Emil Jannings
Encyclopedia
Emil Jannings was a German actor. He was not only the first actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor 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 actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

, but also the first person to be presented an Oscar. He later starred in a number of Nazi propaganda
Nazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...

 films and became close with Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...

.

Early life

He was christened
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 as Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz in Rorschach, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, the son of a German mother and an American father. While he was still young the family moved to Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...

 in Germany and in the town state theatre Jannings started his stage career.
He worked in Bremen and Leipzig before joining the Max Reinhardt's theatre company in Berlin.

Career

Jannings was a theater actor who went into films. He starred in the 1922 film version of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...

 and in F. W. Murnau's The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann, 1924), as a proud but aged hotel doorman who is demoted to a restroom attendant. Jannings worked with Murnau on two other films, playing the title character in Herr Tartüff (1925) and Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...

 in Faust
Faust (1926 film)
Faust is a silent film produced in 1926 by UFA, directed by F.W. Murnau, starring Gösta Ekman as Faust, Emil Jannings as Mephisto, Camilla Horn as Gretchen/Marguerite, Frida Richard as her mother, Wilhelm Dieterle as her brother and Yvette Guilbert as Marthe Schwerdtlein, her aunt...

 (1926). He eventually started a career in Hollywood. In 1929 he won the Oscar for two films, The Way of All Flesh
The Way of All Flesh (film)
The Way of All Flesh is a drama film directed by Victor Fleming, written by Lajos Biró, Jules Furthman and Julian Johnson from a story by Perley Poore Sheehan. The film is unrelated to Samuel Butler's novel The Way of All Flesh, and is now considered a lost film.-Cast:*Emil Jannings - August...

, and The Last Command
The Last Command (film)
The Last Command is a 1928 silent film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and written by John F. Goodrich and Herman J. Mankiewicz, from a story by Lajos Biró. Star Emil Jannings won the very first Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performances in this film and The Way of All...

.

His Hollywood career came to an end with the advent of talkies; his thick German accent was difficult to understand, and his dialogue was dubbed by another actor in the part-talkie The Patriot
The Patriot (1928 film)
The Patriot is a 1928 semi-biographical film that was directed by Ernst Lubitsch and released by Paramount Pictures. The film was written by Hanns Kräly ; it is an adaptation of several different plays: Paul I by Dmitri Merezhkovsky, Der Patriot by Alfred Neumann, and The Patriot by Ashley Dukes...

 (1928), although after Jannings objected, his voice was restored. He returned to Europe, where he starred opposite Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...

 in the 1930 film The Blue Angel, filmed in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 simultaneously with its German version Der blaue Engel
Der blaue Engel
The Blue Angel is a film directed by Josef von Sternberg in 1930, based on Heinrich Mann's novel Professor Unrat. The film is considered to be the first major German sound film and it brought world fame to actress Marlene Dietrich...

.

Later life

During the Third Reich, he starred in several films which were intended to promote Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

, particularly the Führerprinzip
Führerprinzip
The Führerprinzip , German for "leader principle", prescribes the fundamental basis of political authority in the governmental structures of the Third Reich...

: The Youth of Frederick the Great (1935), Der Herrscher ("The Ruler" 1937), Ohm Kruger
Ohm Krüger
Ohm Krüger was a 1941 propaganda film, produced in Nazi Germany, about Paul Kruger in the Boer War. It was the first film to be awarded the 'Film of the Nation' award. It was re-released in 1944.-Plot:...

 (Uncle Kruger, 1941) and The Dismissal of Bismarck (1942). Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...

 named him "Artist of the State" in 1941.

When troops of the Allied Powers entered Germany in 1945, Jannings reportedly carried his Oscar statuette with him as proof of his former association with Hollywood. However, his active role in Nazi propaganda
Nazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...

 meant he was subject to denazification
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...

, and any comeback attempt was doomed. Jannings retired near Salzburg, Austria, and became an Austrian citizen in 1947. Very proficient in financial matters, he was one of the highest paid actors of his time.

Death

Jannings died in 1950, aged 65, in Strobl
Strobl
Strobl is a municipality of the Salzburg-Umgebung District , in the northeastern portion of the Austrian state of Salzburg, right on the border with Upper Austria...

, from liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...

. His Best Actor Oscar is now on display at the Filmmuseum
Filmmuseum Berlin
Filmmuseum Berlin is one of six film museums in Germany. It opened in 2000 as the Deutschen Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen....

 in 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...

.

Cultural depictions

Hilmar Eichhorn portrayed a fictional version of Jannings in Inglourious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...

.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1914
1914 in film
The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.-Events:*The 3,300-seat Mark Strand Theatre opens in New York City....

Arme Eva
Im Schützengraben
Passionels Tagebuch
1916
1916 in film
The year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....

