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Geza von Cziffra


1900 - 1989

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The director Geza von Cziffra began his career as a journalist in Hungary. In 1920 he went to Vienna where he continued working as a writer and author of two Hungarian Newspapers.

His first cinematical work came into being in 1922 with the title "Gullivers Reisen" - a puppet movie. But the movie had never been finished.
He went to Berlin in 1923, where he wrote for the Berliner Tagblatt and Welt am Abend. His novella "Die Frau mit den zwei Gesichtern" was published by BZ am Mittag. With his pen name Fritz Pirat he wrote about the Hungarian politic, besides he wrote film articles and pursued press works for different film companies.

He made his regular film works as an assistant director for Richard Eichberg, he was involved in the movies "Der Greifer" (30) and "Der Draufgänger" (31). His first own direction was in 1933 in Hungary for the movie "Villa zu verkaufen" for which he also wrote the script.
When he returned to Berlin in 1936 he first became established as a screenwriter for movies like "Die Landstreicher" (37), "Der grüne Kaiser" (39), "Es war eine rauschende Ballnacht" (39), "Weisser Flieder" (40), "Was geschah in dieser Nacht?" (41), "Tanz mit dem Kaiser" (41) and "Frauen sind keine Engel" (43).

Geza von Cziffra got once more the opportuntiy to direct movies for the Wien-Film and he shot succesful the movies "Der weisse Traum" (43), "Hundstage" (44) and "Das Hochzeitshotel" (44). 
When he began the movie "Leuchtende Schatten" (45) he was denounced during the shooting by a Nazi informer and he had serve a two-month lasting imprisonment in Prague. The movie kept unfinished.

After the war he founded his own production company Cziffra-Film GmbH (1945-49) and realised among others the movies "Das unsterbliche Antlitz" (47), "A Tale of Five Cities - Fünf Mädchen und ein Mann" (47-51) and "Königin der Landstrasse" (48).

In the 50's he created a fullness of entertainment movies which had only one goal, to entertain the audience. His revues, criminal and entertainment movies influenced the 50's and 60's, beside it he also influenced the German music film with a dozen movies with singer Peter Alexander.

To his well-known direction works of those years belong "Der Mann, der sich selber sucht" (50), "Tanzende Sterne" (52), "Banditen der Autobahn" (55), "Der schräge Otto" (56), "Der müde Theodor" (57), "Die Beine von Dolores" (57), "Wehe, wenn sie losgelassen..." (58), "Peter schiesst den Vogel ab" (59), "Salem aleikum" (59), "Als geheilt entlassen" (60), "Kriminaltango" (60), "Die Abenteuer des Grafen Bobby" (61) and "Charley's Tante" (63).

From the middle of the 60's he gradually retired from the film business. He wrote several scripts and became more active again as a writer.
To his last cinematical works belong "Der gestohlene Himmel" (74), "Zwei Teufelskerle auf dem Weg nach Istanbul" (77) and "Karamurat - sein Kungfu ist tödlich" (77).

Geza von Cziffra often wrote his scripts with alternate pen names. To his pen names belong Peter Trenck, Richard Anden, Albert Anthony, Karel Kubula, Enrique Anden, John Ferguson, Thomas Harrer and Horace Parker
 

Other movies from Geza von Cziffra (Director, Assistant Director, Writer):
Das Land ohne Frauen (29) Die Bräutigamswitwe (31) Trara um Liebe (31) Das hässliche Mädchen (33) Alles für die Frau: Der Stier der Pampas (33) Villa zu verkaufen (33) Eine Nacht in Venedig (34) Ball im Savoy (34) St. Peters Regenschirm (35) Liebesträume/Die Pusztakommtesse (35) Wo die Lerche singt (36) Eine Insel wird entdeckt/Pat und Patachon im Paradies (37) Frühlingsluft (38) Peter spielt mit dem Feuer/Der vertauschte Ehemann (38) Liebe streng verboten (39) Der Weg zu Isabel (39) Oh diese Männer (41) Heimaterde (41) Alles aus Liebe (42) Die heimliche Gräfin (42) Grossstadtmelodie (43) Liebe nach Noten (45) Glaube an mich (46) Der himmlische Walzer (48) Lambert fühlt sich bedroht (49) Höllische Liebe (49) Gefährliche Gäste (49) Gabriela (50) Die Dritte von rechts (50) Die verschleierte Maja (51) Der bunte Traum (52) Ideale Frau gesucht (52) Das singende Hotel (53) Blume von Hawaii (53) Geld aus der Luft (54) Tanz in der Sonne (54) Der falsche Adam (55) Die gestohlene Hose (56) Mädchen mit schwachem Gedächtnis (56) Musikparade (56) Tante Wanda aus Uganda (57) Das haut hin (57) Nachtschwester Ingeborg (58) So ein Millionär hat's schwer (58) Schlag auf Schlag (59) Bobby Dodd greift ein (59) Ich bin kein Casanova (59) Kauf Dir einen bunten Luftballon (60) Kunge Leute brauchen Liebe (61) Ein Stern fällt vom Himmel (61) Die Fledermaus (62) Das süsse Leben des Grafen Bobby (62) Der Vogelhändler (62) Nachts ging das Telefon (62) Scala heute (63) Frauen sind keine Engel (63) Schwejks Flegeljahre (63) Die grosse Kür (64) Lana, Königin der Amazonen (64) Ein Ferienbett mit 100 PS (64) An der Donau, wenn der Wein blüht (65) Paradies der flotten Sünder (68) Das Go-Go-Girl vom Blow-Up/Ich betone - oben ohne (68) Josefinee, das liebestolle Mädchen/Lolita '70 (69) Dschungelmädchen für zwei Halunken/Zwei Teufelskerle auf dem Weg zur grünen Hölle (73) Käpt'n Senkstakes Abenteuer (74) Zwei Teufelskerle auf dem Weg ins Kloster (75) 


 
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