AG
Alexander Granach
Actor
Born April 18, 1890Died March 14, 1945 (54 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexander Granach (April 18, 1890 – March 14, 1945) was a popular German actor in the 1920s and 1930s who immigrated to the United States in 1938.
Granach was born Jessaja Gronach in Werbowitz (Wierzbowce/Werbiwci) (Horodenka district, Austrian Galicia then, now Verbivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine), to Jewish parents and rose to theatrical prominence at the Volksbühne in Berlin. Granach entered films in 1922; among the most widely exhibited of his silent efforts was the vampire classic Nosferatu (1922), in which the actor was cast as Knock, the lunatic counterpart to Renfield, effectively a substitute name for Dracula. He co-starred in such major early German talkies as Kameradschaft (1931).
The Jewish Granach fled to the Soviet Union when Hitler came to power. When the Soviet Union also proved inhospitable, he settled in Hollywood, where he made his first American film appearance as Kopalski in Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka (1939) for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Granach proved indispensable to film makers during the war years, effectively portraying both dedicated Nazis (he was Julius Streicher in The Hitler Gang, 1944) and loyal anti-fascists. Perhaps his best role was as Gestapo Inspector Alois Gruber in Fritz Lang's Hangmen Also Die! (1943). His last film appearance was in MGM's The Seventh Cross (1944), in which almost the entire supporting cast was prominent European refugees.
Alexander Granach (April 18, 1890 – March 14, 1945) was a popular German actor in the 1920s and 1930s who immigrated to the United States in 1938.
Granach was born Jessaja Gronach in Werbowitz (Wierzbowce/Werbiwci) (Horodenka district, Austrian Galicia then, now Verbivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine), to Jewish parents and rose to theatrical prominence at the Volksbühne in Berlin. Granach entered films in 1922; among the most widely exhibited of his silent efforts was the vampire classic Nosferatu (1922), in which the actor was cast as Knock, the lunatic counterpart to Renfield, effectively a substitute name for Dracula. He co-starred in such major early German talkies as Kameradschaft (1931).
The Jewish Granach fled to the Soviet Union when Hitler came to power. When the Soviet Union also proved inhospitable, he settled in Hollywood, where he made his first American film appearance as Kopalski in Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka (1939) for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Granach proved indispensable to film makers during the war years, effectively portraying both dedicated Nazis (he was Julius Streicher in The Hitler Gang, 1944) and loyal anti-fascists. Perhaps his best role was as Gestapo Inspector Alois Gruber in Fritz Lang's Hangmen Also Die! (1943). His last film appearance was in MGM's The Seventh Cross (1944), in which almost the entire supporting cast was prominent European refugees.
Filmography
| 2014 | Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk · as Knock-The Real Estate Manager |
| 2014 | Caligari - Wie der Horror ins Kino kam · as Knock |
| 2005 | Garbo · as Kopalski |
| 1998 | Nosferatu: The First Vampire · as Knock - Ein Häusermakler |
| 1944 | The Hitler Gang · as Julius Streicher |
| 1944 | My Buddy · as Tim Oberta |
| 1944 | The Seventh Cross · as Zillich |
| 1944 | Voice in the Wind · as Angelo |
| 1943 | For Whom the Bell Tolls · as Paco |
| 1943 | Mission to Moscow · as Russian Air Force Officer (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Hangmen Also Die! · as Gestapo Insp. Alois Gruber |
| 1942 | Northwest Rangers · as Pierre - Man In Casino |
| 1942 | Wrecking Crew · as Joe Poska |
| 1942 | Halfway to Shanghai · as Mr. Nikolas |
| 1942 | Joan of Ozark · as Guido |
| 1942 | Joan of Paris · as Gestapo Agent |
| 1941 | It Started with Eve · as Popalard - Apartment Tenant |
| 1941 | A Man Betrayed · as T. Amato |
| 1941 | So Ends Our Night · as The Pole |
| 1940 | Foreign Correspondent · as Hotel Valet (uncredited) |
| 1939 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame · as Soldier (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Ninotchka · as Comrade Kopalski |
| 1936 | Gypsies · as Danilo |
| 1931 | Comradeship · as Kasper |
| 1931 | The Theft of the Mona Lisa · as Redner |
| 1931 | Danton · as Marat |
| 1929 | City Butterfly · as Coco |
| 1929 | Der Adjutant des Zaren · as Stranger |
| 1923 | Crown of Thorns · as Judas Ischariot |
| 1923 | Warning Shadows · as Shadowplayer |
| 1923 | Earth Spirit · as Schigolch |
| 1922 | Lucrezia Borgia · as Ein Gefangener |
| 1922 | Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror · as Knock |
| 1921 | Danton · as Minor Role |