Aus Mangel an Beweisen Dr. Langer
Die Bettlerin von St. Marien Baron Gelsburg
Frau Eva
Im Angesicht des Toten Paul Werner
Das Leben ein Traum
Nächte des Grauens
A Night of Horror
A Night of Horror is a 1916 silent German horror film directed by Richard Oswald, Arthur Robison and starring Werner Krauss.-Cast:* Emil Jannings* Laurence Köhler* Werner Krauss* Hans Mierendorff* Ossi Oswalda* Lupu Pick* Lu Synd...

Stein unter Steinen
1917
1917 in film
The year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...

Das Fidele Gefängnis Quabbe, the jailer The Merry Jail (Europe: English title)
Wenn vier dasselbe tun Segetoff
Hoheit Radieschen
Die Ehe der Luise Rohrbach Wilhelm Rohrbach
Der Zehnte Pavillon der Zitadelle
Das Geschäft S. H. Haßler
Lulu
Der Ring der Giuditta Foscari
Die Seeschlacht
Unheilbar
1918
1918 in film
The year 1918 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Following litigation for anti-trust activities, the US Supreme Court orders the Motion Picture Patents Company to disband....

Keimendes Leben, Teil 1 James Fraenkel, Börsenmarktler
John Smith, amerikanischer Ingenieur
Die Augen der Mumie Ma Radu, an Arab aka The Eyes of the Mummy
Fuhrmann Henschel
Nach zwanzig Jahren Horst Lundin 'Korn'
1919
1919 in film
The year 1919 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 5 - Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists...

Rose Bernd Arthur Streckmann
Madame DuBarry
Madame Du Barry (1919 film)
Madame Du Barry was a 1919 German silent film on the life of Madame Du Barry. It was directed by Ernst Lubitsch, written by Norbert Falk and Hanns Kräly and its cast included Alexander Ekert, with the title role taken by Pola Negri and Louis XV played by Emil Jannings....

Louis XV aka Passion
Vendetta Tomasso
Die Tochter des Mehemed Vaco Juan Riberda, Fabrikbesitzer
Keimendes Leben, Teil 2
Der Mann der Tat Jan Miller
1920
1920 in film
The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 27 - The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks opens.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1920:U.S.A. unless stated*The $1,000,000 Reward...

Colombine
Anna Boleyn
Anna Boleyn (film)
Anna Boleyn is a 1920 German historical film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It starred Henny Porten as Anne Boleyn and Emil Jannings as King Henry VIII.-Cast:*Henny Porten as Anna Boleyn*Emil Jannings as Henry VIII*Paul Hartmann as Sir Henry Norris...

Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

aka Deception
Der Schädel der Pharaonentochter Osorcon, Pharao of Egypt
Algol - Tragödie der Macht
Algol (film)
Algol: Tragedy of Power is a 1920 German science fiction film about an alien from the planet Algol.-Production background:The film was directed by Hans Werckmeister and stars Emil Jannings and John Gottowt. The story centers on a human who is given a machine by an alien spirit which if used would...

Robert Herne
Das Große Licht Lorenz Ferleitner
Kohlhiesels Töchter Peter Xaver aka Kohlhiesel's Daughters
1921
1921 in film
-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1921:U.S.A. unless stated*$10,000 Under a Pillow, silent film directed by Frank Moser*The Ace of Hearts, silent film directed by Wallace Worsley*Across the Divide, silent film directed by John Holloway...

Die Ratten Bruno
Der Schwur des Peter Hergatz
Danton Danton aka All for a Woman
Der Stier von Olivera General François Guillaume
Die Brüder Karamasoff Dimitri Karamasoff aka The Brothers Karamazov
1922
1922 in film
-Events:* June 11 - United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film....

Peter der Große Peter der Große aka Peter the Great (USA)
Othello Othello
Othello (character)
Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor....

Das Weib des Pharao Pharao Amenes aka Loves of the Pharaoh
Die Gräfin von Paris aka The Countess of Paris (USA)
1923
1923 in film
-Events:*April 15 - Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1923:U.S.A...

Alles für Geld S. I. Rupp
Tragödie der Liebe Ombrade aka The Tragedy of Love (USA)
1924
1924 in film
-Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...

The Last Laugh Hotelportier (hotel porter) The Last Laugh (USA)
Nju - Eine unverstandene Frau Ehemann aka Husbands or Lovers (USA)
Das Wachsfigurenkabinett
Waxworks (film)
Waxworks is a 1924 fantasy/horror silent film directed by Paul Leni. The film is about a writer who accepts a job from a waxworks proprietor to write a series of stories about the exhibits of Caliph of Baghdad , Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper in order to boost business.Although...

Harun al Raschid aka Waxworks
1925
1925 in film
-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...

Varieté
Varieté
Variety is a 1925 silent drama film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont based on the novel Der Eid des Stephan Huller by . Jannings portrays "Boss Huller," an ex-trapeze artist who runs a seedy carnival with his wife and child...

Boss Huller aka Jealousy (USA)
Quo Vadis? Nerone Extant
Liebe macht blind Emil Jannings aka Love Makes Us Blind
1926
1926 in film
-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....

