Mauritz Stiller

Mauritz Stiller ( born July 17, 1883 in Helsinki, † November 18, 1928 in Stockholm ) was a Russian- Swedish director and screenwriter. He is considered the discoverer and mentor of Greta Garbo.

Life

He was born with the name Moshe Stiller as the son of Russian Jews in Helsinki. 1899, at the age of 16, he had already worked in Helsinki on popular theater as an actor. After a spectacle commitment in 1903 in Sweden, he was employed until 1911 in Finnish theaters. In that year he was appointed head of the Stockholm " Lilla teatern ". In March 1912 he was offered the film company Svenska Bio to a contract with an initial term of three years and Stiller began his career as a film director, screenwriter and actor. He took as his work at the Danish film, which was one of the leading productions in Europe at that time. It was only from 1916 succeeded Stiller but to find from trashy liable Trivial film thematically and artistically demanding works. An early example of this is his film Icarus, resulting a 1916 adaptation of the novel by Michael Herman Bang. In addition to the already established Victor Sjöström to Stiller's name evolved in the following years, the trademark for the artistic quality Swedish silent film of the late 1910s and early 1920s. While Sjöström rather dramatic substances chose Stiller was considered directing talent for comedy. Both had been discovered and promoted by the film producer and pioneer of the Swedish film industry, Charles Magnusson.

In 1919, a series of literary adaptations in Sweden. Stiller turned first Song of the glowing flower to John Linnakoski and presented as previously Sjöström in mountain Eyvind and his wife, the rugged nature of the North and the troubles of the people with her in the center. When his first masterpiece is now the 1919 film adaptation of Selma Lagerlof resulting novel Herr Arne's Treasure. However, the author of the template was not satisfied with the result and refused further cooperation with Stiller.

1920 succeeded Mauritz Stiller in the comedy Erotikon an innovation in the field of narrative technique in the film, which was imitated later, among others, Ernst Lubitsch. Stiller was funny scenes play seriously, reaching a " falling apart " of text and image, the display of irony allowed and offered an ingenious alternative to the prevailing slapstick.

With Johan Stiller came back in 1921 to landscape emphasized literary adaptation; the story about people in the far reaches of Lapland for a book by Juhani Aho was again filmed by Aki Kaurismäki 1999 in the style of a silent film as Juha. After The manor Saga (1923 ), another film adaptation Lagerlöf Stiller, the writer tried in vain to prevent Mauritz Stiller as a director of the film adaptation of her novel Gösta Berling. For Gosta Berling, his last film in Sweden, he worked together with Sjöström cameraman Julius Jaenzon and dedication to the unknown young actress Greta Gustafson, which adopted the stage name Greta Garbo to be working towards. The film with its strong outer drama regarded as the last highlight of the Swedish silent film.

The success of this movie brought Garbo and initially a contract with a German film company Trianon, the per film promised to him to him a salary of 150,000 Reichsmarks. Garbo received a multi-year contract with a monthly salary of 500 Reichsmarks. The very first project, a film adaptation of the novel The Odalisque by Smolna ( other: The Odalisque of Smolny ) failed ). The contract was terminated and Stiller began to negotiate in parallel with the UFA and the Svensk Industri film to end up close to a contract with the newly formed U.S. company MGM.

Together went Stiller and Garbo 1925 in the USA, but while Garbo was a star, Stiller had disagreements with the filmmakers. The Director of The Temptress with Greta Garbo in the leading role was taken from him in 1926 after a few days. Stiller then went to Paramount, where his friend Erich Pommer had made ​​contact. With the film Hotel Imperial with Pola Negri in the lead role Stiller celebrated a kind of comeback. The critics praised the tight staging of the story and he turned with Negri two more films, but both flopped. Shortly thereafter, Stiller has been withdrawn directed to The Way of All Flesh and he went mid-1928, already seriously ill, back to Sweden. Shortly after his return he died at the age of only 45 years of pleurisy.

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