Erich von Stroheim
Highest Rated: 100% Queen Kelly (1929)
Lowest Rated: 64% The Wedding March (1928)
Birthday: Sep 22, 1885
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Costumed in tailored military uniforms accessorized with gleaming medals, Austrian émigré Erich von Stroheim became known to American filmgoers during the silent era for his icy portrayals of pre-World War II German soldiers. Arriving in Hollywood in 1914, von Stroheim gained entry into the film industry as a technical advisor and horseman. Later an assistant for D. W. Griffith, von Stroheim brokered a deal, agreeing to work for free for the chance to direct his first film. "Blind Husbands" (1919) was a hit despite von Stroheim's insistence on expensive location photography. His budgets would ultimately cost him control of his films, with his nine-hour "Greed" (1924) reduced to two and "The Wedding March" (1928) shut down after nine months. Fired by star Gloria Swanson during the shooting of "Queen Kelly" (1929), von Stroheim was considered unemployable as a director and returned to the life of a jobbing actor. Using his sinister mien to good effect in such quickies as "The Crime of Dr. Crespi" (1935) and "The Great Flamarion" (1945), von Stroheim contributed vivid supporting performances to Billy Wilder's "Five Graves to Cairo" (1943) and "Sunset Blvd." (1950), the latter reuniting him with Swanson for an acidic meditation of the dark side of the silver screen. Cancer took his life in May 1957, robbing moviegoers of one of its most unique visionaries and an unforgettable film presence.
Photos
Erich von Stroheim
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
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No Score Yet |
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Hollywood Mavericks | Unknown (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet |
|
Napoleon | Ludwig van Beethoven (Character) | - | 1955 |
No Score Yet |
|
Unnatural | Jacob ten Brinken (Character) | - | 1952 |
98% |
|
Sunset Boulevard | Max Von Mayerling (Character) | - | 1950 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Portrait of a Killer | Eric (Character) | - | 1949 |
No Score Yet |
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The Mask of Diijon | Diijon (Character) | - | 1946 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Great Flamarion | The Great Flamarion (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Scotland Yard Investigator | Carl Hoffmeyer (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Storm Over Lisbon | Deresco (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Lady and the Monster | Prof. Franz Mueller (Character) | - | 1944 |
100% |
|
Five Graves to Cairo | Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet |
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The North Star | Dr. von Harden (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Under Secret Orders |
Col. W. Mathesius/ |
- | 1943 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Gambling Hell | Werner von Krall (Character) | - | 1942 |
67% |
|
So Ends Our Night | Brenner (Character) | - | 1941 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | I Was an Adventuress | Andre Desormeaux (Character) | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Personal Column | Unknown (Character) | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | It Happened in Gibraltar |
Marson (Character), Screenwriter |
- | 1938 |
97% |
|
Grand Illusion | Capt. von Rauffenstein (Character) | $516.5K | 1937 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | L'Alibi | Winckler (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Between Two Women | Writer | - | 1937 |
79% |
|
The Devil Doll | Writer | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Crime of Dr. Crespi | Dr. Andre Crespi (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Crime of Doctor Crespi | Dr. Andre Crespi (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fugitive Road | Hauptmann Oswald Von Traunsee (Character) | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Crimson Romance | Capt. Wolters (Character) | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hello Sister | Director | - | 1933 |
100% |
|
The Lost Squadron | Arthur von Furst (Character) | - | 1932 |
86% |
|
As You Desire Me | Carl Salter (Character) | - | 1932 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Friends and Lovers | Col. Victor Sangrito (Character) | - | 1931 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Three Faces East |
Valdar/ |
- | 1930 |
100% |
|
Queen Kelly |
Director, Producer |
- | 1929 |
71% |
|
The Great Gabbo |
The Great Gabbo (Character), Director |
- | 1929 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | La Reina Kelly | Director | - | 1929 |
64% |
|
The Wedding March |
Prince Nicki von Wildeliebe-Rauffenburg (Character), Director, Writer, Film Editing, Art Director, Costume Design |
- | 1928 |
100% |
|
The Merry Widow |
Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Costume Design |
- | 1925 |
96% |
|
Greed |
Director, Writer, Film Editing, Production Design, Art Director |
- | 1924 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Merry-Go-Round |
Director, Costume Design |
- | 1923 |
89% |
|
Foolish Wives |
Their Cousin, Count Wladislaw Sergius Karamzin (Capt. 3rd Hussars Imper. Russian Army) (Character), Director, Writer |
- | 1922 |
80% | No Score Yet | The Devil's Passkey |
Director, Screenwriter |
- | 1920 |
100% |
|
Blind Husbands |
Lieutenant von Steuben (Character), Director, Screenwriter, Producer |
- | 1919 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Unbeliever | Lt. Kurt von Schnieditz (Character) | - | 1918 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Heart of Humanity | Eric von Eberhard (Character) | - | 1918 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Reaching for the Moon | Prince Badinoff's Aide (Character) | - | 1917 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Social Secretary | The Buzzard (Character) | - | 1916 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Old Heidelberg | Lutz (Character) | - | 1915 |