Anton Walbrook

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moira finnie
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Anton Walbrook

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Above: on the set of 49th Parallel. I like that thousand yard stare that Walbrook has in this publicity still for 49th Parallel with Olivier, Eric Portman and Leslie Howard. He seems to be willing himself elsewhere!

This thread is a continuation of a conversation Jezebel38, kingrat and others began to have recently in the Coming Up on TCM thread about Adolf Wohlbrück aka Anton Walbrook, the very interesting Austrian-born actor best known as the choreographer Boris Lermontov in The Red Shoes. My favorite role for him is probably a tie between the Hutterite in 49th Parallel and the "good German" in The Life and Death of Col. Blimp. On the essential resource, The Powell & Pressburger Pages after "Blimp" had been released, Walbrook was confronted by Winston Churchill about the film during the interval of a play in the West End in which Walbrook was performing. Churchill, opposed to the message in the P & P film that the British could not pretend to be fighting "a gentleman's war" if they were to win against the Nazis, confronted Anton. Churchill wanted to know whether Walbrook thought the film good propaganda. Walbrook’s reply?

“No people in the world other than the English would have had the courage, in the midst of war, to tell the people such unvarnished truth”.

[youtube][/youtube]
Walbrook's controversial speech to his friend Clive (Roger Livesey) begins at 3:09 minutes.

Below is a monologue that Walbrook has when trying to gain admittance to the UK as a refugee. Quite moving and still relevant to today.
[youtube][/youtube]


There are many films I've never seen that he appeared in, such as most of his German movies, though parts of Viktor/Viktoria (1933-Reinhold Schünzel) which was the basis of the 1935 First a Girl English version and later the Blake Edwards American version, have shown up on youtube from time to time without subtitles, which makes things "interesting" but sometimes puzzling. Here are a few minutes of this movie with Anton and Renate Müller visiting a rough tavern. The scene is largely in pantomime so it's easy to understand. This movie was banned when the Nazis came to power later in '33 and Walbrook (who was half Jewish and reportedly gay) left Germany in 1936, going to the UK.
[youtube][/youtube]

The transformation of the woman into a man (sort of...I never really believed any of this, did you?). Walbrook is Renate Müller's mentor in being a man.
[youtube][/youtube]


I've also seen The Student of Prague (1935), another version of the Conrad Veidt '26 vehicle remade in Oh, Rosalinda, one of the last movies made by Powell and Pressburger (which was not deemed an artistic or commercial success).
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JackFavell
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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Wonderful! It's about time he got his own thread! :D :D
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Re: Anton Walbrook

Post by charliechaplinfan »

He's superb in the original Gaslight, he's superb with Diane Wynard. This film being an example of the two versions both being highly entertaining, sticking mostly to the same storyline but each achieving a different feel to it. His good German in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is another favourite too.
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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I know some folk think he was a better villain than Charles Boyer, when he did the earlier version of Gaslight. He was also Prince Albert in Victoria The Great and Sixty Glorious Years. I was thinking about doing a thread on his Red Shoes co-star Marius Goring

I also recall Diane Wynard giving a great performance in Freedom Radio, as Nazi symathetic wife of the Nazi hating Clive Brook, until she discovers how brutal the regime is and changes her mind
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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stuart.uk wrote: He was also Prince Albert in Victoria The Great and Sixty Glorious Years.
These two films used to play on US TV 20-30 years ago, and were the first films I recall seeing Anton in. But I have not seen these anywhere in ages - wonder why?

I know some of Anton’s early films are now out in German DVD, but without English subtitles – I really feel VIKTOR UND VIKTORIA would get more of the exposure it deserves if it was available with translation. He was paired up with Renate Muller in a string of films; another title called ALLOTRIA (some clips are on Youtube) is one I’d like to see, as well as one called DIE ENGLISCHE HEIRAT from which this marvelous musical sequence is taken – Anton and Renate dance a Tango at 3:07.

