Ida Wüst (; 10 October 1884 – 4 October 1958) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
stage and film
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
whose career was prominent in the 1920s and 1930s with
Universum Film AG
UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated ...
(UFA).
Life and career
Little is known about Ida Wüst's early childhood. She discovered early the world of theater, and decided to make it her career. After attending secondary school in Frankfurt am Main, Wüst took acting lessons from Thessa Klinghammer and at the age of 16 received her first engagement at the StadtTheatre of
Colmar
Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), ...
, and further stage productions in
Bromberg
Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the Vistula River, River Vistula with its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda River, Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December ...
, and in 1904 performed extensively in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
. In 1907 she became a member of the ensemble of the Lessing-Theater in Berlin, where she performed roles in ''Hosenrollen'' (roles in which women impersonate men in trousers), and comedies and became sought after actress.
[Index Stummfilm](_blank)
/ref>
She befriended and married actor Bruno Kastner, with whom she began writing screenplays. The couple married in 1918, divorced in 1924, and had no children.
Wüst appeared in the four-silent serial installments of '' Tragedy of Love'' and '' The Countess of Paris'' in 1923, which also featured a young Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
. Many other silent movies quickly followed and Wüst's film career of the silent era was prolific. She transitioned to the sound era of the ''talkie
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...
'' with relative ease and appeared in many stage and film production during the 1930s.
World War II
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
brought a slump in Wüst's career. During the war years she played in only several film and theater roles.
Following the war, Wüst's 1946 request for denazification
Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remo ...
was dismissed because during the Nazi regime, she was accused of denouncing fellow actors such as Eduard von Winterstein. Wüst was known to have corresponded with Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
throughout the war years and several of her letters to Hitler are on file at the Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
Adolf Hitler Collection. Only in 1949 was Wüst classified as suitable to resume her career. During the 1950s, she made several films, often appearing as sprightly elderly ladies and comedic matronly types. Also, during the 1950s, she again returned to the stage.
During her career, Ida Wüst appeared opposite some of the most notable stars of the German cinema, such as: Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...
, Hans Albers
Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960) was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century.
Early life
...
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...
, Paul Henckels, Käthe Dorsch, Hans Moser, Käthe Haack, Paul Kemp, Theo Lingen
Theo Lingen (; 10 June 1903 – 10 November 1978), born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960.
Life and c ...
and many more.
On 4 October 1958 Ida Wüst died of a stroke, following a severe bout of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
, aged 73. She was buried at the Evangelical Lutheran parish church cemetery in Groß Glienicke
Groß Glienicke is a village located both in Berlin and Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg. Until 2003, when it was merged into Potsdam, the Brandenburg—and main—side, was an autonomous municipality. The Berlin side is p ...
, Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
.[Heinzl Adolf Meier, Berndt Schulz: ''Lexicon der deutschen Film- und TV-Stars.'' Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, 2000. ]
Filmography
As a screenwriter
*'' Only a Servant'' (1919)
*''Der König von Paris Teil 1 & 2'' (1920)
As an actress
*''Der wird geheiratet'' (1921)
*''Marquise von Pompadour'' (1922)
*'' Tragedy of Love'' (1923)
*'' The Countess of Paris'' (1923)
*''The Doll Queen
''The Doll Queen'' (German: ''Die Puppenkönigin'') is a 1925 German silent comedy film directed by Gennaro Righelli and starring Maria Jacobini, Harry Liedtke, Viggo Larsen.Bock & Bergfelder p.285 It was shot at the Grunewald Studios in Berlin. ...
'' (1925)
*''Chamber Music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small num ...
'' (1925)
* '' Oh Those Glorious Old Student Days'' (1925)
*'' Die vertauschte Braut'' (1925)
*''Die Strasse des Vergessens'' (1925)
*''The Queen of the Baths
''The Queen of the Baths'' (german: Die Königin des Weltbades) is a 1926 German silent comedy film directed by Victor Janson and starring Mary Nolan, Walter Rilla and Livio Pavanelli.Grange p. 242
The film's sets were designed by the art direc ...
