Louis V. Arco
Encyclopedia
Louis V. Arco was an Austria
n-born actor who was born Lutz Altschul in Baden
, Austria-Hungary
(now Austria
), about 5 miles south of Vienna
.
His first film was the German silent movie
Liebesfeuer in 1925. Two years later, Altschul starred as Nicola Sacco in the Austrian silent film
Sacco und Vanzetti. In 1929, he appeared in his last silent movie Napoleon auf St. Helena about Napoleon's last days. This movie was directed by Lupu Pick, who loved making silent movies so much that he couldn't handle the switch to talkies and ended up poisoning himself in Berlin
in 1931.
His first talkie was the film Rosenmontag
(Rose Monday) in 1930. The following year, he appeared in Yorck
(about the life of the Prussian
general
Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg who fought against Napoleon). In 1932, Altschul appeared in his last German movie, Der Schwarze Husar
(The Black Husar) starring Conrad Veidt
. After the Nazis came to power in Germany
in 1933, Altschul went home to Austria.
After Hitler's forces took over Austria in the Anschluss
of 1938, Altschul came to America
and changed his name to Louis V. Arco. His first movie in America was the 1939 war drama Nurse Edith Cavell
. In 1941, he received a small role in Warner Bros.
war drama Underground
directed by Vincent Sherman
. Like many other German and Austrian actors who fled the Nazis, he ended up portraying them in films.
In 1941, Arco received a fairly good role in the Hal B. Wallis
film Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet starring Edward G. Robinson
. In 1942, Arco plays a Nazi radio censor who is ultimately sent to the Russian Front in Warner Bros.' anti-Nazi movie Berlin Correspondent, with Dana Andrews
. Later that year, Arco received one scene as a refugee in Casablanca
. He is seen in the introduction to Rick's Cafe looking very depressed. He has one line, "waiting, waiting, waiting....I'll never get out of here....I'll die in Casablanca."
In 1943, Arco appeared in 14 films, mostly playing Nazis and mostly uncredited. In Edge of Darkness, starring Errol Flynn
, he played a German lieutenant confiscating materials such as food and clothing from a Norwegian
town in an extremely arrogant way. Jack Warner
wanted to leave no doubt as to his opinion of the morals of the Nazis. He played a German alpine officer in Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas
, a wartime movie on German-occupied Yugoslavia by Twentieth Century-Fox. In Hitler's Madman
, he portrayed a sergeant.
Later, Arco appeared in Warner Bros.'s controversial film Mission to Moscow
, starring Walter Huston
. Arco played another Nazi in Hostages. In The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler, Arco portrayed a Gestapo
officer. Arco again played a Nazi in The Cross of Lorraine
. In The Song of Bernadette
, Arco got to get away from the Nazi image by portraying a Franciscan
monk
. He also had a small role as a German submarine
commander in another Humphrey Bogart
movie, Action in the North Atlantic
.
Arco's roles started to diminish as the war came to a close. In 1945, he appeared in only one film, as a German colonel in the war drama Counter-Attack
. After the Second World War ended in 1945, Arco returned to Europe
. In 1949, he was working in West Germany
and filmed Duell mit dem Tod where he used his birth name Lutz Altschul. He would only appear in three more films after this. He did Bergheimat in Austria in 1952 and later played Herr Dörfl in Question 7
in West Germany in 1961. Arco's last film was done in Switzerland
, a Swiss melodrama/documentary on abortion
called Der Arzt stellt fest... in 1966. In 1972, while in his 70's, Arco appeared in a television episode of Kung Fu starring David Carradine
.
Arco died at age 75, not in Casablanca
, as his character stated in the movie, but in Zürich
, Switzerland.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-born actor who was born Lutz Altschul in Baden
Baden bei Wien
-Points of interest:The town offers several parks and a picturesque surrounding, of which the most frequented is the Helenental valley. Not far from Baden, the valley is crossed by a widespread aqueduct of the Vienna waterworks...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(now Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
), about 5 miles south of 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...
.
His first film was the German silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
Liebesfeuer in 1925. Two years later, Altschul starred as Nicola Sacco in the Austrian silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
Sacco und Vanzetti. In 1929, he appeared in his last silent movie Napoleon auf St. Helena about Napoleon's last days. This movie was directed by Lupu Pick, who loved making silent movies so much that he couldn't handle the switch to talkies and ended up poisoning himself 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...
in 1931.
His first talkie was the film Rosenmontag
Rosenmontag
Rosenmontag is the highlight of the German "Karneval" , and is on the Shrove Monday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The "Mardi Gras," though celebrated on Tuesday, is a similar event...
(Rose Monday) in 1930. The following year, he appeared in Yorck
Yorck
Yorck is a 1931 German war film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Werner Krauss, Grete Mosheim and Rudolf Forster. It portrays the life of the Prussian General Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg, particularly his refusal to serve in Napoleon's army during the French Invasion of Russia in 1812.-Cast:*...
(about the life of the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg who fought against Napoleon). In 1932, Altschul appeared in his last German movie, Der Schwarze Husar
Der schwarze Husar
Der schwarze Husar is a 1932 German comedy action film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Conrad Veidt, Mady Christians, Wolf Albach-Retty and Ursula Grabley...
