Willi Forst

Willi Forst

Known for: Acting
Biography: 1903-04-07
Deathday: 1980-08-11 (77 years old)

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Biography

Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs (7 April 1903 – 11 August 1980) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer. As a debonair actor he was a darling of the German-speaking film audiences, as a director, one of the most significant makers of the Viennese period musical melodramas and comedies of the 1930s known as Wiener Filme. From the mid-1930s he also recorded many records, largely of sentimental Viennese songs, for the Odeon Records label owned by Carl Lindström AG. His first major role was opposite Marlene Dietrich in the silent film Café Elektric in 1927. However, he was best known for his characters in light musicals, which rapidly made him a star. He developed the genre of the Viennese Film with writer Walter Reisch in the 1930s, beginning with the Franz Schubert melodrama Leise flehen meine Lieder (1933) which became an iconic role for the actor Hans Jaray and Maskerade (1934), which launched his fame as a significant director and brought Paula Wessely to international fame. He founded his own film company, Willi Forst-Film, in 1937 and considered a move to Hollywood the same year.

Following the annexation of Austria in 1938, he was much courted by the National Socialists but succeeded in avoiding overt political statement, concentrating entirely on the opulent period musical entertainment for which he was famous and which was much in demand during World War II. During the seven-year Nazi rule in Austria, he only made six films, none of them political (although his ardent Vienna-Austrian topos is considered subversive of pan-German Nazism by many film historians), which are considered among his finest and classics of the Viennese Film genre.

He had comparatively little success after the war except for the film The Sinner (1951) starring Hildegard Knef, which became a scandal because of the protests of the Roman Catholic church against its nudity, rare in contemporary German-speaking cinema, but which subsequently attracted an audience of seven million people. He gave international actress Senta Berger her first role in 1957 and that same year directed his last film (Vienna, City of My Dreams), after which he retired from the industry, suggesting that his style was no longer in demand.

Forst is today considered one of Europe's important early sound directors. After the death of his wife in 1973, he lived a reclusive life in the Swiss canton of Ticino. He died of cancer in Vienna in 1980 and is buried in Neustift am Walde.

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Filmography

all 70

Movies 70

Director 17

Producer 5

Writer 4

self 1

Director
Vienna, City of My Dreams

Vienna, City of My Dreams (1957)

Movie
Director
Die unentschuldigte Stunde

Die unentschuldigte Stunde (1957)

Movie
Director
Kaiserjäger

Kaiserjäger (1956)

Movie
Director
The Three from the Filling Station

The Three from the Filling Station (1956)

Movie
Producer
Three from the Gasoline Station

Three from the Gasoline Station (1955)

Movie
Alexander von Barender
Ein Mann vergißt die Liebe

Ein Mann vergißt die Liebe (1955)

Movie
Clemens Monti
Weg in die Vergangenheit

Weg in die Vergangenheit (1954)

Movie
Director
Dieses Lied bleibt bei dir

Dieses Lied bleibt bei dir (1954)

Movie
Regisseur
It Was Always So Nice with You

It Was Always So Nice with You (1954)

Movie
Director
The White Horse Inn

The White Horse Inn (1952)

Movie
Writer
I Can't Marry Everyone

I Can't Marry Everyone (1952)

Movie
Bobby Sanders
Miracles Still Happen

Miracles Still Happen (1951)

Movie
Director
Die Sünderin

Die Sünderin (1951)

Movie
Producer
Das Kuckucksei

Das Kuckucksei (1950)

Movie
Carl Michael Ziehrer
Vienna Girls

Vienna Girls (1949)

Movie
Executive Producer
Die Frau am Weg

Die Frau am Weg (1948)

Movie
Self - film scenes (archive footage)
Leckerbissen

Leckerbissen (1948)

Movie
Producer
Der Hofrat Geiger

Der Hofrat Geiger (1947)

Movie
Writer
Yuvamı Yıkamazsın

Yuvamı Yıkamazsın (1947)

Movie
Producer
Hundstage

Hundstage (1944)

Movie
Director
Frauen sind keine Engel

Frauen sind keine Engel (1943)

Movie
Director
Viennese Spirit

Viennese Spirit (1942)

Movie
Franz Jauner
Operette

Operette (1940)

Movie
Sebastian Ott / Ludwig Ott
Ich bin Sebastian Ott

Ich bin Sebastian Ott (1939)

Movie
George Duroy / Bel Ami
Bel Ami

Bel Ami (1939)

Movie
Gast
The Stars Shine

The Stars Shine (1938)

