Géza von Cziffra (; 19 December 1900 – 28 April 1989) was a Hungarian and Austrian film director and screenwriter.
Life
Cziffra was a
Banat German in origin, born in 1900 in
Arad in the
Banat
Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...
region, at that date in the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
, now in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
.
Cziffra made films from the 1930s onwards, at first in Hungary, and from 1936 in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
as well, where he was initially more active as a screenwriter.
In 1945, in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, then occupied by the
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
, he made the film ''Leuchtende Schatten'' ("Glowing Shadows"). As adviser for the criminal police, he was assigned
SS-
Sturmbannführer
__NOTOC__
''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to Major (rank), major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, and the National Socialist Flyers Corps, NSFK ...
Eweler, a member of the
SD and brother of the actress
Ruth Eweler. After some time, Cziffra banned Eweler from the studios for excessive and obstructive criticism. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested and taken to the Prague
Gestapo
The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
Headquarters in the Pecec Palace, where he was accused of having eaten several times in the
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
restaurant "Neumann" without using ration stamps. He was eventually dispatched to
Pankrác Prison
Pankrác Prison, officially Prague Pankrác Remand Prison (), is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic. A part of the Czech Prison Service, it is located southeast of Prague city centre in Pankrác, not far from Pražského povstání metro stati ...
, the remand and interrogation prison of Prague, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment, beginning on 12 February. He was released from detention on 19 April, shortly before the end of the war.
In 1945, in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, Cziffra founded the first post-war Austrian film production company: Cziffra-Film.
Principally, and for preference, he made light entertainment and musical films, with well-known German and Austrian actors such as
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
,
Rudolf Platte
Rudolf Antonius Heinrich Platte (12 February 1904 – 18 December 1984) was a German actor.
Biography
Born in Hörde, Westphalia (today part of Dortmund) the son of a merchant, his family moved to Hildesheim three years later. Rudolf left scho ...
,
Senta Berger
Senta Verhoeven (née Berger; ''Austrian German:'' , ; born 13 May 1941) is an Austrian-German actress. She received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film, and television; her awards include three Bambi (prize), Bambi Awards, t ...
and
Hubert von Meyerinck
Hubert "Hubsi" von Meyerinck (23 August 1896 – 13 May 1971) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1970.
Biography
Meyerinck was born in Potsdam, Brandenburg, the son of Friedrich von Meyerinck (1858� ...
. Through the input of musicians like
Bill Ramsey or
Bully Buhlan
Bully Buhlan (3 February 1924 – 7 November 1982) was a German musician.Barnett p.180 He was also an actor known for Königin der Arena (1952), Die große Starparade (1954) and Sag' die Wahrheit (1946).
Filmography
Death
Bully Buhlan died on N ...
, the films mostly progressed to being musical revues with a local Austrian slant and flavour (''Heimatfilme''). Cziffra also worked as an actor himself, and later in his life published a number of books.
He was married to the actress
Ursula Justin, who starred in six of his films in the 1950s.
He died on 28 April 1989 in
Diessen am Ammersee
Diessen is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Hilvarenbeek.
History
The village was first mentioned in 380 as Deusone, and relates to the Dieze River. The etymology is unclear. Di ...
in
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. His remains are interred in the
crematorium
A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...
in the
Ostfriedhof,
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
.
[Urnenhalle D - G3]
Selected filmography
* ''
Gulliver's Travels
''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...
'' (screenplay and direction, 1924)
* ''
The Copper'' (screenplay and assistance with direction, 1930), with
Hans Albers
Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960), also known by his nickname “der blonde Hans” (The Blond Hans), was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the m ...
* ''
Three Days Confined to Barracks'' (screenplay, 1930)
* ''
Everything for the Woman
Everything, every-thing, or every thing, is all that existence, exists; it is an antithesis of ''nothing'', or its Set complement, complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some theory, subject matter. Without expressed or implied Ma ...
'' (1934)
* ''
A Night in Venice'' (1934)
* ''
Villa for Sale'' (screenplay, 1935)
* ''
Ball at the Savoy'' (screenplay, 1935)
* ''
Where the Lark Sings'' (screenplay, 1936)
* ''
St. Peter's Umbrella'' (1936)
* ''
The Man Under the Bridge
''The Man Under the Bridge'' (Hungarian: ''Ember a híd alatt'') is a 1936 Hungarian drama film directed by Ladislao Vajda and starring Mária Lázár, Gyula Csortos and Ferenc Kiss (actor), Ferenc Kiss.Frey p.145 The film's sets were designed by ...