[youtube][/youtube]


And top of my list of Anton’s films to see is MASKERADE, which was remade by MGM as ESCAPADE with William Powell and Luise Rainer which I’d sure like to see too – TCM has never played this.
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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Wouldn't it be great if Anton's German movies could be shown on TCM's Sunday Night's World Cinema spot?
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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moirafinnie wrote:Wouldn't it be great if Anton's German movies could be shown on TCM's Sunday Night's World Cinema spot?
Yes, I wish they would expand their Sunday foreign cinema offerings in general, and I'd sure love if they could highlight some of AW's films. I am also impressed with Walbrook as he was multi-lingual and he starred in a few films released in German/French versions (PORT ARTHUR, GYPSY BARON) and one, MICHAEL STROGOFF which had German, French and English versions!
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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Jezebel38 wrote:Yes, I wish they would expand their Sunday foreign cinema offerings in general, and I'd sure love if they could highlight some of AW's films. I am also impressed with Walbrook as he was multi-lingual and he starred in a few films released in German/French versions (PORT ARTHUR, GYPSY BARON) and one, MICHAEL STROGOFF which had German, French and English versions!
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I have seen the American version of Jules Verne's Michael Strogoff aka The Soldier and the Lady on TCM. From what I have read, AW was not eager to work in Hollywood after this relatively brief experience with the studio system. The movie was patched together from what one critic called "RKO's cannibalisation of the exteriors from a 1936 German adaptation of Jules Verne's historical romp, directed by Richard Eichberg (Der Kurier des Zaren) and simultaneously filmed in French"--with Anton Walbrook in all three versions. The RKO version features Fay Bainter as Walbrook's Russian mama, Elizabeth Allan as his mysterious love and dastardly Akim Tamiroff as his tormentor-nemesis. There are some very confusingly edited battle sequences in the movie, but the scenes that I remember best are those that spark some friction between Anton and Allan in a largely unspoken but wary romantic circling of one another while journeying through the Steppes, Anton vs. Bear, and the sequence when Strogoff is blinded...yikes!
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Here is a Spanish-dubbed version with highlights of the classic film. It is very easy to understand thanks to the expressive eloquence of the faces of Walbrook, Bainter Tamiroff, and Allan--not to mention that bear!! :
[youtube][/youtube]

BTW, has anyone seen the 1956 German version of this story with the occasionally great Curd Jurgens in the lead?
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Re: Anton Walbrook

Post by JackFavell »

Awesome! Curt who? :D

Golly, Anton was so buff under those uniforms, at least his shoulder was.

I just love Fay Bainter so this clip was a double treat. Thanks, Moira.
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Re: Anton Walbrook

Post by moira finnie »

Happy 116th Belated Birthday, Anton!

Seeing the aptly titled Dangerous Moonlight (1942) as a tyke, this was the first movie I became aware of your philosophical indifference to polite chit-chat in a world on the brink of destruction...let's pull up a bit of rubble and listen in, shall we?

[youtube][/youtube]
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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sigh
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Re: Anton Walbrook

Post by Jezebel38 »

For die-hard Anton fans only (like myself) who will watch a German film WITHOUT subtitles (I've done this for Conrad Veidt too):

Die Englische Heirat (1934)

[youtube][/youtube]
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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Jez, I watched this and never felt lost due to the language barrier when Anton was on the screen! Thanks for posting.

To all our UK members...Are you aware of this exhibit devoted to Anton Walbrook at the University of Exeter from now through June? It indicates that a biography of the actor is being written now. There is also a link to an essay by James Downs, who is the author of the biography and a contributor to this exhibition. Sure would love it if anyone who goes would post about it.

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/university ... 57_en.html

I don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but there is a very active Facebook Fan Page for Walbrook with tons of rare scans documenting his career and life. It is found here (you probably need to be a Facebook member to access):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/antonwalbrook/
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Re: Anton Walbrook

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Thanks to Jezebel's posting on Facebook, I learned that there is a video about the Anton Walbrook exhibit mentioned above. It is found at this link:

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Re: Anton Walbrook

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The Rat (1937) showed up on youtube about a week ago. Even with the missing three minutes at the end, I'll take this early Anton feast. I love the way that Ruth Chatterton gazes adoringly at him. Also starring the lovely Rene Ray and compelling character actress Beatrix Lehmann, both of whom also appeared with Conrad Veidt in the haunting The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1935). Enjoy this rodent before it scurries away...

[youtube][/youtube]
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