Hopscotch (1980) is an example of a film that combines elements of a comedy and a spy movie: The film is based on the novel …
Spencer Tracy: Right to the limits of acting
One of his teachers reportedly once said to Spencer Tracy that he was “born to be a jurist”: In the end, the role of a …
Curt Goetz: The timeless, reflective humour
“Anyone who knew how to die with humor would have reached the highest level of culture,“ [Original quote: “Wer mit Humor zu sterben verstünde, hätte …
Rita Hayworth: A dancer of Spanish descent conquers Hollywood
“I knew how to dance as soon as I was able to walk,” Rita Hayworth once confessed, looking back on the first dance steps of …
Keye Luke: Ambassador of Asian Culture in Hollywood
In the thirties and forties, few could imagine a Hollywood actor who did not conform to the usual stereotypes: the stereotype of a Hollywood star …
Billy Wilder: From Ghost Writer to Director of the Century
His career began as a ghostwriter in Berlin in the twenties: between 1927 and 1929, Wilder is said to have worked on almost fifty scripts …
Heinz Rühmann: Comedian and Character Actor at the same time
He wanted to stand out, Heinz Rühmann wrote in his memoirs about his early years as an actor. Nothing was more important as a young …
Zarah Leander: The Unforgotten
“Zarah, we’ll never forget you!“ read a graffiti inscription on the Berlin Wall in June 1981, a few days after the death of the famous …
Hans Albers: « Hamburger Jung »
At the age of thirteen, the young Hans Albers is said to have scribbled his name all over the wallpaper of his childhood bedroom: When …
Greta Garbo: The Divine (2.)
Continued from part one After Greta Garbo lost her patron Mauritz Stiller, the situation initially seemed hopeless for the actress: although she was under contract …