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IMDbPro

Anton Walbrook(1896-1967)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Anton Walbrook in Patarouva (1949)
Trailer for the Criterion Collection release
Play trailer2:24
Skandaalikuningatar Lola Montès (1955)
6 Videos
99+ Photos
This dark, debonair, dashing and extremely distinguished Austrian actor was christened Adolf Wohlbrück in Vienna, the scion of a family of circus clowns. He broke away easily from generations of tradition as the circus life had no appeal whatsoever to Walbrook.

Trained by the legendary director Max Reinhardt, Walbrook's reputation grew on both the Austrian and German stages. In between he managed a couple of undistinguished roles in silent films. Billed as Adolf Wohlbrück, the youthfully handsome actor graced a number of romantic films come the advent of sound beginning in 1931. Among them Walzerkrieg (1933) and the gender-bending comedy Viktor ja Viktoria (1933), which later served as the inspiration and basis for Blake Edwards' own Victor/Victoria (1982) starring wife Julie Andrews. Hollywood beckoned in the late 30s for Walbrook to re-shoot dialog for an upcoming international picture The Soldier and the Lady (1937) again playing Michael Strogoff, a role he had played impeccably in both previous French and German adaptations. With the rise of oppression in Nazi Germany he moved to Great Britain and took his trademark mustache and dark, handsome features to English language films where he went on to appear to great effect.

Portraying a host of imperious kings, bon vivants and and foreign dignitaries over the course of his career, he played everything from composer Johann Strauss to the Bavarian King Ludwig I. With a tendency for grand, intense, over-the-top acting, he was nevertheless quite impressive in a number of portrayals. Such included the sympathetic German officer in the landmark Powell and Pressburger satire Se alkoi Berliinissä (1943) and gentle pacifist in another of their collaborations Pako (1941); as Prince Albert in the black-and-white glossy costumer Imperiumin hallitsijatar (1937) immediately followed by its color remake Imperiumin hallitsijatar (1938) both opposite Anna Neagle's Queen Victoria; and, most notably, as the obsessively demanding impresario opposite ballerina Moira Shearer in the romantic melodrama Punaiset kengät (1948). His stiff and stern military officers were just as notable which included sterling work in Patarouva (1949) and last-speaking English film Pirunsaaren vanki (1958).

He retired from films at the end of the 1950s, and in later years returned to the European stage and included television roles to his resume. He died in Germany in 1967 of a heart attack.
BornNovember 19, 1896
DiedAugust 9, 1967(70)
BornNovember 19, 1896
DiedAugust 9, 1967(70)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 2 wins

Photos111

Ruth Chatterton, Mary Clare, and Anton Walbrook in The Rat (1937)
Mary Clare, Rene Ray, and Anton Walbrook in The Rat (1937)
Anton Walbrook in The Rat (1937)
Ruth Chatterton and Anton Walbrook in The Rat (1937)
Rene Ray and Anton Walbrook in The Rat (1937)
Anton Walbrook in Punaiset kengät (1948)
Anton Walbrook in Punaiset kengät (1948)
Moira Shearer and Anton Walbrook in Punaiset kengät (1948)
Moira Shearer and Anton Walbrook in Punaiset kengät (1948)
Anton Walbrook in Punaiset kengät (1948)
Anton Walbrook in Punaiset kengät (1948)
Anton Walbrook in Punaiset kengät (1948)

Known for:

Moira Shearer in Punaiset kengät (1948)
Punaiset kengät
8.1
  • Boris Lermontov
  • 1948
Se alkoi Berliinissä (1943)
Se alkoi Berliinissä
8.0
  • Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff
  • 1943
Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard in Kaasuvalo (1940)
Kaasuvalo
7.3
  • Paul Mallen
  • 1940
Laurence Olivier and Leslie Howard in Pako (1941)
Pako
7.3
  • Peter
  • 1941

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Robert und Elisabeth
    9.3
    TV Movie
    • (as Adolf Wohlbrück)
    • 1966
  • Der Arzt am Scheideweg
    8.9
    TV Movie
    • Sir Colenso Ridgeon (as Adolf Wohlbrück)
    • 1963
  • Hildegard Knef in Laura (1962)
    Laura
    7.3
    TV Movie
    • Waldo Lydecker (as Adolf Wohlbrück)
    • 1962
  • Venus im Licht
    8.9
    TV Movie
    • Duke of Altair (as Adolf Wohlbrück)
    • 1960
  • Pirunsaaren vanki (1958)
    Pirunsaaren vanki
    7.2
    • Major Esterhazy
    • 1958
  • Pyhä Johanna (1957)
    Pyhä Johanna
    6.4
    • Cauchon - Bishop of Beauvais
    • 1957
  • Der Schwierige
    TV Movie
    • 1956
  • Skandaalikuningatar Lola Montès (1955)
    Skandaalikuningatar Lola Montès
    7.2
    • Ludwig I, King of Bavaria
    • 1955
  • Lepakko (1955)
    Lepakko
    6.0
    • Dr. Falke
    • 1955
  • Charles Vanel in Oikeusmurha (1954)
    Oikeusmurha
    6.7
    • Grégoire Waremme
    • 1954
  • Lemmenunelma (1952)
    Lemmenunelma
    7.6
    • Narrator, German Version (uncredited)
    • 1952
  • Tanssiva Wien (1951)
    Tanssiva Wien
    6.5
    • Johann Strauss (Vater) (as Adolf Wohlbrück)
    • 1951
  • König für eine Nacht (1950)
    König für eine Nacht
    5.5
    • Graf von Lerchenbach (as Adolf Wohlbrück)
    • 1950
  • Intohimojen karuselli (1950)
    Intohimojen karuselli
    7.5
    • Raconteur
    • 1950
  • Edith Evans and Yvonne Mitchell in Patarouva (1949)
    Patarouva
    7.1
    • Herman
    • 1949

Soundtrack

  • Intohimojen karuselli (1950)
    Intohimojen karuselli
    7.5
    • performer: "La Ronde de l'Amour"
    • 1950
  • Sally Gray and Anton Walbrook in Vaarallista kuutamoa (1941)
    Vaarallista kuutamoa
    6.2
    • performer: "Warsaw Concerto" (1941), "Polonaise in A major Op. 40 No. 1", "Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)" (1850), "Liebestraum No. 3 (A Dream of Love)", "The Rose of Tralee" ("Polonaise in A major Op. 40 No. 1")
    • 1941
  • Renate Müller and Anton Walbrook in Die englische Heirat (1934)
    Die englische Heirat
    7.3
    • performer: "Liebe ist ein Geheihmnis" (Love is a Mystery)
    • 1934

Videos6

Trailer
Trailer 2:51
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:11
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:01
Official Trailer
The Red Shoes: [Blu Ray]
Trailer 1:39
The Red Shoes: [Blu Ray]
Lola Montes
Trailer 2:24
Lola Montes
The Red Shoes
Trailer 2:29
The Red Shoes

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Adolf Wohlbruck
  • Height
    • 1.83 m
  • Born
    • November 19, 1896
    • Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]
  • Died
    • August 9, 1967
    • Garatshausen, Bavaria, Germany(heart attack)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared in Henrik Ibsen's play, "The Wild Duck," at the St. Martin's Theatre in London, England, with Fay Compton, Robert Harris, Walter Fitzgerald, Mai Zetterling and Miles Malleson in the cast.
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    His Punaiset kengät (1948) co-star Moira Shearer recalled Walbrook was a loner on set, often wearing dark glasses and eating alone.
  • Salaries
      Se alkoi Berliinissä
      (1943)
      £5,000

FAQ11

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