Hans Albers

• Name — Hans Albers • Birth Name — Hans Philipp August Albers • Born — 22 September 1891 • Birthplace — Hamburg, German Empire • Died — 24 July 1960 • Place of death — Starnberg, West Germany • Years Active — 1918–1960 • Occupation — Actor, singer • Partner — Hansi Burg

• Illustration — Hans Albers in 1922. Hans Albers was born in Hamburg, the son of a butcher, and grew up in the district of St. Georg. He was seriously interested in acting by his late teens and took acting classes without the knowledge of his parents. In 1915 Albers was drafted to serve in the German Army in World War I, but was wounded early on. After his release from the Hospital in Wiesbaden where he had been treated, he performed in the local Residenztheater in comedies, antics and operettas. After the war Albers moved to Berlin, where he found work as a comedic actor in various Weimar-Era Berlin theatres. His breakthrough performance was that of a waiter in the play Verbrecher (Criminals). It was also in Berlin that Albers began a long-term relationship with Jewish actress Hansi Burg (1898–1975). Their relationship ended only when he died in 1960. After roles in over one hundred silent films, Albers starred in the first German talkie Die Nacht gehört uns (The Night Belongs to Us) in 1929. Soon thereafter, Albers played big-mouthed strong man Mazeppa alongside Marlene Dietrich in her star-making classic Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel). Albers himself shot to fame in 1930 with the movie The Copper and constantly enhanced his star status with similar daredevil roles in the 1930s. He was probably at his best when teamed-up with fellow German movie legend Heinz Rühmann, as in Bombs on Monte Carlo (1931) and Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war (1937). Many of Albers' songs from his movies became huge hits and some even remain popular to this day.

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Albers and his Jewish girlfriend Hansi Burg moved to Lake Starnberg in Bavaria. They married in 1934 and Albers' contract with UFA was cancelled. While Albers himself never showed public support for the Nazi regime, he became the most popular actor under Nazi rule. The actor nevertheless avoided an overly close association in public. As the ultimate sign of his popularity, the Nazis even silently accepted his relationship with Hansi Burg for a long time. But Albers finally gave in to pressure. Hansi Burg went to Switzerland and then to Great Britain in 1939, but they secretly remained a couple with him even managing to send her financial support. They were reunited after the war, when she returned to Germany in a British uniform. In 1943, Albers was paid a huge sum of money to star in UFA's big-budgeted anniversary picture Münchhausen but was careful not to give the impression that he was endorsing the National Socialist regime, which was indeed never asked of him. Also in 1943, Albers starred in another classic German film Große Freiheit Nr. 7 with actress Ilse Werner. Some of the scenes are said to have been shot in Prague because of bomb damage to Hamburg. The sailing ship Padua used for the outdoor scenes of the film has survived under Soviet and Russian flag until this day as Kruzenshtern.

After World War II Albers was affluent and, on account of his association with Hansi Burg, he avoided the professional ban and financial plight which many actors were facing at that time. Nevertheless, German "heroes" were considered undesirable by the occupation government that wanted to promote its own stars. This accounted for a major hiatus in his career and made him hard to cast. Eventually he found an opening with respectable wisdom-with-age type character parts, and enjoyed some public acclaim, but with these parts he never again enjoyed his huge stardom of the 1930s and early 1940s. By the early 1950s, his age was finally beginning to show and his powerful presence and freshness were almost wholly lost. His decline was exacerbated by his increasing alcoholism during the 1950s. Yet he remained active in movies until the very end.

• Illustration — Grave of Albers at the Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg Hans Albers collapsed during a theater performance with massive internal bleeding and died months later on 24 July 1960 at a sanatorium in Kempfenhausen near Lake Starnberg at the age of 68. He was cremated and subsequently buried at the Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg, the city of his birth.

