Elisabeth Bergner
Encyclopedia
Elisabeth Bergner was an actress.
She was born Elisabeth Ettel in Drohobycz, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Drogobych, Ukraine
).
She went on stage when fourteen years old and began acting in Innsbruck
at the age of 15. In Vienna
. At sixteen she toured Austrian and German provinces with a Shakespearean company, later becoming accepted as the greatest Shakespearean actor on the continent. She worked as an artist's model
, posing for sculptor Wilhelm Lehmbruck
, who fell in love with her. She eventually moved to Munich
and then Berlin
.
In 1923 she made her film debut in Der Evangelimann. With the rise of Nazi
ism, Bergner moved to London
with director Paul Czinner
, and they were married in 1933. Her stage work in London included The Boy David (1936) by J.M. Barrie, his last play, which he wrote especially for her, and Escape Me Never by Margaret Kennedy
. Catherine the Great
was banned in Germany
because of the government's racial policies, reported Time
magazine (March 26, 1934). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress
for Escape Me Never
(1935). She repeated her stage role of Rosalind, opposite Laurence Olivier
's Orlando, in the 1936 film As You Like It
, the first sound film version of Shakespeare's play, and the first sound film of any Shakespeare play filmed in England. Ms. Bergner had previously only played the role on the German stage, and several critics found that her accent got in the way of their enjoyment of the film, which was not a success. Throughout, she returned intermittently to the stage, for instance in the title role of John Webster
's The Duchess of Malfi
in 1946.
In 1973 she starred in the Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winner for Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film
of 1974, Der Fußgänger (English title: The Pedestrian
). The film was directed by Austrian actor-director Maximilian Schell
, and starred international former early screen peers Peggy Ashcroft
, Käthe Haack
, Lil Dagover
and Françoise Rosay
.
She temporarily returned to Germany in 1954, where she acted in movies and on the stage; the Berlin district of Steglitz
named a city park after her. Later she moved to London
, where she died aged 88.
classic film, All About Eve
.
Bergner had a true life incident about a real-life would-be Eve Harrington that she recounted to writer Mary Orr
(1910–2006). Ms. Orr published a piece about the matter for
Cosmopolitan
magazine and named it The Wisdom of Eve, in which Eve does not get a comeuppance—as was required by the Hollywood Production Code
for the film—but gets away with everything and is last seen heading to Hollywood with a "thousand dollar a week contract in her pocketbook."
She was born Elisabeth Ettel in Drohobycz, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Drogobych, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
).
She went on stage when fourteen years old and began acting in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
at the age of 15. In Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. At sixteen she toured Austrian and German provinces with a Shakespearean company, later becoming accepted as the greatest Shakespearean actor on the continent. She worked as an artist's model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, posing for sculptor Wilhelm Lehmbruck
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
Wilhelm Lehmbruck was a German sculptor.- Biography :Born in Duisburg, he studied sculpture arts at the academy of arts in Düsseldorf and contributed to an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. From 1910–1914 he lived in Paris, where he met Modigliani, Brancusi, and Archipenko...
, who fell in love with her. She eventually moved to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and then Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
In 1923 she made her film debut in Der Evangelimann. With the rise of Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
ism, Bergner moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with director Paul Czinner
Paul Czinner
Paul Czinner was a writer, film director, and producer.Czinner was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. After studying literature and philosophy at the University of Vienna, he worked as a journalist. From 1919 onward, he dedicated himself to work for the filming industry as writer, director and...
, and they were married in 1933. Her stage work in London included The Boy David (1936) by J.M. Barrie, his last play, which he wrote especially for her, and Escape Me Never by Margaret Kennedy
Margaret Kennedy
Margaret Kennedy was an English novelist and playwright.-Family and education:Margaret Kennedy was born in Hyde Park Gate, London, the eldest of the four children of Charles Moore Kennedy , a barrister, and his wife Ellinor Edith Marwood...
. Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great (1934 film)
Catherine the Great is a 1934 British historical film based on the play The Czarina by Lajos Biró and Melchior Lengyel, about the rise to power of Catherine the Great. It was directed by Paul Czinner, and stars Elisabeth Bergner as Catherine, Douglas Fairbanks Jr...
was banned in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
because of the government's racial policies, reported Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine (March 26, 1934). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for Escape Me Never
Escape Me Never (1935 film)
Escape Me Never is a 1935 British drama film directed by Paul Czinner and starring Elisabeth Bergner, Hugh Sinclair and Griffith Jones. It is an adaptation of the play Escape Me Never by Margaret Kennedy...
