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Gerda Maurus(1903-1968)

  • Actress
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Gerda Maurus in Vakoilija (1928)
Gertrud Pfiel was born in present day Croatia, the daughter of an engineer and inventor. A strikingly beautiful blonde with high cheekbones and expressive blue eyes, she grew up in Vienna where she was trained as a singer and dancer, embarking on a theatrical career by the age of fifteen. Until 1944, 'Gertraud' regularly performed at various theatres in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna. During a performance, she came to the attention of the director Fritz Lang, who became instantly enamored with her. Without an audition, Lang gave her a starring role as a defecting Russian spy in Vakoilija (1928), the success of which led to further back-to-back leads in Matka kuuhun (1929) and Hochverrat (1929).

Lang eventually left his wife and long-time collaborator, the screenwriter Thea von Harbou, while Gerda Maurus went onto marry another prolific director, Robert A. Stemmle, who directed her in Daphne und der Diplomat (1937). During the sound era, Gerda was intermittently given further opportunities to shine, including opposite Hans Albers (Der weiße Dämon (1932)) and Paul Hörbiger (Prinzessin Sissy (1939)), but she seemed somehow unable to repeat the success of her earlier (silent) films. Her association, however tenuous, with Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels tainted her career during the immediate post-war period. While her acting ban was eventually lifted, she rarely again graced the screen, but for several more years continued on as a stage actress in Munich and Düsseldorf.
BornAugust 25, 1903
DiedJuly 31, 1968(64)
BornAugust 25, 1903
DiedJuly 31, 1968(64)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos13

Gerda Maurus in Vakoilija (1928)
Gerda Maurus in Vakoilija (1928)
Gerda Maurus in Tod über Shanghai (1932)
Gerda Maurus in Vakoilija (1928)
Gerda Maurus
Gerda Maurus in Vakoilija (1928)
Gerda Maurus in Vakoilija (1928)
Rudolf Klein-Rogge and Gerda Maurus in Vakoilija (1928)
Gerda Maurus in Ein Mädchen mit Prokura (1934)
Karl Ludwig Diehl and Gerda Maurus in Täter gesucht (1931)
Oskar Sima and Gerda Maurus in Seitensprünge (1931)
Karin Hardt, Gerda Maurus, Albrecht Schoenhals, and Hans Söhnker in Arzt aus Leidenschaft (1936)

Known for:

Matka kuuhun (1929)
Matka kuuhun
7.2
  • Friede Velten - Astronomy Student
  • 1929
Vakoilija (1928)
Vakoilija
7.5
  • Sonya Baranilkowa
  • 1928
Laukaus äänifilmistudiossa (1930)
Laukaus äänifilmistudiossa
5.6
  • Filmdiva
  • 1930
Jarmila Novotna in Der Kosak und die Nachtigall (1935)
Der Kosak und die Nachtigall
  • Sonja Lubinskaja, called 'B27'
  • 1935

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Das Käthchen von Heilbronn
    8.6
    TV Movie
    • Gräfin Helena
    • 1968
  • Die Nibelungen (1967)
    Die Nibelungen
    8.4
    TV Series
    • Götelinde
    • 1967
  • Tango
    TV Movie
    • Eleonore
    • 1967
  • Prinz Friedrich von Homburg
    TV Movie
    • Kurfürstin
    • 1966
  • Nebeneinander
    9.3
    TV Movie
    • Frau Postsekretär
    • 1964
  • Medea
    TV Movie
    • Die Amme
    • 1963
  • Vor Sonnenuntergang
    TV Movie
    • Frau Peters
    • 1962
  • Wir sind noch einmal davongekommen
    TV Movie
    • Mrs. Antrobus
    • 1961
  • Bernadette Soubirous
    TV Movie
    • Mme. Millet
    • 1961
  • Zum Geburtstag
    TV Movie
    • Gail Hosmer
    • 1960
  • Die kleine Stadt will schlafen gehn (1954)
    Die kleine Stadt will schlafen gehn
    6.7
    • Charlotte Altmann
    • 1954
  • Carl-Heinz Schroth and Sonja Ziemann in Die Freunde meiner Frau (1949)
    Die Freunde meiner Frau
    7.6
    • Frau Grete Brinkmann
    • 1949
  • Die gute Sieben
    7.9
    • Elfriede Flor- Huber, Bernds geschiedene Frau
    • 1940
  • Grenzfeuer (1939)
    Grenzfeuer
    • Afra
    • 1939
  • Prinzessin Sissy (1939)
    Prinzessin Sissy
    5.9
    • Ludovika - Seine Gattin
    • 1939

Personal details

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  • Born
    • August 25, 1903
    • Breitenfurt, Lower Austria, Austria
  • Died
    • July 31, 1968
    • Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
  • Spouse
    • Robert A. Stemmle1937 - July 31, 1968 (her death, 1 child)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Her charm did not only turn Joseph Goebbels' head but also the communist dramatist Friedrich Wolf.

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