'' (1926)
*'' The Third Squadron'' (1926)
*'' Accommodations for Marriage'' (1926)
*''Unmarried Daughters
''Unmarried Daughters'' (German: ''Ledige Töchter'') is a 1926 German silent film directed by Carl Boese and starring Jenny Jugo, Charlotte Ander and Ida Wüst.Parish p.297
The film's sets were designed by the art director Oscar Werndorff.
...
'' (1926)
*''Die Bräutigame der Babette'' (1927)
*''Das Heiratsnest'' (1927)
* ''Excluded from the Public
''Excluded from the Public'' (German: ''Unter Ausschluß der Öffentlichkeit'') is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Conrad Wiene and starring Werner Krauss, Maly Delschaft and Vivian Gibson.St. Pierre p.207 It was shot at the Staak ...
'' (1927)
*'' Homesick'' (1927)
*''Venus im Frack'' (1927)
*''Im Luxuszug'' (1927)
*''Assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
'' (1927)
*''Mein Freund Harry'' (1927)
*''The Last Waltz
''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concer ...
'' (1927)
*'' Queen Louise'' (1927)
*''Der Bettelstudent'' (1927)
*'' The Case of Prosecutor M'' (1928)
*''Die Königin seines Herzens'' (1928)
* '' It Attracted Three Fellows'' (1928)
*'' The Abduction of the Sabine Women'' (1928)
*''Master and Mistress
''Master and Mistress'' (German: ''Herr Meister und Frau Meisterin'') is a 1928 German silent film directed by Alfred Theodor Mann and starring Hans Albers, Maly Delschaft and Carl de Vogt.Krautz p.516
The film's art direction was by Heinrich Ri ...
'' (1928)
*'' Youth of the Big City'' (1929)
*'' The Burning Heart'' (1929)
*''Father and Son Father and Son or Fathers and Sons may refer to:
Literature
* ''Father and Son'' (book), a 1907 memoir by Edmund Gosse
*Father and Son (comics), cartoon characters created by E. O. Plauen
* ''Fathers and Sons'' (novel), an 1862 novel by Ivan Tur ...
'' (1929)
*'' Diary of a Coquette'' (1929)
*'' Fräulein Fähnrich'' (1929)
*''Madame X, die Frau für diskrete Beratung'' (1929)
*''Zwischen vierzehn und siebzehn''
*'' The Night Belongs to Us'' (1929)
*''Der Walzerkönig'' (1930)
*''Die Lindenwirtin'' (1930)
*'' A Student's Song of Heidelberg'' (1930)
*''Rooms to Let
''Rooms to Let'' (German: ''Ruhiges Heim mit Küchenbenutzung'') is a 1930 German silent comedy film directed by Carl Wilhelm and starring Lucie Englisch, Elisabeth Pinajeff and Kurt Vespermann.Prawer p.87 The film's art direction was by Max Hei ...
'' (1930)
*'' Three Days Confined to Barracks'' (1930)
*''The Caviar Princess
''The Caviar Princess'' (german: Die Kaviarprinzessin) is a 1930 German silent comedy film directed by Carl Lamac and starring Anny Ondra, Maria Forescu and André Roanne.Prawer p. 123 The film's art direction was by Heinrich Richter. It is al ...
'' (1930)
*''Die Scikosbaroness'' (1930)
*'' Josef the Chaste'' (1930)
*''Bockbierfest'' (1930)
*''Das alte Lied'' (1930)
*'' Marriage in Name Only'' (1930)
*'' Madame Pompadour'' (1931)
*''Different Morals
''Different Morals'' (german: Zweierlei Moral) is a 1931 German comedy film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Walter Rilla, Aribert Wäscher, and Elga Brink. It was shot at the Tempelhof and Staaken Studios in Berlin. The film's sets we ...
