Seymour Nebenzal
Encyclopedia
Seymour Nebenzal was a German film producer
. He produced 46 films between 1927 and 1961.
He got into film production through his father Heinrich Nebenzahl (1870–1938) who in the early 1920s worked with German action star Harry Piel
. In 1926 Heinrich Nebenzahl and director-producer Richard Oswald
founded the company Nero-Film. As head of this company Seymour Nebenzahl became one of the most important producers of the transition period from silent to sound film in Germany. He worked with the directors Georg Wilhelm Pabst
, Paul Czinner
and Fritz Lang
among others.
In 1933 the Nazis forced him into exile. In Paris he produced films by other exiles from Germany such as his cousin Robert Siodmak
and Max Ophüls
as well as Anatole Litvak
, Fedor Ozep, and Raymond Bernard
.
In 1939 he went on to Hollywood where he became one of the first independent producers. He made films with Edgar G. Ulmer, Douglas Sirk
, Léonide Moguy
, Arthur Ripley
, and Albert S. Rogell
. He produced remakes of his successes from the early 1930s: Siren of Atlantis with Maria Montez
and M
(1951), that was directed by Joseph Losey
.
Associate producer of the M
(1951) was his son Harold Nebenzal (born March 31, 1922 in Berlin) who became a script writer (The Wilby Conspiracy
), film producer (Cabaret
, Gabriela, Cravo e Canela
) and novelist (Cafe Berlin). Harold was in charge of foreign film production for many years for MGM, and also worked on many of the films of Billy Wilder
, Harold's closest friend for 30 years. Seymour had years earlier made possible Wilder's first film, People on Sunday
, by borrowing the needed funds to make the picture from his father, Heinrich.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He produced 46 films between 1927 and 1961.
He got into film production through his father Heinrich Nebenzahl (1870–1938) who in the early 1920s worked with German action star Harry Piel
Harry Piel
Born Hubert August Piel, Harry Piel in Munich, Germany was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer who was involved in over 150 films....
. In 1926 Heinrich Nebenzahl and director-producer Richard Oswald
Richard Oswald
Richard Oswald was an Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter.Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began his career as an actor on the Viennese stage. He made his film directorial debut at age 34 with Das Eiserne Kreuz...
founded the company Nero-Film. As head of this company Seymour Nebenzahl became one of the most important producers of the transition period from silent to sound film in Germany. He worked with the directors Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Georg Wilhelm Pabst
-Biography:Pabst was born in Raudnitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary , the son of a railroad employee.Returning from the United States, he was in France when World War I began...
, 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 Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
among others.
In 1933 the Nazis forced him into exile. In Paris he produced films by other exiles from Germany such as his cousin Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak was a German born American film director. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for the series of Hollywood film noirs he made in the 1940s.-Early life:...
and Max Ophüls
Max Ophüls
Maximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...
as well as Anatole Litvak
Anatole Litvak
Anatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
, Fedor Ozep, and Raymond Bernard
Raymond Bernard
Raymond Bernard was a French filmmaker and related to French playwright father Tristan Bernard and brother to Jean-Jacques Bernard...
.
In 1939 he went on to Hollywood where he became one of the first independent producers. He made films with Edgar G. Ulmer, Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk was a Danish-German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s.-Life and work:...
, Léonide Moguy
Léonide Moguy
Léonide Moguy was a Russian born French film director, screenwriter and film editor .He was active in film between 1936 and 1961.-Personal life:...
, Arthur Ripley
Arthur Ripley
Arthur Ripley was a film screenwriter, editor, producer and director.-Biography:In 1923, he joined the Mack Sennett studio as a comedy writer. In the 1920s he worked closely with Frank Capra churning out screenplays for many movies...
, and Albert S. Rogell
Albert S. Rogell
Albert S. Rogell was an American film director of more than a hundred movies between 1921 and 1958.-Selected filmography:* Mamba * Air Hostess * No More Women * The Hell Cat...
. He produced remakes of his successes from the early 1930s: Siren of Atlantis with Maria Montez
María Montez
María Montez was a Dominican-born motion picture actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s as an exotic beauty starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume adventure films. Her screen image was that of a hot-blooded Latin seductress, dressed in fanciful costumes and sparkling...
and M
M (1951 film)
M is a 1951 American remake of Fritz Lang's film of the same name, shifting the action from Berlin to Los Angeles and changing the killer's name from Hans Beckert to Martin W. Harrow. The remake, directed by Joseph Losey with David Wayne playing Peter Lorre's role, was not well received by critics...
(1951), that was directed by Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
.
Associate producer of the M
M (1951 film)
M is a 1951 American remake of Fritz Lang's film of the same name, shifting the action from Berlin to Los Angeles and changing the killer's name from Hans Beckert to Martin W. Harrow. The remake, directed by Joseph Losey with David Wayne playing Peter Lorre's role, was not well received by critics...
(1951) was his son Harold Nebenzal (born March 31, 1922 in Berlin) who became a script writer (The Wilby Conspiracy
The Wilby Conspiracy
The Wilby Conspiracy is a 1975 thriller film directed by Ralph Nelson and filmed in Kenya. It was written by Rodney Amateau, based on the 1972 novel by Peter Driscoll...
