Karel LamaÄ
Karel Lamač [ karɛl lamatʃ ] ( born January 27, 1897 in Prague, Austria - Hungary, † August 2, 1952 in Hamburg) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. Add movie titles his name is often referred to as Carl Lamac or Karl Lamac specified.
Life
As the son of an apothecary, he studied pharmacy and was the conductor of an orchestra students. In World War I he served as a front camera man. Like his compatriot and colleague Martin Fric Karel Lamač began in 1918, his film career as an actor. Since 1919 he also directed next to it, was technical director of a film production company and wrote screenplays. In Akord smrti he gave in 1919 alongside co- director Jan Stanislav Kolar his directorial debut. In 1920 he stood in for the first time in Prague Gilly ( Gilly poprvé v Praze ) for the first time with Anna Ondráková ( Anny Ondra ) in front of the camera. Since then he has played in almost all his films together with the grown Comedy Actress in Prague, with the Lamač a time was long married, too, the main role. In 1921 the two founded the Kalos film company. 1924 came as a cameraman Otto Heller and 1926 to the writer Václav Wasserman. This successful team soon became known as " The strong quad ". 1928 celebrated Lamač directed by Martin Fric in Páter Vojtěch a great acting success.
1930 founded Lamač Ondra and his wife in Berlin together a new production company that Ondra - Lamač -Film GmbH, the musical film comedies produced mostly in German language, comparable to the Viennese musical comedies, which appeared at the same time. After the Nazis seized power in Germany in 1933, he turned again are studying abroad, including in Vienna. His films frequently appeared in different language versions for Czechoslovakia and France ( film dubbing was not possible at that time, therefore, had in the early sound era films for different language markets will be re-shot, usually with slightly changed line ). Their first production was the military comedy The Wrong Field Marshal / CaK polní Maršálek / Monsieur le maréchal and published in 1930 / 1931. Otto Heller remains Lamačs preferred cameraman, sometimes Vaclav Vich used. Which has existed since the 1920s, collaboration with screenwriter Václav Wasserman and Martin Fric than occasional actor also continued into the sound era.
After the Nazi accession to the throne in 1933 worsened for Karel Lamač production conditions. In 1938 he withdrew from Germany back and produced only in Czechoslovakia, including one of his most important artistic films, he stood at the cash register (U pokladny Stal, 1939). In 1939 he emigrated to the Netherlands, then through France to the UK. In 1947 he returned again to France. In 1952 he led for the last time in a German film director: The thief of Baghdad, with Sonja Ziemann and Rudolf Prack. A little later, Karel Lamač died after a serious illness of the liver and kidneys.