Erich Pommer (July 20, 1889 – May 8, 1966) was one of the most influential producers of the silent film era, having been one of the most influential creators being the German Expressionism movement as the head of production at Ufa from 1924 to 1926. Under his guidance, many of what critics consider the greatest movies ever made were directed, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922), Die Nibelungen (1924), Mikaël (1924), Der Letzte Mann/The Last Laugh (1924), Variety (1925), Tartuffe (1926), Faust (1926), Metropolis (1927) and The Blue Angel (1930). July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... F.W. Murnaus Nosferatu German Expressionism, also referred to as expressionism in filmmaking, developed in Germany (especially Berlin) during the 1920s. ... UFA logo Universum Film AG, better known as Ufa or UFA, was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema during its brief existence from 1917 to 1945. ... The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (original title: ) is a groundbreaking 1920 silent film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. ... Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, the gambler) is the first film in the Mabuse series by Fritz Lang from 1922. ... Die Nibelungen is a duology of fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924. ... Michael (also known as Mikaël, Chained: The Story of the Third Sex, and Hearts Desire) was a movie released in 1924 directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer (director of other notable silents such as The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Master of the House (1925), and Leaves From... The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann) is a 1924 silent film by German director F. W. Murnau and based on a Broadway play by Charles W. Goddard. ... Herr Tartüff is a German silent film produced by Erich Pommer for UFA and released in 1926. ... Faust was a silent film produced in 1926 directed by F.W. Murnau with Gösta Ekman as Faust and Emil Jannings as Mephisto. ... For other uses, see Metropolis (disambiguation). ... Der Blaue Engel (English: The Blue Angel) is a film directed by Josef von Sternberg in 1930, and is one of the most famous films made by Marlene Dietrich. ...

Life and Career

Erich Pommer was born in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany, on 20 July 1889, to Gustav Pommer and his wife Anna. After a commercial practice with the Herrenkonfektion Machol & Lewin, Pommer begins his film career in 1907, with the Berlin branch of the Gaumont company, where he fulfills different functions, eventually taking over the Viennese branch in 1910. In 1912, Pommer concludes his military service and joins the competition: he becomes a representative of the "Film und Kinematographen GmbH Eclair" in Vienna, where he is responsible for Central and Eastern Europe. From 1913, he becomes the general representative of the Eclair for Central Europe, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Poland, based out of Berlin. In the same year, he marries Gertrud Levy and becomes, together with Marcel Vandal, the director-general of Eclair, the Viennese author film company. Under Pommer's direction, the company begins the production of features for the Viennese Eclair. The film "Das Geheimnis der Lüfte / Le mystère de l'air" (in English, the "Mystery of the Air") is released. Another 5 films will follow in 1915.

With the French capital from Eclair and together with Fritz Holz, Pommer sets up in 1915 the Decla-Film-Gesellschaft-Holz & Co.(Decla Film Society Holz & Co.), in Berlin. The Decla ("German Eclair") produces adventure and detective films, drama, and society pieces, as well as short film series. Its own Decla rental business, led by Hermann Saklikower, also presents foreign films. Pommer serves in the First World War at the West and East fronts; injuries bring him back to Berlin in 1916, where he becomes active first recruiting teachers, then for the Office for Film and Picture (Bufa). After the 1919 merger of Decla with the Meinert-Film-Gesellschaft, Rudolf Meinert leads production and Erich Pommer takes charge of the representation abroad. Decla production becomes more ambitious. The brands "Decla Abenteuerklasse" (producing, among others, Fritz Lang's The Spiders, Part 2: The Diamond Ship) and "Decla Weltklasse" (e.g. producing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, under the direction of Robert Wiene) appear. In an interview in 1922, Pommer will state the international success of the German film would have to be linked to quality pictures. The international success of "Dr. Caligari" seemed poised to confirm it. Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-American film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known émigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (original title: ) is a groundbreaking 1920 silent film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. ... Robert Wiene (born April 27, 1873 in Breslau; died 17 July 1938 in Paris) was a German film director. ...