1931 • Das ist die Liebe der Matrosen (from picture Bomben auf Monte Carlo) • Kind, du brauchst nicht weinen (from picture Der Draufgänger) 1932 • Flieger, grüß' mit mir die Sonne (from picture F. P. 1 antwortet nicht) • Hoppla, jetzt komm' ich (from picture Der Sieger) • Komm' auf die Schaukel, Luise (from stage play Liliom) • Komm und spiel mit mir (from picture Quick) 1933 • "Mein Gorilla hat 'ne Villa im Zoo" (from picture Today Is the Day) 1936 • "In meinem Herzen Schatz, da ist für viele Platz" (from picture Savoy-Hotel 217) 1937 • "Jawohl, meine Herrn" [with Heinz Rühmann] (from picture Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war) 1939 • "Good bye, Jonny" (from picture Wasser für Canitoga) 1944 • "La Paloma" (from picture Große Freiheit Nr. 7) • "Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins" (from picture Große Freiheit Nr. 7) 1952 • "Kleine weiße Möwe" (from picture Käpt'n Bay-Bay) • "Nimm mich mit, Kapitän, auf die Reise" (from picture Käpt'n Bay-Bay) 1954 • "Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins" (from picture Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins) • "Komm auf die Schaukel, Luise" (from picture Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins) 1957 • "Das Herz von St. Pauli" (from picture Das Herz von St. Pauli) 1959 • "Mein Junge, halt die Füße still" (from picture Dreizehn alte Esel)

Hans Albers is recorded as having received Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 and Wound Badge.

• Title — Year — Director — Role — Co-stars • Jahreszeiten des Lebens — 1915 — Franz Hofer — N/A — Frida Richard • Die Tochter der Gräfin Stachowska — 1917 — Otto Rippert — Hella Moja, Werner Krauss • Der Mut zur Sünde — 1918 — Heinrich Bolten-Baeckers and Robert Leffler — Olga Desmond, Guido Schützendorf • Halkas Gelöbnis — 1918 — Alfred Halm — Lya Mara • Das Spitzentuch der Fürstin Wolkowska — 1918 — Robert Reinert — Maria Carmi • Am Scheidewege — 1918 — Alfred Halm — Viktor Heyden — Mady Christians • Liebe und Leben — 1918 — Walter Schmidthässler — N/A — Käthe Haack • Die Dreizehn — 1918 — Alfred Halm — Ferragus — Mady Christians • Irrwege der Liebe — 1918 — Josef Stein — Norman — Margarete Kupfer, Victor Janson • Der Fluch des Nuri — 1918 — Carl Boese — Robert Ley — Hella Thornegg • Das Lied der Colombine — 1918 — Emil Justitz — Hans von Rotfels — Olga Engl • Sadja — 1918 — Adolf Gärtner, Erik Lund — Old Sage — Eva May • A Man's Girlhood — 1919 — Karl Grune — N/A — Lotte Stein, Olga Engl • Die Tochter des Bajazzo — 1919 — Arthur Ullmann — Troubadour — Emil Rameau • Das Tor der Freiheit — 1919 — Walter Schmidthässler — N/A — Margarete Schön • Madeleine — 1919 — Siegfried Philippi — Ria Jende, Olga Engl • The Princess of Urbino — 1919 — Paul Legband — Ria Jende • Lola Montez — 1919 — Rudolf Walther-Fein — Maria Zelenka • The Grand Babylon Hotel — 1920 — E. A. Dupont — Max Landa • Die Schlange mit dem Mädchenkopf — 1920 — Rudolf Walther-Fein — Prince — Ria Jende • Die 999. Nacht — 1920 — Fred Sauer — Nurredin — Erna Morena, Bernhard Goetzke • Berlin W. — 1920 — Manfred Noa — Pretender — Tzwetta Tzatschewa, Meinhart Maur • Die Kronjuwelen des Herzogs von Rochester — 1920 — Paul Legband — N/A — Johannes Riemann, Ria Jende • The Hustler — 1920 — Emil Justitz — Harald Petersen — Anita Berber • The Marquise of O — 1920 — Paul Legband — Marquis of O — Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur • Schieber — 1921 — Manfred Noa — Dr. Paul Grünmeier — Tzwetta Tzatschewa, Hermann Picha • Taschendiebe — 1921 — Emil Justitz — N/A — Erna Morena, Maria Zelenka • Sons of the Night — 1921 — Manfred Noa — Ludwig Rex, Tzwetta Tzatschewa • Die große und die kleine Welt — 1921 — Max Mack — Alfred Abel, Charlotte Ander • Menschenopfer — 1922 — Carl Wilhelm — Alfred Abel, • The Mistress of the King — 1922 — Frederic Zelnik — Erich Kaiser-Titz, Lya Mara • The Testament of Joe Sivers — 1922 — Conrad Wiene — Karl Falkenberg • Lumpaci the Vagabond — 1922 — Carl Wilhelm — Wilhelm Diegelmann, Josefine Dora • Sunken Worlds — 1922 — Siegfried Philippi — Victor Varconi, Ria Jende • The False Dimitri — 1922 — Hans Steinhoff — Count Jaro Lensky — Alfred Abel, Agnes Straub • Irene of Gold — 1923 — Frederic Zelnik — N/A — Olga Engl, Margarete Schlegel • Lyda Ssanin — 1923 — Frederic Zelnik — Carl Auen, Lya Mara • Fräulein Raffke — 1923 — Richard Eichberg — Baron — Werner Krauss, Lee Parry • The Tiger of Circus Farini — 1923 — Uwe Jens Krafft — N/A — Helena Makowska, Hermann Picha • Inge Larsen — 1923 — Hans Steinhoff — Boring Attaché — Henny Porten, Paul Otto • By Order of Pompadour — 1924 — Frederic Zelnik — Count of Riverolle — Lya Mara, Frida Richard • Hunted Men — 1924 — Johannes Riemann — Karl von Behn — Lucy Doraine, Johannes Riemann • Guillotine — 1924 — Guido Parish — Gaston Brieux — Willy Fritsch, Marcella Albani • The Wonderful Adventure — 1924 — Manfred Noa — Henry Valescu — Vilma Bánky, Georg Alexander • The Venus of Montmartre — 1925 — Frederic Zelnik — Tricotin — Lya Mara, Jack Trevor • The Girl with a Patron — 1925 — Max Mack — N/A — Ossi Oswalda and Willy Fritsch • Wood Love — 1925 — Hans Neumann — Demetrius — Werner Krauss, Valeska Gert • Women of Luxury — 1925 — Erich Schönfelder — Kurt von Randow — Lee Parry, Olaf Fjord • The King and the Girl — 1925 — Nunzio Malasomma — Brechard — Luciano Albertini, Evi Eva • Athletes — 1925 — Frederic Zelnik — Count Sternfeld — Asta Nielsen, Gregori Chmara • Semi-Silk — 1925 — Richard Oswald — Alex Bums / Pumm — Valeska Stock, Mary Kid • Upstairs and Downstairs — 1925 — Richard Oswald, Carl Wilhelm — Otto Flaschenhals — Sig Arno, Mary Kid • German Hearts on the German Rhine — 1926 — Fred Sauer — N/A — Gyula Szőreghy, Grete Reinwald • Malice — 1926 — Manfred Noa — Paul Wegener, Olga Chekhova • The Blue Danube — 1926 — Frederic Zelnik — Count Jaromir — Harry Liedtke, Lya Mara • The Prince and the Dancer — 1926 — Richard Eichberg — N/A — Willy Fritsch, Lucy Doraine • Hunted People — 1926 — Nunzio Malasomma — Gordon — Carlo Aldini, Maly Delschaft • The Bank Crash of Unter den Linden — 1926 — Paul Merzbach — Fritz Bellmann — Alfred Abel, Margarete Schlegel • My Friend the Chauffeur — 1926 — Erich Waschneck — Sir Ralph Moray — Ferdinand von Alten, Livio Pavanelli • Kissing Is No Sin — 1926 — Rudolf Walther-Fein, Rudolf Dworsky — N/A — Xenia Desni, Ellen Plessow • Only a Dancing Girl — 1926 — Olof Molander — Restaurant Guest — Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen • Nixchen — 1926 — Kurt Blachy — Lutz von Lonna — Xenia Desni, Harry Liedtke • Wrath of the Seas — 1926 — Manfred Noa — Tim Kreuger — Ágnes Esterházy, Nils Asther • The Trumpets are Blowing — 1926 — Carl Boese — N/A — Anita Dorris, Fritz Spira • Department Store Princess — 1926 — Heinz Paul — Hella Moja, Paul Graetz • The Laughing Husband — 1926 — Rudolf Walther-Fein, Rudolf Dworsky — Count Balthasar Selztal — Livio Pavanelli, Elisabeth Pinajeff • Darling, Count the Cash — 1926 — Felix Basch — Theophil — Sig Arno, Ossi Oswalda • The Three Mannequins — 1926 — Jaap Speyer — Impostor — Anton Pointner, Lydia Potechina • The Fallen — 1926 — Rudolf Walther-Fein, Rudolf Dworsky — Hammer — Asta Nielsen, William Dieterle, Olga Chekhova • We Belong to the Imperial-Royal Infantry Regiment — 1926 — Richard Oswald — Lieutenant Ahrens — Mary Kid, Colette Brettel • I Once Had a Comrade — 1926 — Conrad Wiene — N/A — Olaf Fjord, Grete Reinwald • Rinaldo Rinaldini — 1927 — Max Obal, Rudolf Dworsky — Baron Salvi — Luciano Albertini, Olga Engl • Die glühende Gasse — 1927 — Paul Sugar — The Distinguished Stranger — Helga Thomas, Angelo Ferrari • Eine kleine Freundin braucht jeder Mann — 1927 — Paul Heidemann — Otto-Otto — Julius Falkenstein, Vera Schmiterlöw • The Dollar Princess and her Six Admirers — 1927 — Felix Basch — Secretary — Liane Haid, Georg Alexander • The Woman Who Couldn't Say No — 1927 — Fred Sauer — N/A — Lee Parry, Gustav Fröhlich • A Perfect Gentleman — 1927 — Vilhelm Bryde, Gösta Ekman — Commandant Jacques Renard — La Jana, Karin Swanström • The Villa in Tiergarten Park — 1927 — Franz Osten — Baron Etville — Joe Stöckel, Aud Egede-Nissen • The Golden Abyss — 1927 — Mario Bonnard — Baron Armand — Liane Haid, André Roanne • Always Be True and Faithful — 1927 — Reinhold Schünzel — N/A — Rosa Valetti, Sig Arno • Students' Love — 1927 — Robert Land — Blasiera — Fritz Kortner, Agnes Straub • Marie's Soldier — 1927 — Erich Schönfelder — Wonneberger — Xenia Desni, Harry Liedtke • A Modern Dubarry — 1927 — Alexander Korda — Toinette's First Lover — María Corda, Alfred Abel • Princess Olala — 1928 — Robert Land — René — Walter Rilla, Marlene Dietrich • The Criminal of the Century — 1928 — Max Obal — Aristide Trasymopolus — Luciano Albertini, Gritta Ley • Master and Mistress — 1928 — Arthur Burger — Arthur Burger — Maly Delschaft • Who Invented Divorce? — 1928 — Wolfgang Neff — N/A — Alfred Abel, Charlotte Ander • Doctor Schäfer — 1928 — Jacob Fleck, Luise Fleck — Dr. Greber — Evelyn Holt, Iván Petrovich • The Lady from Argentina — 1928 — Siegfried Philippi — N/A — Gritta Ley, Leopold von Ledebur • Suzy Saxophone — 1928 — Carl Lamac — Harry Holt — Anny Ondra, Grit Haid • Today I Was With Frieda — 1928 — Siegfried Philippi — Eric Hahn — Margarete Kupfer, Evi Eva • It