(The Black Husar) starring Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , The Man Who Laughs , The Thief of Bagdad and Casablanca...
. After the Nazis came to power 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...
in 1933, Altschul went home to Austria.
After Hitler's forces took over Austria in the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
of 1938, Altschul came to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and changed his name to Louis V. Arco. His first movie in America was the 1939 war drama Nurse Edith Cavell
Nurse Edith Cavell
Nurse Edith Cavell is a 1939 American film directed by Herbert Wilcox.The film was nominated at the 1939 Oscars for Best Original Score.- Cast :*Anna Neagle as Nurse Edith Cavell*Edna May Oliver as Countess de Mavon*George Sanders as Capt. Heinrichs...
. In 1941, he received a small role in Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
war drama Underground
Underground (1941 film)
Underground is a 1941 film about the German Resistance opposing the Nazis in World War II. Jeffrey Lynn and Philip Dorn play two brothers initially on opposite sides.-Cast:*Jeffrey Lynn as Kurt Franken*Philip Dorn as Eric Franken...
directed by Vincent Sherman
Vincent Sherman
Vincent Sherman was an American director, and actor, who worked in Hollywood. His movies include Mr. Skeffington , Nora Prentiss , and The Young Philadelphians ....
. Like many other German and Austrian actors who fled the Nazis, he ended up portraying them in films.
In 1941, Arco received a fairly good role in the Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis was an American film producer.-Career:Harold Brent Wallis was born in Chicago in 1898. His family moved in 1922 to Los Angeles, California, where he found work as part of the publicity department at Warner Bros...
film Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet starring Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
. In 1942, Arco plays a Nazi radio censor who is ultimately sent to the Russian Front in Warner Bros.' anti-Nazi movie Berlin Correspondent, with Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
. Later that year, Arco received one scene as a refugee in Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
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, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
. He is seen in the introduction to Rick's Cafe looking very depressed. He has one line, "waiting, waiting, waiting....I'll never get out of here....I'll die in Casablanca."
In 1943, Arco appeared in 14 films, mostly playing Nazis and mostly uncredited. In Edge of Darkness, starring Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, he played a German lieutenant confiscating materials such as food and clothing from a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
town in an extremely arrogant way. Jack Warner
Jack Warner
Jack Leonard "J. L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California...
wanted to leave no doubt as to his opinion of the morals of the Nazis. He played a German alpine officer in Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas
Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas
Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas was a major war film made by Twentieth Century Fox in 1943. The film starred Philip Dorn, Anna Sten, and Martin Kosleck. The movie, originally titled The Seventh Column, was directed by Louis King based on a story by Jack Andrews, who also co-wrote the screenplay....
, a wartime movie on German-occupied Yugoslavia by Twentieth Century-Fox. In Hitler's Madman
Hitler's Madman
Hitler's Madman is a 1943 World War II film about the assassination of Nazi Reinhard Heydrich and the revenge taken by the Germans. It was produced by Seymour Nebenzal for PRC and Angelus Pictures, Inc. The shooting of Hitler's Madman took place late in 1942 and early 1943...
, he portrayed a sergeant.
Later, Arco appeared in Warner Bros.'s controversial film Mission to Moscow
Mission to Moscow
Mission to Moscow is a book by the former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Joseph E. Davies published by Simon and Schuster in 1941. It was adapted into a film directed by Michael Curtiz in 1943....
, starring Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
. Arco played another Nazi in Hostages. In The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler, Arco portrayed a Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
officer. Arco again played a Nazi in The Cross of Lorraine
The Cross of Lorraine
The Cross of Lorraine is a 1943 war film about French prisoners of war held by the Germans in World War II. It stars Jean-Pierre Aumont and Gene Kelly and was adapted from Hans Habe's novel A Thousand Shall Fall.-Cast:*Jean-Pierre Aumont as Paul...
. In The Song of Bernadette
The Song of Bernadette (film)
The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
, Arco got to get away from the Nazi image by portraying a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
. He also had a small role as a German submarine
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
commander in another Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
movie, Action in the North Atlantic
Action in the North Atlantic
Action in the North Atlantic is a 1943 war film directed by Lloyd Bacon, featuring Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as sailors in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II.-Plot:...
.
Arco's roles started to diminish as the war came to a close. In 1945, he appeared in only one film, as a German colonel in the war drama Counter-Attack
Counter-Attack
Counter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II...
. After the Second World War ended in 1945, Arco returned to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In 1949, he was working in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and filmed Duell mit dem Tod where he used his birth name Lutz Altschul. He would only appear in three more films after this. He did Bergheimat in Austria in 1952 and later played Herr Dörfl in Question 7
Question 7
Question 7 is a 1961 film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Michael Gwynn, Margaret Jahnen and Christian de Bresson. It won the National Board of Review Award for Best Film. It was also entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival....
in West Germany in 1961. Arco's last film was done in 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....
, a Swiss melodrama/documentary on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
called Der Arzt stellt fest... in 1966. In 1972, while in his 70's, Arco appeared in a television episode of Kung Fu starring David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
.
Arco died at age 75, not in Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, as his character stated in the movie, but in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland.