''The Prey of the Furies'' (German:''Die Beute der Erinnyen'') is a 1922 German silent film directed by Otto Rippert and starring Werner Krauss and Dary Holm.Ames p.297 The film's art direction was by Artur Gunther. Cast In alphabetical order ...

'' *'' Tingeltangel'' (1922) *''Die brennende Kugel'' *'' Winterstürme'' (1924) *''Die Tragödie zweier Menschen'' (1925)

Notes

External links

*Biography o
Otto Rippert
* * Three clips from ''Homunculus'': , , (Italian intertitles) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rippert, Otto German male film actors Film people from Hesse Cinema pioneers 1869 births 1940 deaths 20th-century German male actors