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IMDbPro

Erich von Stroheim(1885-1957)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Von Stroheim, 1950.
Trailer for the classic film Sunset Blvd., starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, and Erich von Stroheim
Play trailer3:14
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
4 Videos
99+ Photos
Erich von Stroheim was born Erich Oswald Stroheim in 1885, in Vienna, Austria, to Johanna (Bondy), from Prague, and Benno Stroheim, a hatter from Gleiwitz, Germany (now Gliwice, Poland). His family was Jewish.

After spending some time working in his father's hat factory, he emigrated to America around 1909. Working in various jobs he arrived in Hollywood in 1914 and got work in D.W. Griffiths' company as a bit player. America's entry into WW1 enabled him to play sadistic monocled German officers but these roles dried up when the war ended. He turned to writing and directing but his passion for unnecessary detail such as Austrian guards wearing correct and expensively acquired regulation underwear which was never seen in 'Foolish Wives' caused the budget to reach a reported $1 million. Although the film became a hit the final edit was given to others resulting in a third of his footage being cut. Irving Thalberg fired him from 'Merry Go Round' which was completed by Rupert Julien. He then started on 'Greed', which when completed was unreleasable being 42 reels with a running time of 7 hours. It was eventually cut down to 10 reels which still had a striking effect on audiences. 'The Wedding March' was so long that even in it's unfinished state it was released as two separate films in Europe. Gloria Swanson fired him from her production of 'Queen Kelly' when with no sign of the film nearing completion the costs had risen to twice the budget partly due to him re-shooting scenes that had already been passed by the Hays office. She then had to spend a further $200,000 putting the footage into releasable state. It was the end for him as a director, but he made a reasonable success as an actor in the talkies.
BornSeptember 22, 1885
DiedMay 12, 1957(71)
BornSeptember 22, 1885
DiedMay 12, 1957(71)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar

Photos200

Erich von Stroheim in Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Erich von Stroheim in Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Erich von Stroheim in Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Erich von Stroheim, Richard Arlen, and Vera Ralston in The Lady and the Monster (1944)
Constance Bennett and Erich von Stroheim in Three Faces East (1930)
Erich von Stroheim in The Wedding March (1928)
Constance Bennett and Erich von Stroheim in Three Faces East (1930)
Erich von Stroheim in The Wedding March (1928)
Erich von Stroheim in The Wedding March (1928)
Erich von Stroheim and Marian Ainslee in Foolish Wives (1922)
Erich von Stroheim in The Wedding March (1928)
Peter Lorre and Erich von Stroheim in I Was an Adventuress (1940)

Known for

William Holden, Nancy Olson, and Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Sunset Blvd.
8.4
  • Max Von Mayerling
  • 1950
The Grand Illusion (1937)
The Grand Illusion
8.1
  • Le captaine von Rauffenstein(as Eric von Stroheim)
  • 1937
The Wedding March (1928)
The Wedding March
7.4
  • Nicki
  • Prince Nickolas von Wildeliebe-Rauffenburg
  • 1928
Blind Husbands (1919)
Blind Husbands
6.9
  • The Other Man, Lt. Erich von Steuben
  • 1919

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • La madone des sleepings (1955)
    La madone des sleepings
  • Napoleon (1955)
    Napoleon
  • Monique van Vooren and Henri Vidal in The Infiltrator (1955)
    The Infiltrator
  • The Berlin Blaze
  • Orient Express
    • ...
  • Alerte au sud (1953)
    Alerte au sud
  • L'envers du paradis (1953)
    L'envers du paradis
  • Minuit... Quai de Bercy (1953)
    Minuit... Quai de Bercy
  • Hildegard Knef in Alraune (1952)
    Alraune
    • (as Erich v. Stroheim)
  • William Holden, Nancy Olson, and Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. (1950)
    Sunset Blvd.
  • Portrait of a Killer (1949)
    Portrait of a Killer
    • (as Eric von Stroheim)
  • Le signal rouge (1949)
    Le signal rouge
  • La danse de mort (1948)
    La danse de mort
  • Devil and the Angel (1946)
    Devil and the Angel
  • On ne meurt pas comme ça (1946)
    On ne meurt pas comme ça

