Where is Fritz Lang now? Relationship, Nationality, Ethnicity

Known for movies

Short Info

Died	August 2, 1976, Beverly Hills, California, United States
Spouse	Lily Latte, Thea von Harbou, Lisa Rosenthal
Mark	All his films feature a shot of his hand
Fact	Prior to World War I he had a keen interest in art. He often visited the Academy of Graphic Arts in Vienna and spent 1913 and 1914 as an artist in Paris, France.

Fritz Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing such films as Metropolis (1927), M (1931), and The Big Heat (1953).

Lang was born in Vienna, Austria, to Anton Lang, a construction company owner, and his wife Pauline Schlesinger. He had two younger sisters, Lili and Berta. His father died when Fritz was only nine years old, and his mother remarried soon after.

Lang began his career as a painter and architect, but he soon turned to film. He started out working as an assistant director on various German films. In 1920, he made his directorial debut with the film Der müde Tod (The Weary Death).

Lang quickly gained a reputation as a talented and innovative director. In 1923, he directed the film Die Nibelungen, a two-part epic based on the Germanic saga of the same name. The film was a critical and commercial success, and it cemented Lang’s reputation as a master filmmaker.

In 1927, Lang directed Metropolis, a science fiction film set in a future city where the rich and powerful live in luxury while the poor toil in the depths of the earth. The film was a massive success, and it is now considered a classic of the genre.

In 1931, Lang directed M, a crime thriller about a child murderer who is hunted by the police. The film was a critical and commercial success, and it cemented Lang’s reputation as a master of suspense.

In 1933, Lang emigrated to the United States due to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. He continued to make films in Hollywood, including such classics as The Woman in the Window (1944) and The Big Heat (1953).

Lang retired from filmmaking in 1966. He died in 1976 at the age of 85.

Lang was one of the most influential filmmakers of his era. His films are noted for their innovative visuals and their themes of social injustice and human frailty.

General Info

Full Name	Fritz Lang
Died	August 2, 1976, Beverly Hills, California, United States
Height	1.83 m
Profession	Actor, Film director, Film producer, Screenwriter, Film Editor, Cabaret Artist
Education	TU Wien

Family

Spouse	Lily Latte, Thea von Harbou, Lisa Rosenthal
Parents	Anton Lang, Pauline Lang
Siblings	Adolf Lang

Accomplishments

Awards	German Film Award - Honorary Award, International Critics Award for Feature Films – Special Mention
Movies	Metropolis, M, Scarlet Street, Destiny, The Big Heat, Fury, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Woman in the Moon, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, You Only Live Once, The Woman in the Window, Hangmen Also Die!, Spione, The Indian Tomb, Die Nibelungen: Siegfried, Man Hunt, The Tiger of Eschnapur, Beyond a Reasonabl...

Social profile links

IMDB	http://imdb.com/name/nm0000485

Marks

#	Marks / Signs
1	His films are dark (both visually and in tone)
2	His protagonists are frequently hateful, violent but ultimately sympathetic figures
3	Usually wore a monocle, and probably only for dramatic effect
4	All his films feature a shot of his hand

Quotes

#	Quote
1	To begin with I should say that I am a visual person. I experience with my eyes and never, or only rarely, with my ear--to my constant regret.
2	[asked in a 1975 interview if he ever met Raoul Walsh] I never traveled around meeting other directors. I wasn't haughty in this respect. It is just that all my life I have been so involved in my work that I guess one could say in general that, whenever I had to balance my private life and my profession, my profession always won out.
3	In America sex is preached, in France it is done.
4	[on Edward G. Robinson] Each part he plays, he enriches with deep and warm understanding of human frailties and compels us to pity rather than condemnation, always adding vivid color to the intricate mosaic of motion picture reality.
5	[on Erich von Stroheim] In my opinion, there were only two directors in Hollywood who made films without regard to box-office success: Von Stroheim and myself.
6	I do not like producers.
7	There was a time when all I looked for was a good story, but nowadays everything has to look like the size of Mount Rushmore, and the actors in close- up look as though they belong there.
8	Each picture has some sort of rhythm which only the director can give it. He has to be like the captain of a ship.
9	[about CinemaScope] It's only good for funerals and snakes.