Herr Tartüff Tartüff
Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage
Faust (1926 film)
Faust is a silent film produced in 1926 by UFA, directed by F.W. Murnau, starring Gösta Ekman as Faust, Emil Jannings as Mephisto, Camilla Horn as Gretchen/Marguerite, Frida Richard as her mother, Wilhelm Dieterle as her brother and Yvette Guilbert as Marthe Schwerdtlein, her aunt...

Mephisto Extant
1927
1927 in film
-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 7 - Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premiers at the Paris Opéra and would demonstrate techniques and equipment that would not be used for years to...

The Way of All Flesh
The Way of All Flesh (film)
The Way of All Flesh is a drama film directed by Victor Fleming, written by Lajos Biró, Jules Furthman and Julian Johnson from a story by Perley Poore Sheehan. The film is unrelated to Samuel Butler's novel The Way of All Flesh, and is now considered a lost film.-Cast:*Emil Jannings - August...

August Schilling Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor 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 actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

; Lost film
1928
1928 in film
-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...

Sins of the Fathers
Sins of the Fathers (1928 film)
Sins of the Fathers is a 1928 silent film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Ludwig Berger and stars Emil Jannings and Ruth Chatterton in her motion picture debut.-Cast:...

Wilhelm Spengler Extant
The Patriot
The Patriot (1928 film)
The Patriot is a 1928 semi-biographical film that was directed by Ernst Lubitsch and released by Paramount Pictures. The film was written by Hanns Kräly ; it is an adaptation of several different plays: Paul I by Dmitri Merezhkovsky, Der Patriot by Alfred Neumann, and The Patriot by Ashley Dukes...

Czar Paul I Lost film
Street of Sin
Street of Sin
-Production background:The film was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Mauritz Stiller and Ludwig Berger, and starred Olga Baclanova, Emil Jannings, and Fay Wray.-Cast:*Olga Baclanova as Annie...

Basher Bill Lost film
The Last Command
The Last Command (film)
The Last Command is a 1928 silent film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and written by John F. Goodrich and Herman J. Mankiewicz, from a story by Lajos Biró. Star Emil Jannings won the very first Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performances in this film and The Way of All...

Gen. Dolgorucki / Grand Duke Sergius Alexander Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor 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 actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

; Extant
1929
1929 in film
-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....

Betrayal Poldi Moser
Fighting the White Slave Traffic
1930
1930 in film
-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...

Liebling der Götter Albert Winkelmann aka Darling of the Gods
Der blaue Engel Prof. Immanuel Rath aka The Blue Angel (USA)
1932
1932 in film
-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....

Stürme der Leidenschaft Gustav Bumke aka Storms of Passion aka Tempest
1933
1933 in film
-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....

Die Abenteuer des Königs Pausole King Pausole aka The Adventures of King Pausole
The Merry Monarch King Pausole
1934
1934 in film
-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...

Der Schwarze Walfisch Peter Petersen aka The Black Whale (International: English title)
1935
1935 in film
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...

Der Alte und der junge König - Friedrichs des Grossen Jugend Friedrich Wilhelm I. König von Preussen aka The Making of a King (USA)
1936
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...

Traumulus Direktor Prof. Niemeyer aka The Dreamer
1937
1937 in film
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....

Der Zerbrochene Krug Adam, Dorfrichter aka The Broken Jug
Der Herrscher
Der Herrscher
Der Herrscher is a 1937 German film directed by Veit Harlan. It was a propagandist demonstration of the Führerprinzip of Nazi Germany.-Plot:...

Matthias Clausen aka The Ruler
1939
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...

Robert Koch, der Bekämpfer des Todes Dr. Robert Koch
Der Trichter. (Nr. III) scenes deleted
1941 Ohm Krüger
Ohm Krüger
Ohm Krüger was a 1941 propaganda film, produced in Nazi Germany, about Paul Kruger in the Boer War. It was the first film to be awarded the 'Film of the Nation' award. It was re-released in 1944.-Plot:...

Ohm Krüger aka Uncle Kruger (International: English title)
1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...

Die Entlassung
Die Entlassung
Die Entlassung is a 1942 German film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner about the dismissal of Otto von Bismarck...

Bismarck aka Bismarck's Dismissal (UK)
1943
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....

Altes Herz wird wieder jung Fabrikdirektor Hoffmann
1945
1945 in film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....

Wo ist Herr Belling? Firmenchef Eberhard Belling aka Where Is Mr. Belling?

Further reading

  • Frank Noack: Jannings. Belleville, München 2009 ISBN 978-3-933510-50-1
  • Carl Zuckmayer: Geheimreport. Hrsg. von Gunther Nickel und Johanna Schrön. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2002, ISBN 3-89244-599-0; pp. 136–45
  • Emil Jannings: Theater, Film - Das Leben und ich. Autobiographie. Berchtesgaden: Verlag Zimmer & Herzog, 1951. (posthumous)
  • Herbert Ihering: Emil Jannings: Baumeister seines Lebens und seiner Filme. Heidelberg 1941

External links

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