Movie
Director
Serenade

Serenade (1937)

Movie
Writer
Love in Stunt Flying

Love in Stunt Flying (1937)

Movie
Director
Burg Theatre

Burg Theatre (1936)

Movie
Director
Allotria

Allotria (1936)

Movie
Director
Berlin Reichshauptstadt 1936

Berlin Reichshauptstadt 1936 (1936)

Movie
Director
Mazurka

Mazurka (1935)

Movie
Graf Ferdinand von Tettenbach
The Royal Waltz

The Royal Waltz (1935)

Movie
Writer
Escapade

Escapade (1935)

Movie
Franz, Duke of Modena
So Ended a Great Love

So Ended a Great Love (1934)

Movie
Dr. André Lenz
Her Highness the Saleswoman

Her Highness the Saleswoman (1934)

Movie
Director
Masquerade in Vienna

Masquerade in Vienna (1934)

Movie
Director
Unfinished Symphony

Unfinished Symphony (1934)

Movie
Robert Ottmar
I don't know you and I love you

I don't know you and I love you (1934)

Movie
Director
Lover Divine

Lover Divine (1933)

Movie
Herr von Haller, Rennfahrer
The Burning Secret

The Burning Secret (1933)

Movie
Paul Hartwig
A Girl You Don't Forget

A Girl You Don't Forget (1933)

Movie
Willy II
A Blonde Dream

A Blonde Dream (1932)

Movie
Der Prinz von Arkadien
The Prince of Arcadia

The Prince of Arcadia (1932)

Movie
Peter Voß
Peter Voss, Thief of Millions

Peter Voss, Thief of Millions (1932)

Movie
Vicenzo Peruggia
The Theft of the Mona Lisa

The Theft of the Mona Lisa (1931)

Movie
Augustin Tuschinger - Tanzlehrer
The Merry Wives of Vienna

The Merry Wives of Vienna (1931)

Movie
Carry Clips, ein Festredner
The Darling of Vienna

The Darling of Vienna (1930)

Movie
Ulrich Weidenau
The Song Is Over

The Song Is Over (1930)

Movie
Robert Dahlberg
A boy song from Heidelberg

A boy song from Heidelberg (1930)

Movie
Jimmy Bolt, ein unberühmter Jazzsänger
A Tango for You

A Tango for You (1930)

Movie
Vicky Mahler - Librettist
Two Hearts in Waltz Time

Two Hearts in Waltz Time (1930)

Movie
Baron van Geldern
Dangers of the Engagement

Dangers of the Engagement (1930)

Movie
Manopulos
The Convict from Istanbul

The Convict from Istanbul (1929)

Movie
Picard
Die Frau, die jeder liebt, bist du!

Die Frau, die jeder liebt, bist du! (1929)

Movie
Oberleutnant Mellnitz
Fräulein Fähnrich

Fräulein Fähnrich (1929)

Movie
Dr. Schindler
Katharina Knie

Katharina Knie (1929)

Movie
Laroux
Liebfraumilch

Liebfraumilch (1929)

Movie
Angestellter Rigault
The Blue Mouse

The Blue Mouse (1928)

Movie
Actor
Unfug der Liebe

Unfug der Liebe (1928)

Movie
Solm von Kompaß
A Better Master

A Better Master (1928)

Movie
Paul Grumbach, Ellis Vetter
Amor auf Ski

Amor auf Ski (1928)

Movie
Roland
The Happy Vagabonds

The Happy Vagabonds (1928)

Movie
Fredl
Cafe Electric

Cafe Electric (1927)

Movie
Der Lehrer
The Eleven Devils

The Eleven Devils (1927)

Movie
Peperl / Erzherzog Franz Ludwig
Die 3 Niemandskinder

Die 3 Niemandskinder (1927)

Movie
Actor
Strandgut

Strandgut (1924)

Movie
Actor
Lieb' mich und die Welt ist mein

Lieb' mich und die Welt ist mein (1923)

Movie
Actor
Oh, du lieber Augustin

Oh, du lieber Augustin (1922)

Movie
extra
Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah (1922)

Movie

Ratings

Average 4.74
Based on 4.37 Thousand movie and tv ratings over time
1922
1930
1934
1931
1957
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Information

Known For
Acting

Gender
Male

Birthday
1903-04-07

Deathday
1980-08-11 (77 years old)

Birth Name
Wilhelm Anton Frohs

Birth Place
Vienna, Austria

Citizenships
Austria

Awards
German Film Award


This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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