Lothar Müthel (né Lothar Max Lütcke; 18 February 1896 – 4 September 1964) was a German stage and film actor and director.

Career

Müthel was born in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, where he attended the acting school of

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most promi ...

, ''Schauspielschule, Berlin''. Following the

Anchluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

of Austria to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Müthel was appointed as director of the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

in Vienna. He held that position from 1939 until the fall of the Nazi regime in 1945. Under his directorship in 1943, a notoriously extreme production of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' was staged at the Burgtheater, with

Werner Krauss Werner Johannes Krauss (''Krauß'' in German; 23 June 1884 – 20 October 1959) was a German stage and film actor. Krauss dominated the German stage of the early 20th century. However, his participation in the antisemitic propaganda film '' Jud ...

as Shylock.

Death

Müthel died in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

at age 68.

Selected filmography

* '' The Galley Slave'' (1919) * '' The Golem: How He Came into the World'' (1920) as Knight Florian *'' The Woman in Heaven'' (1920) as Feodor * '' The Mayor of Zalamea'' (1920) as Juan * ''

The Night of Queen Isabeau ''The Night of Queen Isabeau'' (german: Die Nacht der Königin Isabeau) is a 1920 German silent historical drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Fern Andra, Fritz Kortner, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski and Elsa Wagner. The film depicts ...

'' (1920) as Jehan *''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although oft ...

'' (1921) as the messenger * ''

The False Dimitri ''The False Dimitri'' (german: Der falsche Dimitri) is a 1922 German silent historical film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Alfred Abel, Agnes Straub and Eugen Klöpfer.Klossner, Michael. ''The Europe of 1500–1815 on Film and Televisio ...

'' (1922) as the Polish envoy * ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Gover ...

'' (1922) as Juan Borgia * '' Goetz von Berlichingen of the Iron Hand'' (1925) as Brother Martin *''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The wiktionary:erudite, erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a ...

'' (1956) as the monk * ''

Yorck ''Yorck'' is a 1931 German war film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Werner Krauss, Grete Mosheim and Rudolf Forster.Noack p.59 It portrays the life of the Prussian General Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg, particularly his refusal to serve in ...

'' (1931) as General von Clausewitz

References

Lothar Müthel biography
cyranos.ch. Retrieved 25 January 2018. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muthel, Lothar 1896 births 1964 deaths German male stage actors German male film actors German male silent film actors German theatre directors Opera managers Sturmabteilung personnel 20th-century German male actors