Henrik Galeen
Henrik Galeen (7 January 1881 – 30 July 1949) was an Austrian-born actor, screenwriter and film director considered an influential figure in the development of German Expressionist cinema during the silent era. He wrote the screenplay for Nosferatu (1922).
Henrik Galeen
- Full name
- Heinrich Wiesenberg.
- Born
- 1881. · Stryi.
- Died
- 1949. · Randolph.
- Nationality
- Germany and United Kingdom.
- Occupation
- screenwriter, actor, director and writer.
- Fields
- silent film.
- Languages
- German.
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Henrik Galeen. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q97411 · wikipedia · Henrik Galeen
In this article
Early years
Early years
Considerable mystery exists about Galeen's early life, and for many years it was uncertain where exactly he was born. Galeen came from a Jewish family in Lemberg, Galicia, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. He moved from Austria to Germany before the First World War, and became assistant to the leading theatre figure Max Reinhardt. Galeen subsequently became an actor in Berlin and touring other German-speaking cities.
Later career
Later career
From 1928 to 1931, he lived in Britain, where he directed a feature film After the Verdict (1928) which was the first film to be shot at Wimbledon. He also worked on a number of short films. He returned to Germany in 1931 and directed a final film there, entitled The House of Dora Green (1933). Following the Nazi Party's rise to power in 1933, Galeen went into exile in Sweden before moving on to the United Kingdom and eventually to the United States. He died in Randolph, Vermont in 1949, at age 68.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1881
Henrik Galeen was born in 1881 at Stryi.
1949
Henrik Galeen died in 1949 at Randolph.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Stryi.
Birth place
Randolph.
Death place
German silent films
Galeen first became involved in film in 1913 when he worked on the screenplays for several uncredited films. In 1914, he wrote, directed and acted in The Golem the first of several depictions of the mythical figure The Golem. Following the First World War, he went to work for a branch of the major German studio UFA. He worked as a screenwriter on films such as Ruth's Two Husbands (1919) and Waxworks (1924). In 1922, he was engaged to write a version of Dracula, however producers had not obtained the rights to the novel from the copyright holder. Names of characters and the locations of the story were changed and the script was retitled Nosferatu (1922). The film has come to be regarded as a classic of German expressionist cinema. Along with two of his later films, The Student of Prague (1926) and Alraune (1928), Nosferatu serves as the basis for Galeen's reputation. He also worked on a number of less-remembered films, including a series of thrillers starring Harry Piel.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Henrik Galeen, revision 1356954333 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.The following link lists all seven titles they both are credited for: IMDB Advanced collaboration search
- 2.WIMBLEDON, FOR THE FIRST TIME FORMS BACKGROUND TO MOTION PICTURE. Werribee Shire Banner. 21 August 1930.
- 3.Henrik Galeen. George Eastman Museum.
- 4.Filmportal.de. Der Golem.
- 5.Filmportal.de. Die rollende Kugel.
- 6.Filmportal.de. Die beiden Gatten der Frau Ruth.
- 7.Filmportal.de. Der verbotene Weg.
- 8.Filmportal.de. Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam.
- 9.Filmportal.de. Judith Trachtenberg.
- 10.Filmportal.de. Die Geliebte Roswolskys.
- 11.Filmportal.de. Nosferatu.
- 12.Filmportal.de. Stadt in Sicht.
- 13.Filmportal.de. Das Haus ohne Lachen.
- 14.Filmportal.de. Auf gefährlichen Spuren / Harry Piel in falschem Verdacht.
- 15.Filmportal.de. Das Wachsfigurenkabinett.
- 16.Filmportal.de. Die Liebesbriefe der Baronin von S.
- 17.Filmportal.de. Zigano, der Brigant von Monte Diavolo / Zigano.
- 18.Filmportal.de. Das Fräulein vom Amt.
- 19.Filmportal.de. Achtung Harry! Augen auf!.
- 20.Filmportal.de. Der Student von Prag.
- 21.Filmportal.de. Alraune.
- 22.Filmportal.de. Sein größter Bluff.
- 23.Filmportal.de. Die Dame mit der Maske.
- 24.Filmportal.de. Schatten der Unterwelt.
- 25.Filmportal.de. Bobby geht los.
- 26.Filmportal.de. L'Auberge du père Jonas.
- 27.Filmportal.de. Ombres des bas fonds.
- 28.Filmportal.de. Salon Dora Green.
- 29.Filmportal.de. Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Isenberg, Noah William. Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era. Columbia University Press. 2009. 9780231130554.
- Bock, Hans-Michael. The Concise Cinegraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema. Berghahn Books. 2009. 978-0857455659.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q97411: Henrik GaleenWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Henriette-Julie de MuratAuthor
- Henrik AngellAuthor
- Henrik Anker BjerregaardAuthor
- Henrik EdoyanAuthor
- Henrik HertzAuthor
- Henrik IbsenAuthor
- Henrik KrohnAuthor
- Henrik LundAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Henrik Galeen?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.