Facts

#	Fact
1	Although he was losing his eyesight by the time he directed his last film, "The Thousand Eyes Of Dr. Mabuse", he did try to initiate subsequent projects for a few years, including an original screenplay by himself designed as a vehicle for Jeanne Moreau and a version of John Le Carre's novel, "A Murder Of Quality", which he discussed with the author.
2	Prior to World War I he had a keen interest in art. He often visited the Academy of Graphic Arts in Vienna and spent 1913 and 1914 as an artist in Paris, France.
3	In 1918 he met producer Erich Pommer in Berlin, who hired him as an actor and scriptwriter.
4	After he left Germany he made several pictures in France, then went to England and finally the US. It was there he helped found the Anti-Nazi League.
5	He was quite unhappy when a scene didn't come out exactly the way he wanted it to, and would often take out his frustrations on his cast and crew.
6	Unlike many silent-era directors, he welcomed the advent of sound, but didn't rush into it--while the sound era is generally agreed to have started in 1927, he didn't make a sound film until 1931, but it was one of his finest--M (1931). The film, a dark tale about a pedophile who molests and murders a little girl, was a smash international hit and made a star out of its lead, Peter Lorre. The film was especially meaningful to German audiences because of the recent cases of two serial-killing pedophiles, Peter Kurten and Fritz Haarman.
7	He was known in Berlin as something of a "man of the world", and was often seen wearing a monocle, which was fashionable in those days.
8	Despite his reputation as somewhat of a bully and tyrant while filming, he would often arrive on set at 7:00 am and stay until 11:00 pm or even later.
9	Lang made only a few movies in the 1920s compared to other German directors, but the relative few he made are considered classics of film history.
10	After a journey to America Lang returned to Germany to make what is probably his most famous work, Metropolis (1927). It was on this film that Lang acquired the reputation for being a "tyrant" on the set (even in the 1940s, long after he had settled in the US, many actors and actresses in Hollywood would refuse to work for him because of his abusive behavior on set).
11	In 1933 Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels invited Lang to his office for a talk. Goebbels offered him the leadership of the German movie business. Lang told him he would need to think it over, and when he left the meeting he went directly to the train station and hopped a train to Paris, France.
12	After the outbreak of World War I he volunteered for the Austro-Hungarian army and was sent to the front of Russia, Rumania and Italy, where he was wounded several times. He was awarded several medals for bravery. During his time in the military hospital he wrote his first scripts and one of them was very probably realized for the Stuart-Webbs serial of director Joe May After 1917 May adapted several of Lang's scripts for Das rollende Hotel (1918), the follow-up to the successful "Joe Deebs" serial Sein schwierigster Fall (1915).
13	He claims to have invented "the countdown" for dramatic purposes in his film Woman in the Moon (1929). His use of countdown is the first ever recorded, inspiring real life rocket launch sequences.
14	When he decided to leave Germany in 1933, his wife Thea von Harbou divorced him. She remained in Germany and made propaganda films for the Nazi regime.
15	Lang dubbed Peter Lorre's whistling in M (1931). He felt his off-key whistling was right for the character.
16	Producer Erich Pommer offered Lang The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), but the director felt the film's expressionistic style would not be understood by audiences. Instead he did Die Spinnen, 2. Teil - Das Brillantenschiff (1920), the last part of "The Spiders".
17	Lang was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Army during WW I in 1915. As a lieutenant in Italy he was wounded in the shoulder, for which he was decorated.
18	An extensive interview with Peter Bogdanovich resulted in a book, "Fritz Lang in America" published by Praesger in 1967.
19	Learned to speak French and English as an adult in addition to his native German.
20	His second wife, Thea von Harbou, divorced him after finding some evidence of his intimate relationship with Lily Latte, who was his contact in Paris during his visits and then his stay in France. Lilly was also married, and also divorced shortly after, having lived with Lang and serving as his personal assistant, from 1931-71, when they were married.
21	His films, particularly his earlier work, were hugely influential and he was cited as influencing the work of directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Luis Buñuel and Orson Welles.
22	Interviewed in Peter Bogdanovich's "Who the Devil Made It: Conversations With Robert Aldrich, George Cukor, Allan Dwan, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Chuck Jones, Fritz Lang, Joseph H. Lewis, Sidney Lumet, Leo McCarey, Otto Preminger, Don Siegel, Josef von Sternberg, Frank Tashlin, Edgar G. Ulmer, Raoul Walsh." NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.
23	Was nearly blind at the time of his death.
24	Collected primitive art.
25	Second son of Anton Lang, an architect, and Pauline Schlesinger.
26	An animated version of Lang appeared in the Japanese animated movie "Full Metal Alchemist: Conquerors of Shamballa" (Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa (2005)). Originally mistaken by Edward Elric as being one of the Homonculi from his own world, this animated Lang aided Edward in his quest to return home. He was voiced by Hidekatsu Shibata.
27	President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1964.
28	His first wife, Lisa Rosenthal, committed suicide by shooting herself in the chest. It was rumoured that she did this after finding her husband in a compromising situation with Thea von Harbou.
29	Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945." Pages 609-624. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
30	Was voted the 30th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
31	Both in Germany and the United States, he was one of the most personally disliked directors around, a fact that hurt him at times in Hollywood because some actresses and actors would refuse to work with him.
32	As a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I--he was an Austrian, not German as is commonly believed--he fought in Russia and Rumania, where he was wounded three times. He also fought in Italy, where he was also wounded, and wound up being commissioned as a lieutenant (he enlisted as a private).
33	Before his death in 1976, he planned to make a film about the hippie culture.
34	Interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California, USA, in the Enduring Faith section, just to the right of plot #3818, two in from the curb.
35	According to Lang himself, on 25 March 1933, two days after Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933) had been banned, he was summoned to the Nazi Ministry of Propaganda to meet with Joseph Goebbels himself. Goebbels explained the reason for the ban (the Nazi party slogans are fed into the mouth of the villain at the film's conclusion) and apologized to Lang. He then shocked Lang by offering him the position of production supervisor at the UFA studios, where his first film would be a biography of Wilhelm Tell. Lang claims he suspected a trap and attempted to throw off Goebbels by telling him, "My mother had Jewish parents," to which Goebbels responded, "We'll decide who's Jewish!" Lang then expressed interest in the position and said he needed some time to think it over. He describes how he looked at a clock and how during the entire meeting all he could think about was leaving as soon as possible so he could get to the bank and flee with all of his money. Lang says he didn't get there in time so he sold his wife's jewelry, boarded a train to Paris that same evening, leaving most of his money and personal possessions behind, along with his wife, Thea von Harbou, who divorced him later that year and went on to write and direct films for the Nazi propaganda machine. This story is possibly exaggerated by Lang for dramatic effect because there is evidence he left weeks after that.
36	Dorothy Parker once remarked, in reference to Lang's wife's "campaigning" for his career, "There's a man who got where he is by the sweat of his Frau."