Decla merges with German Bioskop AG to create the Decla Bioskop AG, thus becoming in 1920 the second largest German film company after the Ufa. It now owns a studio in Neubabelsberg and its own cinema chain. Two subsidiaries are created: Uco-Film GmbH and Russo Films. The Uco film GmbH, in whose establishment the Ullstein publishing house is involved, dedicates itself to filming continuation novels. Schloß Vogeloed-Die Enthüllung eines Geheimnisses/The Haunted Castle and Phantom, under the direction of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, as well as Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, are released. Adaptation of works of the world literature is the focus on Russo Films. UFA logo Universum Film AG, better known as Ufa or UFA, was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema during its brief existence from 1917 to 1945. ... The Haunted Castle (also known as Schloß Vogelöd and Vogelod Castle) is a silent chamber drama directed by F. W. Murnau in 1921. ... Phantom is a silent film that was directed by F. W. Murnau in 1922, the same year he directed Nosferatu. ... F. W. Murnau. ... Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-American film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known émigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, the gambler) is the first film in the Mabuse series by Fritz Lang from 1922. ...

Pommer gathers around him a successful team of directors (F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, Robert Wiene, Carl Froelich, Fritz Wendhausen), film script writers (Thea von Harbou, Carl Mayer, Robert Liebmann), cameramen (Karl Freund, Carl Hoffmann, Willy Hameister), architects (Walter Roehrig and Robert Herlth), as well as actors and actresses. In November 1921, the Decla Bioskop transfer to the Ufa, although it will maintain a modicum of independence. F W Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (December 28, 1888 - March 11, 1931) was one of the most influential directors of the silent film era. ... Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-American film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known émigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... Robert Wiene (born April 27, 1873 in Breslau; died 17 July 1938 in Paris) was a German film director. ... Thea von Harbou (December 27, 1888 â€“ July 1, 1954) was a German actress and author of some noble Prussian descent. ... Carl Mayer (20 November 1894 Graz, Austria - 1 July 1944 London) was a screenplay writer who wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920), Der Letzte Mann (1924), and Sunrise (1927), the last two being films directed by F. W. Murnau. ... Karl W. Freund (January 16, 1890-May 3, 1969) was a German cinematographer who worked on over 100 films, including Metropolis (1927), Dracula (1931), and Key Largo (1948). ... UFA logo Universum Film AG, better known as Ufa or UFA, was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema during its brief existence from 1917 to 1945. ...

In early 1923, Erich Pommer joins the Ufa executive committee, to oversee the Decla Bioskop operations. At the same time, he becomes the first chairman of the Central Organization of the Film Industry (SPIO), which will shape the film history of the Weimar Republic. The German galoping inflation makes complex productions possible: in that time some "classical authors" are turned into movies, and expensive and internationally successful large films like Der letzte Mann/The Last Laugh, Faust, Manon Lescaut or Variety are released. High production costs lead Ufa to a heavy financial crisis. Finally, due to the enormous cost increase of Metropolis (6 million marks, the most expensive to date at that time) the Pommer contract is not extended. The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann) is a 1924 silent film by German director F. W. Murnau and based on a Broadway play by Charles W. Goddard. ... Faust was a silent film produced in 1926 directed by F.W. Murnau with Gösta Ekman as Faust and Emil Jannings as Mephisto. ... Manon Lescaut is a novel by the abbé Prévost. ... For other uses, see Metropolis (disambiguation). ...