'' (screenplay, 1936)
* ''
The Vagabonds'' (screenplay, 1937)
* ''
The Green Emperor'' (1939)
* ''
The Life and Loves of Tschaikovsky
''The Life and Loves of Tschaikovsky'' or ''It Was a Lovely Night at the Ball'' () is a 1939 German historical drama film directed by Carl Froelich and starring Zarah Leander, Aribert Wäscher and Hans Stüwe.Reimer & Reimer p. 119 It premiered on ...
'' (screenplay, 1939), with
Zarah Leander
Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Sweden, Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned UFA GmbH, Universum Film AG (UFA). Althou ...
and
Marika Rökk
Marika Rökk (; born Marie Karoline Rökk, 3 November 1913 – 16 May 2004) was a German-Austrian dancer, singer and actress of Hungarian descent who gained prominence in Cinema of Germany, German films in the Nazism and cinema, Nazi era. She res ...
* ''
Melody of a Great City
''Melody of a Great City'' (German: ''Großstadtmelodie'') is a 1943 musical drama film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Hilde Krahl, Werner Hinz and Karl John. A young woman moves to Berlin to work as a press photographer.
Cast
*H ...
'' (screenplay, 1943)
* ''
Love Premiere
''Love Premiere'' () is a 1943 German comedy film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Hans Söhnker, Kirsten Heiberg and Fritz Odemar. The film's sets were designed by Robert Herlth.
The film is based on the stage play "Axel an der Hi ...
'' (screenplay, 1943)
* ''
Women Are No Angels
''Women Are No Angels'' () is a 1943 German comedy film directed by Willi Forst and starring Marte Harell, Axel von Ambesser and Margot Hielscher.Hake p. 58 The film was made by Wien-Film in German-occupied Austria.
Cast
* Marte Harell as Hel ...
'' (screenplay, 1943)
* ''
The White Dream
''The White Dream'' (German: ''Der weiße Traum'') is a 1943 musical comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Olly Holzmann, Elfriede Datzig and Wolf Albach-Retty. The film was made by Wien-Film, a Vienna-based company set up afte ...
'' (1943)
* ''
The Wedding Hotel'' (screenplay, 1944)
* ''Liebe nach Noten'' (1945), with
Rudolf Prack
Rudolf Prack (2 August 1905 – 2 December 1981) was an Austrian film actor.
Selected filmography
* ''Florentine'' (1937)
* ''Prinzessin Sissy'' (1939) - Prince Luitpold
* '' A Mother's Love'' (1939) - Felix Pirlinger - 1922
* ''Krambambuli'' ( ...
and
Sonja Ziemann
Sonja Alice Selma Toni Ziemann (; 8 February 1926 – 17 February 2020) was a German film and television actress. In the 1950s, she was among Germany's most prominent actresses, awarded the 1950 Bambi for appearing, together with Rudolf Prack, ...
* ''
The Immortal Face'' (1947), with
O. W. Fischer
Otto Wilhelm Fischer (, ; 1 April 1915 – 29 January 2004) was an Austrian film and theatre actor, a leading man of West German cinema during the ''Wirtschaftswunder'' era of the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography
He was born in Klosterneuburg nea ...
* ''
The Queen of the Landstrasse'' (1948)
* ''
The Heavenly Waltz
''The Heavenly Waltz'' (German: ''Der himmlische Walzer'') is a 1948 Austrian comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Elfie Mayerhofer, Paul Hubschmid and Inge Konradi.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Fritz Jüptn ...
'' (1948)
* ''
Lambert Feels Threatened'' (1949)
* ''
Dangerous Guests'' (1949)
* ''
Gabriela Gabriela may refer to:
* Gabriela (given name)
Gabriela is the Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Czech language, Czech, Slovak language, Slovak, Romanian language, Romanian, Latvian language, Latvian, Polish language, Po ...
'' (1950), with
Zarah Leander
Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Sweden, Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned UFA GmbH, Universum Film AG (UFA). Althou ...
