Anton Pointner
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1579/1, 1927-1828. Photo: Atelier Hanni Schwarz.
Anton Pointner (born December 8, 1890 in Salzburg, died September 8, 1949 in Hintersee, Bavaria), was an Austrian stage and screen actor.
Pointner got his first engagement in Lahr in 1907. His other theatre stations included Pilsen (Plzeň), Düsseldorf (1911) and Brno. He then worked in Vienna and from 1920 in Berlin, for example at the Lessing Theater and the State Theater. His roles included the title character of Hamlet, Melchtal in Wilhelm Tell and Prince Karl-Heinz in Alt-Heidelberg.
While debuting on screen in 1911 in Lebensfreude by Reinhard Bruck, also with Polaire, and produced by Düsseldorfer Film-Manufaktur Ludwig Gottschalk, followed by Bruck's film Halbwelt (1911), Pointner did a few films in Vienna during the First World War. Yet, his film career set off immediately after the war's end. Pointner became one of the favourite actors of actress Ellen Richter, with whom he acted in the episode films Die Abenteurerin von Monte Carlo (Adolf Gärtner, 1921), Die Frau met den Millionen (Willi Wolff, 1922-23), and Der Flug um den Erdball (Willi Wolff, 1924-25), as well as the single films Kopf hoch, Charly! (Ludwig Wolff, 1926) and Die Frau ohne Nerven (Willi Wolff, 1929). Around 1923 Pointner acted in several films by Friedrich Zelnik, in the mid-1920s also in films of e.g. the Dutch emigré directors Theo Frenkel (Frauenmoral, 1923) and Jaap Speyer (Liebeshandel, 1926). He co-acted with many female stars of Weimar cinema such as Ruth Weyher, Liane and Grit Haid, Magda Sonja, Anita Dorris, Claire Rommer, Maria Jacobini, Carmen Boni, Mary Carr, Lya De Putti, Asta Nielsen, Henny Porten, and many others. The athletic actor embodied powerful, robust characters in mostly supporting roles, as Count Leicester in Maria Stuart (Friedrich Fehér, 1927) and Frederick the Great's son and heir Friedrich Wilhelm in Der alte Fritz (Gerhard Lamprecht 1927-28).
In 1930-31 Pointner went to Hollywood and starred in German versions of American films, most of which were directed by William/ Wilhelm Dieterle. Pointner thus acted e.g. in Die heilige Flamme (Wilhelm Dieterle, Berthold Viertel, 1931), the German version of The Sacred Flame, and Menschen hinter Gittern (Pál Fejös, 1931), the German-language version of The Big House. Returning to Germany in 1931 he easily started in the new sound film industry, e.g. in Trenck (Heinz Paul, Ernst Neubach, 1932), and Ich bei Tag und Du bei Nacht (Ludwig Berger, 1932). At the time of the Third Reich in Germany, Pointner continued to be used in numerous productions such as the comedy Saison in Kairo (1933) with Renate Müller and Willy Fritsch, and he portrayed e.g. the Austrian Emperor Franz I in the 1936 Fridericus Rex film, starring Otto Gebühr. In 1939 he was briefly at the Cinecittà studios in Rome for the shooting of the German-Italian production Castelli in aria by Augusto Genina, starring Lilian Harvey and Vittorio De Sica. After an intermission at the war's end, Pointner continued his film acting in 1948. During a trip to Hintersee near Berchtesgaden, Anton Pointner died of a heart attack on September 8, 1949. His body was buried on September 12, 1949, in the Salzburg municipal cemetery. His last three films were released after his death. All in all, he acted in 181 films.
Sources: IMDb, German Wikipedia, Filmportal.
Anton Pointner
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1579/1, 1927-1828. Photo: Atelier Hanni Schwarz.
Anton Pointner (born December 8, 1890 in Salzburg, died September 8, 1949 in Hintersee, Bavaria), was an Austrian stage and screen actor.
Pointner got his first engagement in Lahr in 1907. His other theatre stations included Pilsen (Plzeň), Düsseldorf (1911) and Brno. He then worked in Vienna and from 1920 in Berlin, for example at the Lessing Theater and the State Theater. His roles included the title character of Hamlet, Melchtal in Wilhelm Tell and Prince Karl-Heinz in Alt-Heidelberg.
While debuting on screen in 1911 in Lebensfreude by Reinhard Bruck, also with Polaire, and produced by Düsseldorfer Film-Manufaktur Ludwig Gottschalk, followed by Bruck's film Halbwelt (1911), Pointner did a few films in Vienna during the First World War. Yet, his film career set off immediately after the war's end. Pointner became one of the favourite actors of actress Ellen Richter, with whom he acted in the episode films Die Abenteurerin von Monte Carlo (Adolf Gärtner, 1921), Die Frau met den Millionen (Willi Wolff, 1922-23), and Der Flug um den Erdball (Willi Wolff, 1924-25), as well as the single films Kopf hoch, Charly! (Ludwig Wolff, 1926) and Die Frau ohne Nerven (Willi Wolff, 1929). Around 1923 Pointner acted in several films by Friedrich Zelnik, in the mid-1920s also in films of e.g. the Dutch emigré directors Theo Frenkel (Frauenmoral, 1923) and Jaap Speyer (Liebeshandel, 1926). He co-acted with many female stars of Weimar cinema such as Ruth Weyher, Liane and Grit Haid, Magda Sonja, Anita Dorris, Claire Rommer, Maria Jacobini, Carmen Boni, Mary Carr, Lya De Putti, Asta Nielsen, Henny Porten, and many others. The athletic actor embodied powerful, robust characters in mostly supporting roles, as Count Leicester in Maria Stuart (Friedrich Fehér, 1927) and Frederick the Great's son and heir Friedrich Wilhelm in Der alte Fritz (Gerhard Lamprecht 1927-28).
In 1930-31 Pointner went to Hollywood and starred in German versions of American films, most of which were directed by William/ Wilhelm Dieterle. Pointner thus acted e.g. in Die heilige Flamme (Wilhelm Dieterle, Berthold Viertel, 1931), the German version of The Sacred Flame, and Menschen hinter Gittern (Pál Fejös, 1931), the German-language version of The Big House. Returning to Germany in 1931 he easily started in the new sound film industry, e.g. in Trenck (Heinz Paul, Ernst Neubach, 1932), and Ich bei Tag und Du bei Nacht (Ludwig Berger, 1932). At the time of the Third Reich in Germany, Pointner continued to be used in numerous productions such as the comedy Saison in Kairo (1933) with Renate Müller and Willy Fritsch, and he portrayed e.g. the Austrian Emperor Franz I in the 1936 Fridericus Rex film, starring Otto Gebühr. In 1939 he was briefly at the Cinecittà studios in Rome for the shooting of the German-Italian production Castelli in aria by Augusto Genina, starring Lilian Harvey and Vittorio De Sica. After an intermission at the war's end, Pointner continued his film acting in 1948. During a trip to Hintersee near Berchtesgaden, Anton Pointner died of a heart attack on September 8, 1949. His body was buried on September 12, 1949, in the Salzburg municipal cemetery. His last three films were released after his death. All in all, he acted in 181 films.
Sources: IMDb, German Wikipedia, Filmportal.