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IMDbPro

Emil Jannings(1884-1950)

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Art Department
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Emil Jannings in The Blue Angel (1930)
Trailer 1
Play trailer1:34
The Blue Angel (1930)
5 Videos
99+ Photos
His real name was Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, and in the early 1900s, he was already working in the theater under Max Reinhardt's company. Important movies where he defined himself as a convincing actor were Madame DuBarry (1919) and Quo Vadis? (1924), followed by The Last Laugh (1924)(aka The Last Laugh) in 1924 and Varieté (1925) (aka Variety) in 1925. In 1928, he became the first male leading actor to receive the academy award for The Last Command (1928) directed by Josef von Sternberg. In 1929, Stenberg directed him in his world famous movie The Blue Angel (1930) (aka The Blue Angel) co-starring the young Marlene Dietrich (her first role). Later on, he concentrated on theater and dedicated his acting skills to the Nazi regime and also took part in the realization of Ohm Krüger (1941) in 1941, an expensive anti-British film production. When the Second World War ended, the US government cleaned his image, and he converted to catholicism. He played in a few more German movies, but his career never recaptured its brilliance.
BornJuly 23, 1884
DiedJanuary 2, 1950(65)
BornJuly 23, 1884
DiedJanuary 2, 1950(65)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Won 1 Oscar
    • 5 wins total

Photos160

Emil Jannings and Zasu Pitts in Sins of the Fathers (1928)
Emil Jannings in Street of Sin (1928)
Emil Jannings and Esther Ralston in Betrayal (1929)
Emil Jannings and Henny Porten in Kohlhiesels Töchter (1920)
Emil Jannings and Henny Porten in Kohlhiesels Töchter (1920)
Emil Jannings and Henny Porten in Kohlhiesels Töchter (1920)
Emil Jannings and Henny Porten in Anna Boleyn (1920)
Emil Jannings and Henny Porten in Die Ehe der Luise Rohrbach (1917)
Emil Jannings in Das große Licht (1920)
Emil Jannings in Das große Licht (1920)
Emil Jannings in Das große Licht (1920)
Emil Jannings, Henny Porten, and Jakob Tiedtke in Kohlhiesels Töchter (1920)

Known for:

Emil Jannings in The Last Command (1928)
The Last Command
8.0
  • Grand Duke Sergius Alexander
  • 1928
Lya De Putti, Emil Jannings, and Werner Krauss in Othello (1922)
Othello
6.4
  • Othello
  • 1922
F.W. Murnau, Gösta Ekman, Yvette Guilbert, Gerhart Hauptmann, Camilla Horn, Emil Jannings, and Hans Kyser in Faust: A German Folk Legend (1926)
Faust: A German Folk Legend
8.1
  • Mephisto
  • 1926
Betsy Ann Hisle, Emil Jannings, and Carmencita Johnson in The Way of All Flesh (1927)
The Way of All Flesh
6.8
  • August Schilling
  • 1927

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Wo ist Herr Belling?
    • Firmenchef Eberhard Belling
    • 1945
  • Emil Jannings in Altes Herz wird wieder jung (1943)
    Altes Herz wird wieder jung
    • Fabrikdirektor Friedrich Wilhelm Hoffmann
    • 1943
  • Die Entlassung (1942)
    Die Entlassung
    • Fürst Bismarck
    • 1942
  • Emil Jannings in Ohm Krüger (1941)
    Ohm Krüger
    • Ohm Krüger
    • 1941
  • Der letzte Appell
    • Kapitän Brodersen
    • 1939
  • Der Trichter. (Nr. III)
    • (scenes deleted)
    • Short
    • 1939
  • Robert Koch, der Bekämpfer des Todes (1939)
    Robert Koch, der Bekämpfer des Todes
    • Dr. Robert Koch
    • 1939
  • Emil Jannings in Der Herrscher (1937)
    Der Herrscher
    • Matthias Clausen
    • 1937
  • Traumulus (1936)
    Traumulus
    • Direktor Prof. Niemeyer
    • 1936
  • Emil Jannings in Der zerbrochene Krug (1935)
    Der zerbrochene Krug
    • Adam, Dorfrichter
    • 1935
  • Werner Hinz and Emil Jannings in Der alte und der junge König - Friedrichs des Grossen Jugend (1935)
    Der alte und der junge König - Friedrichs des Grossen Jugend
    • Friedrich Wilhelm I. König von Preussen
    • 1935
  • Der schwarze Walfisch (1934)
    Der schwarze Walfisch
    • Peter Petersen
    • 1934
  • Emil Jannings in Die Abenteuer des Königs Pausole (1933)
    Die Abenteuer des Königs Pausole
    • King Pausole
    • 1933
  • The Merry Monarch
    • King Pausole
    • 1933
  • Emil Jannings and Anna Sten in Stürme der Leidenschaft (1932)
    Stürme der Leidenschaft
    • Gustav Bumke
    • 1932

Producer

  • Die Entlassung (1942)
    Die Entlassung
    • producer
    • 1942
  • Emil Jannings in Ohm Krüger (1941)
    Ohm Krüger
    • producer
    • 1941
  • Der letzte Appell
    • producer
    • 1939
  • Robert Koch, der Bekämpfer des Todes (1939)
    Robert Koch, der Bekämpfer des Todes
    • producer
    • 1939
  • Emil Jannings in Alles für Geld (1923)
    Alles für Geld
    • producer
    • 1923

Art Department

  • Emil Jannings in Ohm Krüger (1941)
    Ohm Krüger
    • artistic supervisor
    • 1941
  • Emil Jannings in Der Herrscher (1937)
    Der Herrscher
    • artistic supervisor
    • 1937
  • Emil Jannings in Der zerbrochene Krug (1935)
    Der zerbrochene Krug
    • artistic director
    • 1935

Videos5

Uggie, Toto, & Award-Winning Movie Dogs
Clip 3:31
Uggie, Toto, & Award-Winning Movie Dogs
Waxworks
Trailer 1:59
Waxworks
The Blue Angel
Trailer 1:34
The Blue Angel
Varieté
Trailer 1:01
Varieté
VARIETÉ (Masters of Cinema) Trailer
Trailer 1:00
VARIETÉ (Masters of Cinema) Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 6′ (1.83 m)
  • Born
    • July 23, 1884
    • Rorschach, St. Gallen, Switzerland
  • Died
    • January 2, 1950
    • Strobl, Salzburg, Austria(cancer)
  • Spouses
      Gussy Holl1923 - January 2, 1950 (his death, 1 child)
  • Other works
    He wrote an autobiography in 1928. In it he says (incorrectly) that he was born in Brooklyn, USA in 1886.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 5 Articles
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    His home town of Rorschach, Switzerland, honored him with a special star (similar to the ones on the Walk of Fame in L.A.), which was revealed on November 12, 2004. Only hours prior to the ceremony, the town's council learned of Jannings' efforts on behalf of the Nazis during World War II. A few days later, the star was removed.

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