* ''
Third from the Right
''Third from the Right'' () is a 1950 West German musical crime film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Vera Molnar, Robert Lindner and Peter van Eyck. It was made by the Hamburg-based company Real Film at the Wandsbek Studios in the ...
'' (1950)
* ''
The Man in Search of Himself'' (1950)
* ''
A Tale of Five Cities
''A Tale of Five Cities'' ( and released as ''A Tale of Five Women'' in the US) is a 1951 British-Italian international co-production comedy drama film directed by Romolo Marcellini, Emil E. Reinert, Wolfgang Staudte, Montgomery Tully, Irma ...
'' (Anthology film, 1951)
* ''
Maya of the Seven Veils
''Maya of the Seven Veils'' or ''The Veiled Lady'' () is a 1951 West German musical film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Maria Litto, Willy Fritsch and Rudolf Platte.Bock & Bergfelder p. 225
It was shot at the Wandsbek Studios in Hamb ...
'' (1951)
* ''
The Colourful Dream
''The Colourful Dream'' () is a 1952 West German Musical film, musical comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Vera Molnar (actress), Vera Molnar, Josef Meinrad and Ursula Grabley. It was made at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin wit ...
'' (1952)
* ''
The Singing Hotel'' (1953)
* ''
The Flower of Hawaii
''The Flower of Hawaii'' (German:''Die Blume von Hawaii'') is an operetta in three acts by Paul Abraham with a libretto by Alfred Grünwald, Fritz Löhner-Beda, and Imre Földes. It premiered on 24 July 1931 at the Neues Theater in Leipzig. The ...
'' (1953)
* ''
Money from the Air'' (1954)
* ''
The False Adam
''The False Adam'' () is a 1955 West German comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Waltraut Haas, Rudolf Platte and Doris Kirchner.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Albrecht Becker and Herbert Kirchhoff. It wa ...
'' (1955)
* ''
Bandits of the Autobahn
''Bandits of the Autobahn'' () is a 1955 West German crime film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Eva Ingeborg Scholz, Hans Christian Blech and Paul Hörbiger.Generic Histories of German Cinema: Genre and Its Deviations p.140
It was sho ...
'' (1955)
* ''
The Stolen Trousers'' (1956)
* ''
Aunt Wanda from Uganda'' (1957), with
Grethe Weiser
Grethe Weiser (; 27 February 1903 – 2 October 1970) was a German actress.
Biography
Born in Hanover, she spent her childhood in Dresden. She escaped from her dominant and sometimes violent father by marrying a Jewish confectionery manufactu ...
* ''
The Legs of Dolores
''The Legs of Dolores'' () is a 1957 West German musical comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Germaine Damar, Claus Biederstaedt, and Ruth Stephan.Koepnick p. 66 It was shot at the Wandsbek Studios in Hamburg. The film's sets w ...
'' (1957)
* ''
Night Nurse Ingeborg
''Night Nurse Ingeborg'' (German: ''Nachtschwester Ingeborg'') is a 1958 West German drama film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Ewald Balser, Claus Biederstaedt and Immy Schell.Rentschler p.5
The film's sets were designed by the art ...
'' (1958)
* ''
So ein Millionär hat's schwer
''So ein Millionär hat's schwer'' is a 1958 Austrian film directed by Géza von Cziffra.
Cast
*Peter Alexander (Austrian performer), Peter Alexander as Edward Collin
*Germaine Damar as Ninette
*Heinz Erhardt as Alfons Rappert
*Loni Heuser as ...
'' (1958), with
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
and
Heinz Erhardt
Heinz Erhardt (; 20 February 1909 – 5 June 1979) was a German comedian, musician, entertainer, actor and poet.
Life
Heinz Erhardt was born in Riga, the son of Baltic German Kapellmeister Gustav Erhardt. He lived most of his childhood at his gr ...
* ''
Peter Shoots Down the Bird
''Peter Shoots Down the Bird'' () is a 1959 West German comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Peter Alexander, Germaine Damar and Maria Sebaldt.
It was shot at the Spandau Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by ...
'' (1959)
* ''
Crime Tango'' (1960), with
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
* ''
The Adventures of Count Bobby'' (1961), with
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
* ''Junge Leute brauchen Liebe'' (1961), with
Cornelia Froboess
Cornelia Froboess (; born 28 October 1943) is a German actress and a teen idol of the 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, Froboess appeared in many West German and Austrian musical films, especially after the rock and roll wave had hit Germ ...
and
Johannes Heesters
Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch-German actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the conce ...