Pictures

Movies

Director

Title	Year	Status
Journey to the Lost City	1960
The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse	1960
The Indian Tomb	1959
Der Tiger von Eschnapur	1959
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt	1956
While the City Sleeps	1956
Moonfleet	1955
Human Desire	1954
The Big Heat	1953
The Blue Gardenia	1953
Clash by Night	1952
Rancho Notorious	1952
American Guerrilla in the Philippines	1950
House by the River	1950
Secret Beyond the Door...	1947
Cloak and Dagger	1946
Scarlet Street	1945
Ministry of Fear	1944
The Woman in the Window	1944
Hangmen Also Die!	1943
Moontide	1942	uncredited
Confirm or Deny	1941	uncredited
Man Hunt	1941
Western Union	1941
The Return of Frank James	1940
You and Me	1938
You Only Live Once	1937
Fury	1936
Liliom	1934
The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse	1933
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse	1933
M	1931
Woman in the Moon	1929
Spies	1928
Metropolis	1927
Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache	1924
Die Nibelungen: Siegfried	1924
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler	1922
Der müde Tod	1921
Vier um die Frau	1921
Das wandernde Bild	1920
Die Spinnen, 2. Teil - Das Brillantenschiff	1920
Harakiri	1919
Die Spinnen, 1. Teil - Der Goldene See	1919
Der Herr der Liebe	1919
Halbblut	1919

Writer

Title	Year	Status
Metropolis	2001	film: "Metropolis" - uncredited
Grande Teatro Tupi	1963	TV Series 1 episode
Journey to the Lost City	1960
The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse	1960	screenplay
The Indian Tomb	1959	uncredited
Der Tiger von Eschnapur	1959	uncredited
El vampiro negro	1953	film "M"
M	1951	original screenplay - uncredited
Hangmen Also Die!	1943	adaptation - original story
Fury	1936	screen play
Liliom	1934	uncredited
The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse	1933	scenario
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse	1933	writer
M	1931	script
Woman in the Moon	1929	screenplay
Spies	1928	writer
Metropolis	1927	screenplay - uncredited
Die Nibelungen: Siegfried	1924
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler	1922
Mysteries of India, Part I: Truth	1921	scenario
Der müde Tod	1921
Vier um die Frau	1921	written by
Mysteries of India, Part II: Above All Law	1921	scenario
Das wandernde Bild	1920
Die Spinnen, 2. Teil - Das Brillantenschiff	1920
Die Herrin der Welt 8. Teil - Die Rache der Maud Fergusson	1920
Die Frau mit den Orchideen	1919	writer
Die Rache ist mein	1919/I
Lilith and Ly	1919	writer
Wolkenbau und Flimmerstern	1919	writer
Der Totentanz	1919	writer
Die Pest in Florenz	1919
Die Spinnen, 1. Teil - Der Goldene See	1919	writer
Bettler GmbH	1919	writer
Halbblut	1919	writer
Die Hochzeit im Excentricclub	1917
Hilde Warren und der Tod	1917
Die Peitsche	1917

