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Hans Steinhoff


1882 - 1945

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The director Hans Steinhoff planned to become a doctor but he abandoned his studies. Instead he concentrated to the acting and he made his stage debut at a theater in Braunschweig in 1903.
In the next years followed engagements in Munich and finally Berlin where he not only was active as an actor but also as a director of plays.
 
He entered the film business in 1921 and he wrote the screenplay and was responsible as the director for "Kleider machen Leute" (21).
He became fascinated by directing movies as well and he realised many silent movies in the years years like "Der falsche Dimitri" (22), "Mensch gegen Mensch" (24), "Gräfin Mariza" (25), "Der Herr des Todes" (26), "Die Tragödie eines Verlorenen" (27), "Angst" (28) and "Nachtgestalten" (29).
 
The transition to the sound film was no problem for him and he remained a busy movie director till to the end of World War II.
To his well-known movies of the 30s belong "Rosenmontag" (30), "Die Pranke" (31), "Scampolo, ein Kind der Strasse" (32), "Madame wünscht keine Kinder" (33), "Hitlerjunge Quex" (33), "Die Insel" (34), "Der alte und der junge König" (35), "Eine Frau von Bedeutung" (36), "Der Tanz auf dem Vulkan" (38) and "Robert Koch, der Bekämpfer des Todes" (39).
 
During World War II he shot the movies "Die Geierwally" (40), "Ohm Krüger" (41), "Rembrandt" (42) and "Shiva und die Galgenblume" (45).
 
Hans Steinhoff is presumed as a controversial person because he not only followed the ideology of the National Socialism but lived it. Therefore he was not very popular for many film workers of that time and there are negative statements from personalities like Billy Wilder, Hans Albers and Geza von Cziffra.
On the other hand it seems that Hans Steinhoff was never a member of the NSDAP despite his bondage to Josef Goebbels and Adolf Hitler - which astonishes at least.
 
With the downfall of the Third Reich not only his career came to an end but Hans Steinhoff also lost his life. During the shootings of "Shiva und die Galgenblume" in Prague he fled with an airplane to Berlin and later to Madrid. On the flight to Madrid the airplane was shot by figthers and Hans Steinhoff as well as all other passengers died.
 
Some of Hans Steinhoff's movie are still regardes als "Vorbehaltsfilme" and are not allowed to be performed in public.


Other movies from Hans Steinhoff (Director):
Biribi (22) Inge Larsen (24) Der Mann, der sich verkauft (25) Wien – Berlin (26) Schwiegersöhne (26) Frau Sopherl vom Naschmarkt (26) Das Frauenhaus von Rio (27) Familientag im Hause Prellstein (27) Die Sandgräfin (28) Das Spreewaldmädel (28) Ein Mädel und drei Clowns (28) Maienandacht (29) Gestörtes Ständchen (29) Kopfüber ins Glück (31) Die Faschingsfee (31) Der wahre Jakob (31) Mein Leopold (31) Liebe muss verstanden sein (33) Keine Angst vor Liebe (33) Mutter und Kind (34) Freut Euch des Lebens (34) Lockvogel (34) Der Ammenkönig (35) Ein Volksfeind (37) Gestern und heute (38) Gabriele Dambrone (43) Melusine (44)

Writer:
Der falsche Dimitri (22) Die Fledermaus (23) Inge Larsen (24) Der Mann, der sich verkauft (25) Der Mann im Sattel (25) Schwiegersöhne (26) Fundvogel (30) Ein Volksfeind (37) Der Tanz auf dem Vulkan (38) Die Geierwally (40) Rembrandt (42) Gabriele Dambrone (43) Melusine (44) Shiva und die Galgenblume (45)

Producer:
Melusine (44) Shiva und die Galgenblume (45)

 
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