Attracted Three Fellows — 1928 — Carl Wilhelm — Transferred Lieutenant — Ossi Oswalda, Fritz Kampers • Woman in Flames — 1928 — Max Reichmann — Head of Store Departement — Olga Chekhova, Ferdinand von Alten • Rasputin — 1928 — Martin Berger — Sergej Ordinsky — Gregori Chmara, Diana Karenne • Asphalt — 1929 — Joe May — First Thief — Albert Steinrück, Gustav Fröhlich, Betty Amann • Furnished Room — 1929 — Fred Sauer — Edler von Stepanowic — Margot Landa, Fritz Schulz • Mascots — 1929 — Felix Basch — Antoine — Käthe von Nagy, Jeanne Helbling • Yes, Yes, Women Are My Weakness — 1929 — Edmund Heuberger — Baron Hans Bingen Jr. — Georgia Lind, Eugen Burg • Inherited Passions — 1929 — Gustav Ucicky — Gauner — Walter Rilla, Fritz Alberti • Heilige oder Dirne — 1929 — Martin Berger — Varnesi — María Corda, Vladimir Gajdarov • The Veil Dancer — 1929 — Charles Burguet — N/A — René Navarre, Hertha von Walther • The Crimson Circle — 1929 — Frederic Zelnik — Marl's Servant — Lya Mara, Fred Louis Lerch, Stewart Rome • Dear Homeland — 1929 — Carl Wilhelm — Orginsky — Renate Müller, Jakob Tiedtke

• Title — Year — Director — Role — Co-stars • The Night Belongs to Us — 1929 — Carl Froelich — Harry Bredow — Charlotte Ander, Otto Wallburg • The Blue Angel — 1930 — Josef von Sternberg — Mazeppa — Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings, Kurt Gerron • The Copper — 1930 — Richard Eichberg — Sergeant Harry Cross — Charlotte Susa, Eugen Burg • Hans in Every Street — 1930 — Carl Froelich — Hans Steindecker — Camilla Horn, Gustav Diessl • Three Days of Love — 1931 — Heinz Hilpert — Frantz — Käthe Dorsch, Trude Berliner • Bombs on Monte Carlo — 1931 — Hanns Schwarz — Craddock — Heinz Rühmann, Anna Sten, Peter Lorre • The Daredevil — 1931 — Richard Eichberg — Hans Röder — Martha Eggerth, Leonard Steckel • The White Demon — 1932 — Kurt Gerron — Heini Gildemeister — Gerda Maurus, Peter Lorre • Monte Carlo Madness — 1932 — Hanns Schwarz — Captain Erickson — Sari Maritza, Heinz Rühmann • The Victor — 1932 — Hans Hinrich, Paul Martin — Hans Kühnert — Käthe von Nagy, Julius Falkenstein • Quick — 1932 — Robert Siodmak — Quick — Lilian Harvey, Paul Hörbiger • F.P.1 Doesn't Respond — 1932 — Karl Hartl — Major Ellissen — Sybille Schmitz, Paul Hartmann, Peter Lorre • Today Is the Day — 1933 — Kurt Gerron — Hannes Eckmann — Luise Rainer, Oscar Karlweis • Ein gewisser Herr Gran — 1933 — Gerhard Lamprecht — Mr. Gran — Albert Bassermann, Walter Rilla, Olga Chekhova • Refugees — 1933 — Gustav Ucicky — Arneth — Käthe von Nagy, Eugen Klöpfer, Veit Harlan • Gold — 1934 — Karl Hartl — Werner Holk — Brigitte Helm, Friedrich Kayßler, Lien Deyers • Peer Gynt — 1934 — Fritz Wendhausen — Peer Gynt — Lucie Höflich, Marieluise Claudius, Olga Chekhova • Hangmen, Women and Soldiers — 1935 — Johannes Meyer — Captain Michael von Prack — Charlotte Susa, Aribert Wäscher • Variety — 1935 — Nicolas Farkas — Pierre — Annabella, Attila Hörbiger • Savoy Hotel 217 — 1936 — Gustav Ucicky — Andrei Antonovitch Wolodkin — Brigitte Horney, René Deltgen, Käthe Dorsch • Under Blazing Heavens — 1936 — Gustav Ucicky — Captain Kellersperg — René Deltgen, Lotte Lang • Die gelbe Flagge — 1937 — Gerhard Lamprecht — Peter Diercksen — Olga Chekhova, Dorothea Wieck, Rudolf Klein-Rogge • The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes — 1937 — Karl Hartl — Morris Flint — Heinz Rühmann, Marieluise Claudius, Paul Bildt • Sergeant Berry — 1938 — Herbert Selpin — Sergeant Mecki Berry — Alexander Golling, Herbert Hübner • Travelling People — 1938 — Jacques Feyder — Fernand — Françoise Rosay, Camilla Horn • Water for Canitoga — 1939 — Herbert Selpin — Captain Oliver Montstuart/Nicolsen — Charlotte Susa, Hilde Sessak • A Man Astray — 1940 — Herbert Selpin — John Percival Patterson — Charlotte Thiele, Hilde Weissner • Trenck the Pandur — 1940 — Herbert Selpin — Baron Von Der Trenck — Käthe Dorsch, Sybille Schmitz, Hilde Weissner • Carl Peters — 1941 — Herbert Selpin — Carl Peters — Herbert Hübner, Fritz Odemar • Münchhausen — 1943 — Josef von Báky — Baron Münchhausen — Brigitte Horney, Ilse Werner, Ferdinand Marian • Port of Freedom — 1944 — Helmut Käutner — Hannes Kroeger — Ilse Werner, Hans Söhnker • Shiva und die Galgenblume — 1945 — Hans Steinhoff — Dietrich Dongen — Paul Wegener (unfinished film) • And the Heavens Above Us — 1947 — Josef von Báky — Hans Richter — Paul Edwin Roth, Lotte Koch • The White Hell of Pitz Palu — 1950 — Rolf Hansen — Dr. Johannes Jensen — Liselotte Pulver, Adrian Hoven • Chased by the Devil — 1950 — Viktor Tourjansky — Dr. Blank — Willy Birgel, Lil Dagover, Heidemarie Hatheyer • Bluebeard — 1951 — Christian-Jaque — Bluebeard — Cécile Aubry, Fritz Kortner • Nights on the Road — 1952 — Rudolf Jugert — Heinrich Schlueter — Hildegard Knef, Marius Goring • Jonny Saves Nebrador — 1953 — Rudolf Jugert — Jonny / General Oronta — Margot Hielscher, Peter Pasetti • Captain Bay-Bay — 1953 — Helmut Käutner — Captain Bay-Bay — Bum Krüger, Lotte Koch • On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight — 1954 — Wolfgang Liebeneiner — Hannes Wedderkamp — Heinz Rühmann, Gustav Knuth • Ten on Every Finger — 1954 — Erik Ode — Himself — Germaine Damar, Loni Heuser • The Last Man — 1955 — Harald Braun — Karl Knesebeck — Romy Schneider, Rudolf Forster, Joachim Fuchsberger • Before Sundown — 1956 — Gottfried Reinhardt — Mathias Clausen — Annemarie Düringer, Martin Held • Engaged to Death — 1957 — Romolo Marcellini — Lorenzo — Sylva Koscina, Rik Battaglia • The Mad Bomberg — 1957 — Rolf Thiele — Baron Gisbert von Bomberg — Marion Michael, Gert Fröbe, Harald Juhnke • The Heart of St. Pauli — 1957 — Eugen York — Captain Jonny Jensen — Hansjörg Felmy, Gert Fröbe • The Copper — 1958 — Eugen York — Otto Friedrich Dennert — Hansjörg Felmy, Werner Peters, Horst Frank • It Happened Only Once — 1958 — Géza von Bolváry — Himself — Emmy Burg, Stanislav Ledinek • Man in the River — 1958 — Eugen York — Paul Hinrichs — Gina Albert, Hans Nielsen • Thirteen Old Donkeys — 1958 — Hans Deppe — Josef Krapp — Marianne Hoppe, Karin Dor, Werner Peters • Kein Engel ist so rein — 1960 — Wolfgang Becker — Dr. Zilinsky — Sabine Sinjen, Peter Kraus, Horst Frank