Curt Bois (5 April 1901 – 25 December 1991) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
actor.
Bois was born in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and began acting in 1907, becoming one of the film world's first child actors, with a role in the silent movie
Bauernhaus und Grafenschloß. In 1909 he played the title role in
Der Kleine Detektiv ('The Little Detective').
Bois' acting career spanned eighty years, a longer period than can be claimed by any other actor.
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Curt Bois (5 April 1901 – 25 December 1991) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
actor.
Bois was born in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and began acting in 1907, becoming one of the film world's first child actors, with a role in the silent movie
Bauernhaus und Grafenschloß. In 1909 he played the title role in
Der Kleine Detektiv ('The Little Detective').
Bois' acting career spanned eighty years, a longer period than can be claimed by any other actor. His final performance was in 1987's
Der Himmel über BerlinWings of Desire is a 1987 film by the German director Wim Wenders. Its original German title is Der Himmel über Berlin, which can be translated as The Sky over Berlin. Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry partially inspired the movie; Wenders claimed angels seemed to dwell in Rilke's poetry...
(in English:
Wings of DesireWings of Desire is a 1987 film by the German director Wim Wenders. Its original German title is Der Himmel über Berlin, which can be translated as The Sky over Berlin. Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry partially inspired the movie; Wenders claimed angels seemed to dwell in Rilke's poetry...
). Bois showed himself to be very adaptable, performing in theatre, cabaret, musicals, silent film and "talkies" over his career as an actor.
In 1934 Bois was forced to leave his home for the shores of the United States, where he found work on stage on
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
. By 1937 he had found his way to Hollywood, and began acting in American pictures, the best-known of which was
CasablancaCasablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one...
(1942), with a single speech warning about pickpockets as "vultures everywhere". After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Bois decided it was safe to return to Germany, which he did in 1950. He finished out his life and career in Germany, first in the East, and finally in the West. Bois died in Berlin, the city of his birth, at the age of ninety.
Partial filmography
- Tovarich
Tovarich is a 1937 Warner Bros. comedy film based on the 1935 play by Robert E. Sherwood. It was produced and directed by Anatole Litvak with Robert Lord as associate producer and Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner as executive producers. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson from the French play by...
(1937)1
- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse is a Warner Bros. crime film starring Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor and Humphrey Bogart. It was directed by Anatole Litvak and written by John Wexley and John Huston based on the first play written by short-story writer Barré Lyndon, which ran for three months on...
(1938)
- The Great Waltz
The Great Waltz is a 1938 biographical film based very loosely on the life of Johann Strauss II. It starred Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravet and Miliza Korjus. Rainer received top billing at the producer's insistence, but her role is comparatively minor as Strauss' wife, Poldi Volgelhuber...
(1938)
- Hullabaloo
Hullabaloo is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Nat Perrin. It stars Frank Morgan, Virginia Grey, Dan Dailey, Billie Burke, Donald Meek, Reginald Owen and Connie Gilchrist...
(1940)
- Bitter Sweet
Bitter Sweet is a 1940 musical film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, based on the operetta by Noel Coward. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Cinematography and the other for Best Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons and John S. Detlie...
(1940)
- That Night in Rio
That Night in Rio is a 1941 musical comedy film starring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda and Don Ameche . It is one of several film adaptations of a play called The Red Cat by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler...
(1941)
- Hold Back the Dawn
Hold Back the Dawn is a 1941 romantic film in which a Romanian gigolo marries an American woman in Mexico in order to gain entry to the United States, but winds up falling in love with her...
(1941)
- Casablanca
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one...
(1942)
- Princess O'Rourke
Princess O'Rourke is a 1943 romantic comedy film directed and written by Norman Krasna and starring Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings and Charles Coburn...
(1943)
- The Desert Song
The Desert Song is a 1943 musical film directed by Robert Florey and starring Dennis Morgan. It is based on the famous 1926 operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg...
(1943)
- Cover Girl
Cover Girl is a 1944 American musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. The film tells the story of a chorus girl given a chance at stardom when she is offered an opportunity to be a highly-paid cover girl...
(1944)
- Saratoga Trunk
Saratoga Trunk is a 1945 film written by Edna Ferber and Casey Robinson, based on Ferber's best-selling novel of the same name. It stars Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Florence Bates, and Flora Robson, who was nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance.-Plot:Ingrid Bergman played a...
(1945)
- The Spanish Main
The Spanish Main is an adventure film starring Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak and Binnie Barnes, and directed by Frank Borzage. It was RKO's first all-Technicolor film since Becky Sharp ten years before....
(1945)
- Arch of Triumph
Arch of Triumph is a 1948 US war romance film made by Enterprise Productions. The film was directed by Lewis Milestone and adapted from the 1945 Erich Maria Remarque novel Arch of Triumph....
(1948)
- The Woman in White
The Woman in White can refer to:*The Woman in White , a 1859 novel written by Wilkie Collins*The Woman in White , a 2004 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on the novel...
(1948)
- Fortunes of Captain Blood
Fortunes of Captain Blood is a pirate film directed by Gordon Douglas. Based on the famous Captain Blood depicted in the novel by Rafael Sabatini, Fortunes was produced by Columbia Pictures as yet another remake about the notorious swashbuckler...
(1950)
- Wings of Desire
Wings of Desire is a 1987 film by the German director Wim Wenders. Its original German title is Der Himmel über Berlin, which can be translated as The Sky over Berlin. Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry partially inspired the movie; Wenders claimed angels seemed to dwell in Rilke's poetry...
(1987)
1 denotes American film debut.