Pola Negri Filmography

The German Silent Period (1917-1922)

NICHT LANGE TÄUSCHTE MICH DAS GLÜCK
(Saturn-Film AG, 1917)
Director: Kurt Matull?
Other Actors: Aruth Wartan, Hermann Seldeneck, Nils Olaf Chrisander, Olga Engl, Rosa Valetti
Photography: Otto Jäger
Costume Design: C. A. Drecoll
Notes: Pola plays a dual supporting role as a nun and a cabaret dancer. In 1917, when Pola first came to Germany, she did six films for a company called Saturn Film. Apparently she played supporting roles in many of these films. Fortunately, one, Wenn das Herz in haß Erglüht, survives complete.
Preservation status: Probably Lost.

ZÜGELLOSES BLUT
(Saturn-Film AG, 1917)
Director: ?
Photography: Otto Jäger
Notes: Pola plays a character named Maud Morton.
Preservation status: Probably Lost.

KÜSSE, DIE MAN STIEHLT IN DUNKELN (Kisses Stolen in the Dark)
(Saturn-Film AG, 1917)
Director: ?
Other Actors:
Photography: Otto Jäger
Costume Design:
Preservation status: Probably Lost.

DIE TOTEN AUGEN (The Dead Eyes)
(Saturn-Film AG, 1917)
Director: ?
Other Actors: Ernst Hofmann, Magnus Stifter, Nils Chrisander, Rosa Valetti
Photography: Otto Jäger
Costume Design:
Preservation status: Probably Lost.

WENN DAS HERZ IN HAß ERGLÜHT (When the Heart Burns With Hate)
(Saturn-Film AG, 1917)
Director: Kurt Matull
Other Actors:
Photography: Otto Jäger
Costume Design:
Notes: This is apparently the only one of Pola’s six Saturn films that survives. It has been screened at La Cinémathèque Francaise and at the Museum of Cinematography in Łodz, Poland.
Preservation status: Survives.

ROSEN, DIE DER STURM ENTBLÄTTERT
(Saturn-Film AG, 1917)
Director: ?
Other Actors: Ernst Hofmann
Photography: Otto Jäger
Preservation status: Probably Lost.

MANIA
(UFA, 1918)
Full title: Mania, Die Geschichte einer Zigarettenarbeiterin (Mania: The Story of a Cigarette Girl)
Other Actors: Werner Hollmann, Arthur Schroder, Ernst Wendt
Director: Eugen Illés
Scenario: Hans Brennert
Photography: Eugen Illés
Set Design: Paul Leni
Producer: Paul Davidson
Note: It is here that Pola joins up with UFA. Apparently the name of the character was Mania.
Preservation Status: Survives.

DIE AUGEN DER MUMIE MA (The Eyes of the Mummy Ma)
(UFA, 1918)
Alternate Titles: Eyes of the Mummy, The Eyes of the Mummy
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Other Actors: Emil Jannings, Harry Liedtke, Max Laurence, Margarete Kupfer
Scenario: Hans Kräly and Emil Rameau
Photography: Theodor Sparkühl, Alfred Hansen
Set Design: Kurt Richter
Music: Douglas M. Prostik
Notes: This was Pola’s and Ernst Lubitsch’s first film together. It was released in the U.S. in 1922 by Paramount as Eyes of the Mummy.
Preservation Status: Exists in numerous archives.

DER GELBE SCHEIN (The Yellow Pass)
(UFA, 1918)
Alternate titles: The Yellow Ticket, The Devil’s Pawn
Director: Victor Janson and Eugen Illés
Other Actors: Harry Liedtke, Victor Janson, Adolf Edgar Licho, Werner Bernhardy, Guido Herzfeld, Margarete Kupfer, Marga Lindt
Scenario: Hans Brennert, Hans Kräly
Sets: Kurt Richter
Camera: Eugen Illés
Producer: Paul Davidson
Notes: This is a full-length remake of Czarna Ksiazeczka (The Yellow Pass), the 1915 Polish picture that also starred Pola. Supposedly this German version was hidden away during the Nazi period, when the Nazis had banned it and were trying to destroy all copies of it and other German pictures what showed Jews in a positive light. It was released in the U.S. in 1922 as The Devil’s Pawn.
Preservation status: Restored by Kevin Brownlow. Copies are held at the Israel Film Archive, The Nederlands Filmmuseum, and probably a couple of the German archives as well (?).

CARMEN
(UFA, 1918)
Alternate Titles: Gypsy Blood
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Other Actors: Harry Liedtke, Leopold von Ledebur, Paul Beinsfeldt, Paul Conradi
Scenario: Hans Kräly, Norbert Falk and Grete Dierck, from the story by Prosper Merimée
Photography: Alfred Hansen
Sets: Karl Machus and Kurt Richter
Costume Design: Alfred Hansen
Producer: Paul Davidson
Notes: This was reissued in the U.S. in 1921 by First National as Gypsy Blood. Carmen is considered to be the record-holder as the most-filmed of all classic stories (121 filmed versions to date), with this version being the tenth time it was filmed.
Preservation Status: Exists in numerous archives.