'' (1931)
*'' When the Soldiers'' (1931)
*'' The Firm Gets Married'' (1931)
*''Der Stumme von Portici'' (1931)
*''Das verlorene Paradies'' (1931)
*'' Elisabeth of Austria'' (1931)
*'' Bombs on Monte Carlo'' (1931)
*'' My Leopold'' (1931)
*''Der verjüngte Adolar'' (1931)
* ''Shooting Festival in Schilda
''Shooting Festival in Schilda'' (German: ''Schützenfest in Schilda'') is a 1931 German comedy film directed by Adolf Trotz and starring Sig Arno, Fritz Kampers and Eugen Rex. It was shot at the Halensee Studios in Berlin.Klaus p.257
Cast
...
'' (1931)
*'' Hooray, It's a Boy!'' (1931)
*''Schön ist die Manöverzeit'' (1931)
*'' The Night Without Pause'' (1931)
*''Two Heavenly Blue Eyes
''Two Heavenly Blue Eyes'' or ''Two Sky Blue Eyes'' (German: ''Zwei himmelblaue Augen'') is a 1932 German musical comedy film directed by Johannes Meyer and starring Charlotte Ander, Hermann Thimig and Theo Lingen. It was shot at the Babelsberg ...
'' (1932)
*'' At Your Orders, Sergeant'' (1932)
*'' The Victor'' (1932)
*'' No Money Needed'' (1932)
*'' Once There Was a Waltz'' (1932)
*'' Peter Voss, Thief of Millions'' (1932)
*'' Melody of Love'' (1932)
*''Aus einer kleinen Residenz'' (1932)
*''The Song of Night
''The Song of Night'' (German: ''Das Lied einer Nacht'') is a 1932 German musical comedy film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Jan Kiepura, Magda Schneider and Fritz Schulz.Murphy p.381
It was made at the Babelsberg Studios in Berl ...
'' (1932)
*''Ballhaus goldener Engel'' (1932)
*''Zwei glückliche Tage'' (1932)
*''Ja, treu ist die Soldatenliebe'' (1932)
*'' The Beautiful Adventure'' (1932)
*''The Testament of Cornelius Gulden
''The Testament of Cornelius Gulden'' (german: Das Testament des Cornelius Gulden) is a 1932 German drama film directed by E. W. Emo and starring Magda Schneider, Georg Alexander, and Theo Lingen. It is based on the 1930 novel of the same titl ...
'' (1932)
*''Mieter Schulze gegen alle'' (1932)
*'' How Shall I Tell My Husband?'' (1932)
*'' Frederica'' (1932)
* '' The Invisible Front'' (1932)
*'' I by Day, You by Night'' (1932)
*'' You Don't Forget Such a Girl'' (1932)
*'' Keinen Tag ohne Dich'' (1933)
*''A Song for You
"A Song for You" is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album ''Leon Russell'', which was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understanding ...
'' (1933)
*''Kind, ich freu' mich auf Dein Kommen'' (1933)
*'' Little Man, What Now?'' (1933)
* '' Laughing Heirs'' (1933)
* ''Refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. '' (1933)
*''Fräulein Hoffmanns Erzählungen'' (1933)
*''Die Wette'' (1933)
*'' The Tsarevich'' (1933)
*''Des jungen Dessauers grosse Liebe'' (1933)
*''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 ...
'' (1934)
*'' Just Once a Great Lady'' (1934)
*'' Annette im Paradies'' (1934)
*''Frühlingsmärchen'' (1934)
*'' Enjoy Yourselves'' (1934)
*'' The Csardas Princess'' (1934)
*''The Daring Swimmer
''The Daring Swimmer'' (german: Der kühne Schwimmer) is a 1934 German comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Ralph Arthur Roberts, Susi Lanner, and Ida Wüst.
Cast
* Ralph Arthur Roberts as Otto Eberlein
*Susi Lanner as Käthe
* Id ...
