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Michael Jary

Picture Michael Jary

1906 - 1988

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The filmcomposer Michael Jary was born as Max Jarczyk in Upper Silesia's Laurahütte near Katovice. The father was a foreman at the Königshütte ironworks, the mother a tailor. Michael Jary's intended career was not at all a musical one. He wanted to become a missionary.
At the age of 18 Michael Jary left the monastery of the Steyler missionaries near Neisse to set out on a path that would lead him into the realms of music. At first this meant the visit of the conversatory in Beuthen, choirmaster of a church and workers' choir, first pieces of chamber music, broadcast by Gleiwitz radio station, and finally appointments as second director of music at the municipal theatres of Neisse and Plauen. His aim was to join the élite musical composition class at the Staatliche Akademische Musikhochsule Berlin, where Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky and Franz Schrecker were teaching. 

In 1931 he received the award of the Beethoven Prize from the city of Berlin, which was a great honour for the young man. His dream of a great career as a so-called serious composer, however, came to an abrupt end on 8 February, 1933, the day of his concert. As a Polish Jew he was booed off the stage by members of the Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur.

After this day he had to wrote arrangements under the pseudonym of Jackie Leeds and chansons as Max Jantzen. His friendship with the songwriter Bruno Balz brought the outcast a job as an assistant to the film composers Franz Doelle and Leo Leux. His first cooperation for a film was the box-office hit "Amphitryon" (35).
In order to make a career in Germany he changed his name into Michael Jary.
The managed his breakthrough as a composer of pop songs in 1938 with the song "Roter Mohn." One of his greatest evergreens was "Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehen."

Till the end of war he composed the music to many well-known productions, among them "Nanu, Sie kennen Korff noch nicht?" (38), "Paradies der Junggesellen" (39), "Kitty und die Weltkonferenz" (39), "Maske in Blau" (42), "Ein Mann mit Grundsätzen?" (43) and "Gabriele Dambrone" (43).

Shortly before the end of the war he founded a band, the Radio-Dance-Orchestra Berlin (RBT). In 1948 he set up his own publishing company, Michael Jary Productions, which in the fifties even had an office in New York. 

Now one film followed another. Melodies like "Das machen nur die Beine von Dolores" or "Heut' liegt was in der Luft" are still highlights of today's light music.

To his most popular post-war movies belong "Der Mann, der sich selber sucht" (50), "Die verschleierte Maja" (51), "Die Diebin von Bagdad" (52), "Keine Angst vor grossen Tieren" (53), "Die Zürcher Verlobung" (57), "Vater sein dagegen sehr" (57), "Die Beine von Dolores" (57) and "Bobby Dodd greift ein" (59).

Michael Jary refused to write titles that had to fit in with the playing times of the jukeboxes. But he did demonstrate his talent once more to the music world with the song "Wir wollen niemals auseinadergehen" for the German preliminary rounds leading up to the 1960 European Song Contest. The festival jury relegated it to second place. But, to this very day, it has been one of the greatest successes in the history of German Pop Music.

After this he went back to his roots. He wrote the musical "Nicole", which broke all records for the longest running show in the Eastern bloc.
 

Weitere Filme von Michael Jary: 
Die un-erhörte Frau (36) Die grosse und die kleine Welt (36) Romanze/Die Frau des anderen (37) Mädchen für alles (37) Abenteuer in Warschau (37) Schwarzfahrt ins Glück (38) Lauter Lügen (38) Der Florentiner Hut (39) Männer müssen so sein (39) Weisser Flieder (39) Zwei Welten (40) Blutsbürderschaft (41) Auf Wiedersehen, Franziska! (41) Familienanschluss (41) Kleine Mädchen - grosse Sorgen (41) Was geschah in dieser Nacht (41) Das grosse Spiel (41) Die grosse Liebe (42) Karneval der Liebe (43) ...und die Musik spielt dazu (43) Geliebter Schatz (43) Das war mein Leben (44) Melusine (44) Ein Mann wie Maximilian (45) Liebe nach Noten (47) Und finden dereinst wir uns wieder (47) Intimitäten (48) Strassenbekanntschaft (48) Fahrt ins Glück (48) Heimliches Rendezvous (49) Gefährliche Gäste (49) Des Lebens Überfluss (50) Mädchen mit Beziehungen (50) Gabriela (50) Lockende Gefahr (50) Die Dritte von rechts (50) Schön muss man sein (51) Das unmögliche Mädchen (51) Kommen Sie am Ersten (51) Der bunte Traum (52) Unter den tausend Laternen (52) Der keusche Lebemann (52) Toxi (52) Mikosch rückt ein (52) Tanzende Sterne (52) Königin Arena (52) Das singende Hotel (53) Die Kaiserin von China (53) Schlagerparade (53) Columbus entdeckt Krähwinkel (54) Die grosse Starparade (54) Mannequins für Rio (54) An jedem Finger zehn (54) Die Stadt ist voller Geheimnisse (54) Fräulein vom Amt (54) Vatertag (55) Wie werde ich Filmstar? (55) Banditen der Autobahn (55) Drei Tage Mittelarrest (55) Zwei blaue Augen (55) Der falsche Adam (55) Die gestohlene Hose (56) Mädchen mit schwachem Gedächtnis (56) Roter Mohn (56) Der schräge Otto (57) Es wird alles wieder gut (57) Nachts im grünen Kakadu (57) Das Herz von St. Pauli (57) Tolle Nacht (57) Drei Mann auf einem Pferd (57) Zwei Herzen im Mai (58) Lilli - ein Mädchen aus der Grossstadt (58) Hoppla, jetzt kommt Eddie (58) Der Schatz vom Toplitzsee (59) Als geheilt entlassen (60) Mal drunter - mal drüber (60) Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon (61) Mein Mann, das Wirtschaftswunder (61) Bei Pichler stimmt die Kasse nicht (61) 

Regie:
Wie werde ich Filmstar? (55) 


 
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