(1935). She repeated her stage role of Rosalind, opposite Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's Orlando, in the 1936 film As You Like It
As You Like It (1936 film)
As You Like It is a 1936 film, directed by Paul Czinner and starring Laurence Olivier as Orlando and Elisabeth Bergner as Rosalind. It is based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name...
, the first sound film version of Shakespeare's play, and the first sound film of any Shakespeare play filmed in England. Ms. Bergner had previously only played the role on the German stage, and several critics found that her accent got in the way of their enjoyment of the film, which was not a success. Throughout, she returned intermittently to the stage, for instance in the title role of John Webster
John Webster
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
's The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
in 1946.
In 1973 she starred in the Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winner for Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
of 1974, Der Fußgänger (English title: The Pedestrian
The Pedestrian (film)
The Pedestrian is a 1973 film directed by Maximilian Schell. It is about the trial of an elderly war criminal. The film was a co-production between companies in Germany, Switzerland and Israel.-Cast:*Peggy Ashcroft - Lady Gray...
). The film was directed by Austrian actor-director Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
, and starred international former early screen peers Peggy Ashcroft
Peggy Ashcroft
Dame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE was an English actress.-Early years:Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama...
, Käthe Haack
Käthe Haack
Käthe Haack was a German actress. She appeared in over 200 films between 1915 and 1980.She was born Käte Lisbeth Minna Sophie Isolde Haack in Berlin, Germany and was previously married to actor Heinrich Schroth, with whom she had a daughter, actress Hannelore Schroth in 1922.-Selected...
, Lil Dagover
Lil Dagover
Lil Dagover was a German stage, film and television actress whose career spanned nearly six decades.-Early life:...
and Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema...
.
She temporarily returned to Germany in 1954, where she acted in movies and on the stage; the Berlin district of Steglitz
Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Steglitz-Zehlendorf is the sixth borough of Berlin, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Steglitz and Zehlendorf.-Demographics:...
named a city park after her. Later she moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where she died aged 88.
All About Eve
Bergner is considered by several critics to be the inspiration for the character of Margo Channing in Joseph L. MankiewiczJoseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
classic film, All About Eve
All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
.
Bergner had a true life incident about a real-life would-be Eve Harrington that she recounted to writer Mary Orr
Mary Orr
Mary Caswell Orr was an American actress and short story author whose "The Wisdom of Eve," written in 1946, was the basis of the Academy Award-winning film All About Eve...
(1910–2006). Ms. Orr published a piece about the matter for
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
magazine and named it The Wisdom of Eve, in which Eve does not get a comeuppance—as was required by the Hollywood Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
for the film—but gets away with everything and is last seen heading to Hollywood with a "thousand dollar a week contract in her pocketbook."
Selected filmography
- ArianeAriane (film)Ariane is a 1931 German drama film directed by Paul Czinner and starring Elisabeth Bergner, Rudolf Forster and Annemarie Steinsieck. It is an adaptation of the 1920 French novel Ariane, jeune fille russe by Claude Anet. Two alternative language versions The Loves of Ariane and Ariane, jeune fille...
(1931) - The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934)
- Escape Me NeverEscape Me Never (1935 film)Escape Me Never is a 1935 British drama film directed by Paul Czinner and starring Elisabeth Bergner, Hugh Sinclair and Griffith Jones. It is an adaptation of the play Escape Me Never by Margaret Kennedy...
(1935) - As You Like ItAs You Like It (1936 film)As You Like It is a 1936 film, directed by Paul Czinner and starring Laurence Olivier as Orlando and Elisabeth Bergner as Rosalind. It is based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name...
(1936) - Dreaming LipsDreaming LipsDreaming Lips is a 1937 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by Paul Czinner and Lee Garmes starring Ronald Shiner as the Friend and Raymond Massey as Miguel del Vayo. It was produced by Trafalgar Film Productions...
(1937) - Stolen Life (1939)
- 49th Parallel49th Parallel (film)49th Parallel is the third film made by the British writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It was released in the United States as The Invaders. Despite the title, no scene in the movie is set at the 49th parallel, which forms much of the U.S.-Canadian border...
(1941) - Paris CallingParis CallingParis Calling is a 1941 American war film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Basil Rathbone, Randolph Scott, Elisabeth Bergner....
(1941) - Strogoff (1970)
- Cry of the BansheeCry Of The BansheeCry of the Banshee is a 1970 horror film directed by Gordon Hessler, starring Vincent Price as an evil witchhunter. The film was released by American International Pictures. The film co stars Elizabeth Bergner, Hilary Dwyer, and Hugh Griffith...
(1970) - High Society Limited (1982)