), film producer (Cabaret
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
, Gabriela, Cravo e Canela
Gabriela, Cravo e Canela
Gabriela, cravo e canela is a Brazilian Modernist novel. It was written by Jorge Amado in 1958. It is widely considered one of his finest works....
) and novelist (Cafe Berlin). Harold was in charge of foreign film production for many years for MGM, and also worked on many of the films of Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
, Harold's closest friend for 30 years. Seymour had years earlier made possible Wilder's first film, People on Sunday
People on Sunday
People on Sunday is a 1930 German silent drama film directed by Curt and Robert Siodmak from a screenplay by Billy Wilder. It follows the lives of a group of residents of Berlin on a summer's day during the interwar period. Hailed as a work of genius, it is a pivotal film not only in the...
, by borrowing the needed funds to make the picture from his father, Heinrich.
Selected filmography
- Das letzte Fort (1928)
- Die Büchse der PandoraPandora's Box (film)Pandora's Box is a 1929 German silent melodrama film based on Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora . Directed by Austrian filmmaker Georg Wilhelm Pabst, the film stars Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, and Francis Lederer...
(1929) - People on SundayPeople on SundayPeople on Sunday is a 1930 German silent drama film directed by Curt and Robert Siodmak from a screenplay by Billy Wilder. It follows the lives of a group of residents of Berlin on a summer's day during the interwar period. Hailed as a work of genius, it is a pivotal film not only in the...
(1930) - Westfront 1918Westfront 1918Westfront 1918 is a German film, set mostly in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I. It was directed in 1930 by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, from the novel Vier von der Infanterie by Ernst Johannsen, and deals with the impact of the war on a group of infantrymen...
(1930) - Skandal um EvaSkandal um EvaScandalous Eva is a 1930 German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Henny Porten - Dr.Eva Rüttgers* Oskar Sima - Dr.Kurt Hiller* Ludwig Stössel - Dir.Rohrbach* Paul Henckels - Prof.Hagen* Adele Sandrock - Vulpius...
(1930) - Die 3-Groschen-OperThe Threepenny Opera (1931 film)The Threepenny Opera is a 1931 German musical film directed by G. W. Pabst. It was produced by Seymour Nebenzal's Nero-Film for Tonbild-Syndikat AG , Berlin and Warner Bros. Pictures GmbH, Berlin. The film is loosely based on the 1928 musical theatre success The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht...
(1931) - ArianeArianeAriane is a feminine name. It is a French translation of the Greek name Ariadne. It may refer to:-People:* Princess Ariane of the Netherlands * Ariane Ascaride , French actress and screenwriter...
(1931) - MM (1931 film)M is a 1931 German drama-thriller directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou. It was Lang's first sound film, although he had directed more than a dozen films previously....
(1931) - KameradschaftKameradschaftComradeship is a dramatic film with socialist overtones directed by German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst. The French-German co-production drama is noted for combining expressionism and realism ....
(1931) - L'AtlantideL'Atlantide (1932 film)L'Atlantide is a German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. The film was made in three languages - French, English, and German - with Brigitte Helm starring in all three versions.-Cast:* Brigitte Helm - Antinéa...
(1932) three versions: German, French, and English - Das Testament des Dr. MabuseThe Testament of Dr. MabuseThe Testament of Dr. Mabuse is a 1933 German crime film directed by Fritz Lang. The movie is a sequel to Lang's silent film Dr. Mabuse the Gambler and features many cast and crew members from Lang's previous films. The film features Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Dr. Mabuse who is in an insane asylum...
(1933) - Le sexe faible (1933)
- La crise est finie! (1933)
- La vie parisienneLa vie parisienneLa vie parisienne is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.This work was Offenbach's first full-length piece to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects...
(1935) - MayerlingMayerlingMayerling is a small village in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat River, in the Wienerwald , 15 miles southwest of Vienna...
(1936) - WertherWertherWerther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
(1938) - Les ôtages (1939)
- We Who Are Young (1940)
- Hitler's MadmanHitler's MadmanHitler'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...
(1943) - Summer StormSummer StormSummer Storm is a 2004 German coming-of-age film directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner, starring Robert Stadlober, Kostja Ullmann, Alicja Bachleda-Curuś, and Marlon Kittel...
(1944) - Whistle Stop (1945)
- The ChaseThe Chase (1946 film)The Chase is an American film noir, shot in black and white, directed by Arthur Ripley. The screenplay is based on the Cornell Woolrich novel The Black Path of Fear...
(1946) - Siren of Atlantis (1948)
- MM (1951 film)M is a 1951 American remake of Fritz Lang's film of the same name, shifting the action from Berlin to Los Angeles and changing the killer's name from Hans Beckert to Martin W. Harrow. The remake, directed by Joseph Losey with David Wayne playing Peter Lorre's role, was not well received by critics...
(1951) - Bis zum Ende aller Tage (1961)
Further reading
- Erika Wottrich (Ed.), M wie Nebenzahl. Nero - Filmproduktion zwischen Europa und Hollywood, Munich, edition text + kritik, 2002