DAS KARUSSELL DES LEBENS (The Carousel of Life)
(UFA, 1919)
Alternate Titles: The Last Payment
Director: Georg Jacoby
Other Actors: Harry Liedtke, Leopold von Ledebour, Albert Patry, Reinhold Schünzel
Scenario: Hans Brenert and Georg Jacoby.
Notes: Pola plays a character named Lo Cotton. This film was reissued in 1922 by Paramount as The Last Payment.
Preservation Status: Probably lost.

VENDETTA
(UFA, 1919)
Alternate Title: Blutrache (Blood Revenge)
Director: Georg Jacoby
Other Actors: Emil Jannings, Harry Liedtke, Magnus Stifter, Emil Barron
Scenario: Georg Jacoby and Leo Lasko
Photography: Theodor Sparkühl, Fritz Arno Wagner
Producer: Paul Davidson
Notes: Pola plays a character named Marianna Paoli. This film was released in the U.S. in 1921 by Commonwealth Pictures Corporation. It was listed, along with Madame DuBarry, Carmen, and One Arabian Night, as one of the best pictures of the 1921 motion picture season in The New York Times. The articles in the Times that discuss Vendetta consider it a very good picture, but not quite as good as the aforementioned Pola pictures.
Preservation Status: Probably lost.

KREUZIGET SIE! (Crucify It!)
(UFA, 1919)
Alternate Title: Die Frau am Scheideweg (The Woman At the Crossroad)
Director: Georg Jacoby
Other Actors: Harry Leidtke, Albert Patry, Paul Hansen, Lotte George, Magnus Stifter, Herman Picha, Victor Janson, Wilhelm Diegelmann
Scenario: Paul Otto
Photography: Theodor Sparkühl
Sets: Kurt Richter
Producer: Paul Davidson
Notes: Pola plays a character named Maria Harttung.
Preservation Status: Probably lost.

MADAME DUBARRY
(UFA, 1919)
Alternate Titles: Passion
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Other Actors: Emil Jannings, Harry Liedtke, Eduard von Winterstein, Reinhold Schünzel, Else Berna, Frederich Immler, Gustave Czimeg, Carl Platen, Bernhard Goetzke, Magnus Stifter, Paul Beinsfeldt, Wilhelm Kaiser-Heyl, Else Berna
Scenario: Fred Orbing and Hans Kräly
Photography: Theodor Sparkühl and Fritz Arno Wagner
Sets: Karl Machus and Kurt Richter
Costume Design: Ali Hubert
Technical Advisor: Kurt Waschneck
Music: Alexander Schirmann
Titles (for American Version): Katherine Hilliker
Producer: Paul Davidson
Notes: Released in 1920 by First National under the title Passion. This is the big one that tore down the American ban on German films, caused an international interest in German pictures that for a time threatened to overshadow Hollywood, and began the Hollywood phenomenon of importing overseas talent, beginning with director Ernst Lubitsch on December 24, 1921, and following up with Pola Negri on September 12, 1922. Only in France did this film do poorly, where its rewrite of French history was generally considered to be revisionist German propaganda.
Preservation Status: Exists in numerous archives.

KOMTESSE DODDY (Countess Doddy)
(UFA, 1919)
Alternate Title: Komtesse Dolly.
Director: Georg Jacoby
Other Actors: Poldi Deutsch, Harry Liedtke, Heinz Saffner, Herman Thimig, Georg Baselt, Heddy Wendry, Victor Janson, Max Kronert
Scenario: Hans Kräly, George Jacoby
Sets: Kurt Richter
Camera: Theodor Sparkühl
Lighting technician: Kurt Waschnek
Producer: Paul Davidson
Notes: A Pola comedy!
Preservation Status: Survives at the Nederlands Filmmuseum.

DIE MARCHESA D’ARMIANI (The Marquise of Armiani)
(UFA, 1920)
Director: Alfred Halm
Other Actors: Fritz Schulz, Ernst Derburg, Elsa Wagner, Max Pohl
Scenario: Alfred Halm
Sets: Kurt Richter
Camera: Theodor Sparkühl

Notes: Pola plays the Marquise Assuanta.
Preservation Status: Probably lost.

SUMURUN
(UFA,1920)
Alternate Titles: One Arabian Night
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Other Actors: Ernst Lubitsch, Paul Wegener, Harry Liedtke, Jenny Hasselqvist, Margarate Kupfer, Aud Egede Nissen, Carl Clewig, Jakob Tiedtke, Paul Graetz
Scenario: Adapted to the screen by Hans Kräly and Ernst Lubitsch, from the stage pantomime of Fredrich Freska and Victor Hollander (recently produced by Max Reinhardt). Story lifted from a portion of The Arabian Nights.
Photography: Theodor Sparkühl and Fritz Arno Wagner
Sets: Kurt Richter and Arno Matzner
Costume Design: Ali (Alexander) Hubert
Technical Advisor: Kurt Waschneck
Producer: Paul Davidson
Notes: This film was released in the U.S. in 1921 by First National as One Arabian Night. It is based on Max Reinhardt’s production of the popular play, which was Pola’s first big break in Germany, as well as the happy accident that brought Ernst Lubitsch and Pola together and began their remarkable professional relationship.
Preservation Status: Exists in numerous archives.