Producer

Title	Year	Status
The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse	1960	producer - uncredited
Secret Beyond the Door...	1947	producer
Scarlet Street	1945	producer
Hangmen Also Die!	1943	producer
You and Me	1938	producer
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse	1933	producer
Woman in the Moon	1929	producer

Actor

Title	Year	Status	Character
Contempt	1963		Fritz Lang
Bande-annonce de 'Le mépris'	1963	Short
Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Goes a Fishin'	1956	Short	Fritz Lang
Der Herr der Liebe	1919

Assistant Director

Title	Year	Status	Character
The Mistress of the World, Part Three: The City of Gold	1919	assistant director
Mistress of the World, Number Two: The Race for Life	1919	assistant director

Editor

Title	Year	Status	Character
Der müde Tod	1921

Thanks

Title	Year	Status
Boy 7	2015/II	thanks
Jönssonligan & den svarta diamanten	1992	dedicatee - as Lang
Alice or the Last Escapade	1977	in memory of

Self

Title	Year	Status	Character
Fritz Lang Interviewed by William Friedkin	1975	Documentary	Himself
Die schweren Träume des Fritz Lang	1974	TV Movie documentary
75 Years of Cinema Museum	1972	Documentary	Himself
Zum Beispiel: Fritz Lang	1968	Documentary short	Himself
Um uns die Fremde - Die Vertreibung des Geistes 1933-1945	1967	TV Mini-Series documentary	Himself
Cinéastes de notre temps	1967	TV Series documentary	Himself
Paparazzi	1964	Short	Himself (uncredited)
Reflets de Cannes	1964	TV Series documentary	Himself
Encounter with Fritz Lang	1964	Short	Himself
Das war die UFA	1964	TV Series documentary	Himself
Le Parti des choses: Bardot et Godard	1964	Short	Himself
Das Künstlerporträt	1959	TV Series documentary	Himself
This Is Your Life	1955	TV Series	Himself
Der Film im Film	1925	Documentary	Himself

Archive Footage

Title	Year	Status	Character
Die Öscars	2016	TV Mini-Series documentary	Himself
Von Caligari zu Hitler: Das deutsche Kino im Zeitalter der Massen	2014	Documentary	Himself
Cinéphiles de notre temps	2012	TV Series documentary	Himself
Das Erbe der Nibelungen	2011	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Die Reise nach Metropolis	2010	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Deux de la Vague	2010	Documentary	Himself
Il était une fois...	2009	TV Series documentary	Himself
Deutsche Lebensläufe	2007	TV Series documentary	Himself
Un écran nommé désir	2006	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Filmmakers in Action	2005	Documentary	Himself (uncredited)
Mabuses Motive	2004	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Fritz Lang, le cercle du destin - Les films allemands	2004	TV Movie documentary	Himself
American Experience	2004	TV Series documentary	Himself
Der Fall Metropolis	2003	Video documentary	Himself
Das Jahrhundert des Theaters	2002	TV Series	Himself
Universal Horror	1998	TV Movie documentary	Himself
Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood	1995	TV Mini-Series documentary	Himself
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies	1995	TV Movie documentary	Himself (uncredited)
Die UFA	1992	Documentary
The Exiles	1989	Documentary	Himself
Filmemigration aus Nazideutschland	1975	TV Series documentary	Himself
World Cinema	1973	TV Series	Himself - Subject

Awards

Won Awards

Year	Award	Ceremony	Nomination	Movie
2009	OFTA Film Hall of Fame	Online Film & Television Association	Creative
1976	Life Career Award	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
1963	Honorary Award	German Film Awards		For his continued outstanding individual contributions to the german film over the years. Fritz ... More
1960	Star on the Walk of Fame	Walk of Fame	Motion Picture	On 8 February 1960. At 1600 Vine Street.
1946	International Critics Award - Special Mention	Venice Film Festival	Feature Films	Hangmen Also Die! (1943)