'' (1934)
*''Jungfrau gegen Mönch'' 1934
* '' Love and the First Railway'' (1934)
*''Warum lügt Fräulein Käthe?'' (1935)
*'' The Blonde Carmen'' (1935)
*'' The Private Life of Louis XIV'' (1935)
*''Kater Lampe'' (1935)
*''The World's in Love
''The World's in Love'' (German: ''Die ganze Welt dreht sich um Liebe'') is a 1935 Austrian comedy film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Mártha Eggerth, Leo Slezak and Ida Wüst. It is based on the operetta '' Clo-Clo''.
The film's set ...
'' (1935)
*'' If It Were Not for Music'' (1935)
*''Eine Seefahrt, die ist lustig'' (1935)
*''Herbstmanöver'' (1935)
*'' A Night on the Danube'' (1935)
*''Die lustigen Weiber'' (1936)
*''Kater Lampe'' (1936)
*'' The Beggar Student'' (1936)
*''Nachtwache im Paradies'' (1936)
* ''A Wedding Dream
''A Wedding Dream'' (German: ''Ein Hochzeitstraum'') is a 1936 German comedy film directed by Erich Engel and starring Ida Wüst, Heinz Salfner and Inge List. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios of Tobis Film in Berlin. The film's sets were ...
'' (1936)
*''Der lustige Witwenball'' (1936)
*''Heiratsinstitut Ida & Co.'' (1937)
*''Husaren, heraus'' (1937)
*''Fremdenheim Filoda'' (1937)
*''Wenn Du eine Schwiegermutter hast'' (1937)
*'' The Beaver Coat'' (1937)
*''Es leuchten die Sterne'' (1937–1939)
*''Diskretion - Ehrensache'' (1938)
*''Das Verlegenheitskind'' (1938)
* '' Little County Court'' (1938)
*''Rote Mühle'' (1939)
*''Die kluge Schwiegermutter'' (1939)
*''Zwei Welten'' (1939)
*''Die unvollkommenen Liebe'' (1940)
*'' Wunschkonzert'' (1940)
*''Sein Sohn'' (1941)
*'' Happiness is the Main Thing'' (1941)
* ''Beloved Darling
''Beloved Darling'' (German: ''Geliebter Schatz'') is a 1943 German comedy film directed by Paul Martin and starring Johannes Riemann, Dorit Kreysler and Sonja Ziemann. Klaus p.149-50 It was shot partly at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. T ...
'' (1943)
*''Die beiden Schwestern'' (1943)
*' (1944)
*''The Noltenius Brothers
''The Noltenius Brothers'' (german: Die Brüder Noltenius) is a 1945 German drama film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Willy Birgel, Karl Mathias and Hilde Weissner.Bock & Bergfelder p. 52 Released in Berlin on 7 April, it was, by ...
'' (1945)
*''When Men Cheat
''When Men Cheat'' (german: Wenn Männer schwindeln) is a 1950 West German comedy film directed by Carl Boese and starring Grethe Weiser, Kurt Seifert and Jeanette Schultze.Bock & Bergfelder p. 519
It was made at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. ...
'' (1950)
*''Es begann um Mitternacht'' (1950)
*''Eva im Frack'' (1950)
*''Heimat, Deine Sterne'' (1951)
*''Der Jagerloisl vom Tegernsee'' (1951)
*'' I'm Waiting for You'' (1952)
*'' Aunt Jutta from Calcutta'' (1953)
*'' The Sweetest Fruits'' (1954)
*'' Sonne über der Adria'' (1954)
*'' Die Barrings'' (1955)
*'' The Mistress of Solderhof'' (1955)
*''Roter Mohn'' (1956)
Selected theater performances
*''Kammermusik'' (Lessing-Theater, Berlin, 1914)
*''Drei arme kleine Mädels'' (Theater am Nollendorfplatz, Berlin, 1927)
*''Die Männer sind nicht dankbar'' (Kabarett Simpl, Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, 1940)
References
External links
*
*Ida Wüst at th
Virtual Film History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wust, Ida
1884 births
1958 deaths
German women screenwriters
German stage actresses
German film actresses
German silent film actresses
Actors from Frankfurt
20th-century German actresses
Deaths from pneumonia in Germany
20th-century German screenwriters