Francis Lederer

This dark, wide-eyed, stunningly handsome international lead of stage and screen in the 1920s and 30s later created an interesting gallery of offbeat character roles. Francis Lederer began his career as a theatrical apprentice in his native Prague after WWI service and eventually enjoyed considerable success acting in a number of theaters in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria and Germany. His work included a turn as Romeo in a production of "Romeo and Juliet" staged by the legendary Max Reinhardt. Lederer, initially known as Franz in his European films, made his mark in G.W. Pabst's famous "Pandora's Box" (1928) as a young man who, along with his father, becomes obsessed with the alluring and hedonistic femme fatale Lulu (Louise Brooks). Dashingly garbed in military costume, he also did quite well in the lush and poignant romantic drama "The Wonderful Lie of Nina Petrovna" (1929).