* ''
Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon
''Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon'' is a 1961 West German / Austrian film directed by Géza von Cziffra.
Plot summary
Cast
* Ina Bauer as Inge König
*Toni Sailer as Hans Haller
*Heinz Erhardt as Knapp, Theaterdirektor
* Ruth Stephan as ...
'' (1961)
* ''
Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original literary source for ' was ...
'' (1962), with
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
,
Marika Rökk
Marika Rökk (; born Marie Karoline Rökk, 3 November 1913 – 16 May 2004) was a German-Austrian dancer, singer and actress of Hungarian descent who gained prominence in Cinema of Germany, German films in the Nazism and cinema, Nazi era. She res ...
and
Hans Moser
* ''
The Bird Seller'' (1962), with
Cornelia Froboess
Cornelia Froboess (; born 28 October 1943) is a German actress and a teen idol of the 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, Froboess appeared in many West German and Austrian musical films, especially after the rock and roll wave had hit Germ ...
* ''
The Phone Rings Every Night'' (1962), with
Elke Sommer
Elke Sommer (; née Schletz, 5 November 1940) is a German actress. She appeared in numerous films throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Pink Panther'' sequel '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964), the Bob Hope comedy '' Boy, Did I ...
* ''
The Sweet Life of Count Bobby
''The Sweet Life of Count Bobby'' (German: ''Das süsse Leben des Grafen Bobby'') is a 1962 Austrian musical comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Peter Alexander (Austrian performer), Peter Alexander, Ingeborg Schöner and Gunth ...
'' (1962)
* ''
Charley's Aunt
''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...
'' (1963), with
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
* ''
Lana, Queen of the Amazons'' (1964)
* ''
Stolen Heaven'' (1974)
* ''
Dschungelmädchen für zwei Halunken'' (1974)
Awards
*1975: Goldenes
Ehrenzeichen der Stadt Wien
*1976:
Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system.
History
The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...
*1985:
Filmband in Gold for long and excellent work in the German film industry
Selected bibliography
* ''Tanja und ihre vierzig Männer. Ein Roman''. Wancura-Verlag, Vienna 1957
* ''Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon. Erinnerungen an Götter und Halbgötter''. Herbig, Munich 1975,
* ''Immer waren es die Frauen ... Eine intime Zeitgeschichte''. Herbig, Munich 1976,
* ''Das Beste aus meiner Witze- und Anekdotensammlung vom Film''. Heyne, Munich 1977,
* ''Hanussen. Hellseher des Teufels. Die Wahrheit über den Reichstagsbrand''. Herbig, Munich 1978,
* ''Tango. Roman einer Berliner Familie''. Herbig, Munich 1980,
* ''Der Kuh im Kaffeehaus. Die goldenen Zwanziger in Anekdoten''. Herbig, Munich 1981,
* ''Der heilige Trinker'' (über
Joseph Roth
Moses Joseph Roth (2 September 1894 – 27 May 1939) was an Austrian-Jewish journalist and novelist, best known for his family saga '' Radetzky March'' (1932), about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his novel of Jewish life ...
). Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1983,
* ''Es war eine rauschende Ballnacht. Eine Sittengeschichte des deutschen Films''. Herbig, Munich 1985,
* ''Im Wartesaal des Ruhms. Begegnungen mit berühmten Persönlichkeiten wie Bert Brecht, Albert Einstein, Erich Kästner u.a.'' (= Bastei Lübbe Allgemeine Reihe, Band 10660). Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1985,
* ''Dr Martin Ottler, Mitläufer. Roman'' (= Lambda-Dossier, No. 3). Lambda-Edition, Hamburg 1988,
* ''Ungelogen. Erinnerungen an mein Jahrhundert'' (Autobiographie). Herbig, Munich 1988,
Notes
External links
*
Filmportal.de: von Cziffra*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cziffra, Geza Von
Hungarian-German people
Hungarian film directors
Hungarian comedy film directors
Hungarian fantasy film directors
Austrian film directors
Austrian comedy film directors
Austrian fantasy film directors
Film people from Vienna
Austrian people of Hungarian descent
1900 births
1989 deaths
Burials at the Ostfriedhof (Munich)