Writer

  • The Hoyden
  • Papatya (1956)
    Papatya
  • La danse de mort (1948)
    La danse de mort
  • Richard Greene and Vera Zorina in I Was an Adventuress (1940)
    I Was an Adventuress
    • (uncredited)
  • It Happened in Gibraltar (1938)
    It Happened in Gibraltar
  • Maureen O'Sullivan, Virginia Bruce, and Franchot Tone in Between Two Women (1937)
    Between Two Women
    • (as Erich Von Stroheim)
  • Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Grace Ford, and Frank Lawton in The Devil-Doll (1936)
    The Devil-Doll
  • Erich von Stroheim, Wera Engels, and Leslie Fenton in Fugitive Road (1934)
    Fugitive Road
    • (uncredited)
  • Hello, Sister! (1933)
    Hello, Sister!
  • Gloria Swanson in Queen Kelly (1932)
    Queen Kelly
    • (as Erich Von Stroheim)
  • Erich von Stroheim and Gösta Åberg in The Honeymoon (1929)
    The Honeymoon
  • The Wedding March (1928)
    The Wedding March
  • John Barrymore and Camilla Horn in Tempest (1928)
    Tempest
    • (uncredited)
  • The Merry Widow (1925)
    The Merry Widow
  • Greed (1924)
    Greed

Director

  • Erich von Stroheim, Wera Engels, and Leslie Fenton in Fugitive Road (1934)
    Fugitive Road
    • (unconfirmed, uncredited)
  • Hello, Sister! (1933)
    Hello, Sister!
  • Gloria Swanson in Queen Kelly (1932)
    Queen Kelly
    • (as Erich Von Stroheim)
  • Erich von Stroheim and Gösta Åberg in The Honeymoon (1929)
    The Honeymoon
  • Erich von Stroheim in The Great Gabbo (1929)
    The Great Gabbo
    • (uncredited)
  • The Wedding March (1928)
    The Wedding March
  • The Merry Widow (1925)
    The Merry Widow
  • Greed (1924)
    Greed
    • (personally directed by)
  • Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin in Merry-Go-Round (1923)
    Merry-Go-Round
    • (uncredited)
  • Foolish Wives (1922)
    Foolish Wives
    • (as Erich Von Stroheim)
  • Mae Busch, Sam De Grasse, Clyde Fillmore, Maude George, Edward Reinach, Una Trevelyn, and Leo White in The Devil's Passkey (1920)
    The Devil's Passkey
  • Blind Husbands (1919)
    Blind Husbands
    • (as Erich Stroheim, directed by)

Videos4

Sunset Boulevard: Centennial Collection
Clip 1:25
Sunset Boulevard: Centennial Collection
Trailer
Trailer 2:15
Trailer
Sunset Blvd.
Trailer 3:14
Sunset Blvd.
Grand Illusion: 75th Anniversary
Trailer 2:05
Grand Illusion: 75th Anniversary

Personal details

Edit
    • September 22, 1885
    • Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]
    • May 12, 1957
    • Maurepas, Seine-et-Oise [now Yvelines], France(prostate cancer)
    • Valerie GermonprezOctober 16, 1920 - May 12, 1957 (his death, 1 child)
  • Other works
    Stage: Wrote (w/Wallace Smith (I)') source material ("The Happy Alienist") for "May Wine", produced on Broadway. Musical. Music by Sigmund Romberg. Additional orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett. Material by Frank Mandel. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Musical Direction by Robert Emmett Dolan. Music orchestrated by Don Walker. Directed by José Ruben. St. James Theatre: 5 Dec 1935-6 Jun 1936 (213 performances). Cast: Betty Allen, Beulah Blake, Remo Buffano, Patricia Calvert, Victor Casmore, Tomes Chapman, Frank Chester, Lee Childs, Jack Cole, Radley E. Collins, Alice Dudley, Robert C. Fischer, Michael J. Forbes, Roy Gordon, Rollin Grimes Jr., Inga Hill, Marian Huntley, Betty Kerr, Walter Woolf King, Bela Lublov, Nancy McCord, Clifford Menz, Harry Mestayer, Charles Palloy, Marie Louise Quevli, Walter Slezak (as "Prof. Johann Volk"), Guy Smith Jr., Maury Tuckerman. Produced by Laurence Schwab.
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Biographical Movies
    • 7 Print Biographies
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 1 Interview
    • 28 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 4 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    As the butler in Sunset Blvd. (1950), he is in the projection room when Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis are watching one of Norma's old films. The film is actually Queen Kelly (1932), which von Stroheim directed and which starred Gloria Swanson, who is playing Norma Desmond.
  • Quotes
    If you live in France and you have written one good book, or painted one good picture, or directed one outstanding film, 50 years ago, and nothing ever since, you are still recognized as an artist and honored accordingly ... In Hollywood - in Hollywood, you're as good as your last picture. If you didn't have one in production in the last three months, you're forgotten, no matter what you have achieved ere this. It is that terrific, unfortunately necessary, egotism in the makeup of the people who make the cinema, it is the continuous endeavor for recognition, that continuous struggle for survival and supremacy, among the newcomers, that relegates the old-timers to the ashcan.
    • Ambulances are recurring themes in his films
    • Sunset Blvd.
      (1950)
      $5,000 per week + 1,500,000 French Francs upon completion

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