Pommer goes into the USA and works for Paramount Pictures as a production manager for two Pola Negri films, Hotel Imperial and Barbed Wire. After a short intermezzo at MGM, Ufa gets him back (1927). From the USA, Pommer brought organizational and technical novelties, such as the use of turning plans or of camera crane cars. As production manager and a boss of the "Erich-Pommer-Produktion der Ufa" (Erich Pommer production of the Ufa), he celebrates 1928 with Homecoming and Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody. Pommer is a pioneer of the language versions: His Melodie des Herzens/Melody of the Heart, produced at the end of of 1929 in Berlin, is produced in an English, a French, a Hungarian as well as a silent version. The film becomes a world success. The "Erich-Pommer-Produktion der Ufa" turns several box office hits in the following years, such as Josef von Sternberg'sThe Blue Angel in 1930, starring Marlene Dietrich. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... Pola Negri Pola Negri [1] (December 31, 1894 - August 1, 1987) was a Polish film actress who achieved notoriety as a femme fatale in silent films between 1910s and 1930s. ... The Hotel Imperial is a five-star luxury hotel in Vienna, Austria. ... A selection of forms of barbed wire. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... Heimkehr Home Coming is a German Anti Polish propaganda film of Gustav Ucicky from the year 1941. ... Josef von Sternberg (29 May 1894 – 22 December 1969) was an Austrian-American film director. ... Der Blaue Engel (English: The Blue Angel) is a film directed by Josef von Sternberg in 1930, and is one of the most famous films made by Marlene Dietrich. ... Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s Marlene Dietrich (December 27, 1901 – May 6, 1992) was a German-born actress, entertainer and singer. ...

In the course of the "Arisierung", the Ufa resolves the contract with Erich Pommer in 1933. At the height of his career, Pommer goes into exile. He works for Fox, first in Paris, where he produces Max Ophüls' On a volé un homme and Fritz Lang's Liliom, then in Hollywood. In 1936, he produces for Alexander Korda in England. In the next year he creates a production company, the Mayflower Picture Corp., with Charles Laughton, whose first film, The Vessel Of Wrath/The Beachcomber, will also be directed by Pommer (his only attempt at direction). In 1938, he produces Sidewalks of London by Tim Whelan (also starring Laughton and Vivien Leigh) and in 1939 he produces Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn. Max Ophüls (May 6, 1902 – March 25, 1957) was a German-born Jewish film director. ... Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-American film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known émigrés from Germanys school of expressionism. ... Liliom is a 1909 play by Ferenc Molnár, famous as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. ... Sir Alexander Korda (September 16, 1893 - January 23, 1956) was a film director and producer, a leading figure in the British film industry and the founder of London Films. ... Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English stage and film actor. ... The Vessel of Wrath is a novella, published in 1931 by W. Somerset Maugham. ... Vivien Mary Leigh, Lady Olivier (November 5, 1913 – July 8, 1967), , was an English actress. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a highly influential film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... The Jamaica Inn is a Free House on the borders of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. ...

The political situation in Europe deteriorates and Pommer signs in 1939 with the RKO Radio Pictures, in Hollywood, for whom he'll produce two pictures. When World War II breaks out, he is in New York and decides to stay in the USA. Becoming seriously ill in 1941 (he suffers a heart attack), his contract with RKO isn't renewed. Pommer gets into financial difficulties: he and his wife resort to working in a porcelain factory. In 1944, Pommer gets the American nationality. The classic logo of RKO Radio Pictures. ...

In 1946, Pommer returns to Germany, where he becomes the highest-ranking film officer of the American military Government for the reorganisation of the German film production (e.g., reconstruction of studios, assignment of production licenses). After some controversy, in 1949 Pommer lays down his office and returns to the USA. He attempts to launch Signature Pictures to produce German-American films, an endeavor that fails.

In 1951 he starts the "Intercontinental Film GmbH" in Munich, where he makes some remarkable movies: Nachts auf den Strassen (1951) and Kinder, Mütter und ein General (1955). However, restrictions forced upon him lead to his return to California. Physically badly shaken - a leg is amputated and he is confined to a wheelchair - his career as a producer ends.

He dies in 1966 in Los Angeles, California.

Awards

• 1953 German Film Award for "Nachts auf den Strassen".

• 1955 Golden Globe Award for Best Picture for "Kinder, Muetter, und ein General".

• 1956 Gran-Prix de l'Union de la Critique de Cinéma (UCC) for "Kinder, Muetter, und ein General".

References

• The Silent Cinema Reader, edited by Lee Grieveson and Peter Kramer.
• IMDB
• Deutsches Film Institut, article by Laura Bezerra [1]