DAS MARTYRIUM (The Martyrium)
(UFA, 1920)
Director: Paul Ludwig Stein (as Ludwig Stein)
Other Actors: Eduard von Winterstein, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur, Ernst Hofmann, Hans Kuhnert, Hermann Pfanz, Frida Lemke
Scenario: Franz Rausch, Paul Ludwig Stein
Photography: Fritz Arno Wagner
Costume Design: Jack Winter
Producer: Paul Davidson
Preservation Status: Probably lost.
DIE GESCHLOSSENE KETTE (The Closed Chain)
(UFA, 1920)
Alternate Title: Intrigue
Director: Paul Ludwig Stein
Other Actors: Carl Ebert, Boris Michajłow, Greta Schröder, Aud Egede NIssen, Albert Steinrück, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Scenario: Erich Wulffen
Photography: Fritz Arno Wagner
Costume Design: Jack Winter
Producer: Paul Davidson

Notes: This film was released in the U.S. in 1922 by S. R. Levinson under a States Rights basis under the title Intrigue.
Preservation Status: Probably lost.

ARME VIOLETTA (Poor Violetta)
(UFA, 1920)
Alternate titles: Camille, The Red Peacock
Director: Paul Ludwig Stein
Other Actors: Michael Varkonyi, Marga Kierska, Alexander von Antalffy, Paul Otto, Greta Schröder, Paul Biensfeld, Guido Herzfeld, Ernst Bringoff
Script: Hans Kräly
Photography: Fritz Arno Wagner
Producer: Paul Davidson
Notes: This film was released in 1922 by Paramount as The Red Peacock. It was loosely based on the Alexandre Dumas, Jr. novel La dame auz camèlias (Camille), but actually followed more closely the libretto of the opera La Traviata. It is also one of three German silents starring Pola directed by the forgotten German director Paul L. Stein. Paul Stein and Pola would meet again in 1932 when he would direct her in RKO’s A Woman Commands. Stein had also come to the U.S. and was a contract director at RKO at the time.
Preservation Status: Probably lost.

DIE BERGKATZE (The Mountain Cat)
(UFA, 1921)
Alternate Titles: The Wildcat
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Other Actors: Victor Janson, Paul Heidemann, Wilhlem Diegelmann, Hermann Thimig, Edith Meller, Marga Köhler, Paul Biensfeld, Paul Grötz, Max Kronert, Erwin Kopp.
Scenario: Hans Kräly and Ernst Lubitsch
Photography: Theodore Sparkühl
Art Directors: Max Gronau, Ernst Stern.
Costume Design: Ernst Stern and Emil Hasler
Notes: Apparenlty never released in the United States, this is a fluke of a picture if there ever was one, being a German Expressionist comedy and a feature-length Monty Python-like parody of German Expressionism and of the German military. It was Lubitsch’s favorite of his German pictures, but it was a financial failure. But it makes for great entertainment today!
Preservation Status: Restored by the F. W. Murnau Stiftung in association with ZDF/Arte. Copies survive at the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna, Munich Film Archives, Filmmuseum Berlin, and the Deusches Filminstitut. A fragment also survives at MoMA.

SAPPHO
(UFA, 1921)
Alternate titles: Mad Love
Director: Dimitri Buchowetski
Screenplay: Dimitri Buchowetski, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, Sr.
Other Actors: Alfred Abel, Johannes Riemann, Heldga Molander, Otto Treptow, Albert Steinrück, Else Wagner, Ellinor Gynt
Photography: Arpad Viragh
Art Director: Robert Neppach
Notes: This film was censored heavily when it hit the States and was finally released in its censored version in 1923 by Goldwyn under the title Mad Love. Dimitri Buchowetski was an excellent Russian-born costume film director who is best known today for directing the 1922 German version of Othello with Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss, and Lya de Putti. Buchowetski was imported to Hollywood a little over a year after Pola was, and directed her three times more for Paramount (all of Pola’s pictures which he directed received good reviews). He also directed the original version of Die Nacht der Entsheidung, the 1930 German picture featuring Conrad Veidt and Olga Tschechowa, which Pola remade for the Third Reich in 1938.
Preservation status: A restored, tinted print of the uncensored original with English intertitles exists in the UCLA archives. Apparently it originates from MGM’s films holdings.

DIE FLAMME (The Flame)
(Ernst Lubitsch Film GmbH, 1922)
Alternate titles: Montmarte
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Other Actors: Hermann Thimig, Alfred Abel, Hilde Wörner, Max Adalbert, Frieda Richard, Jakob Tiedtke, Jenny Marba, Ferdinand von Alten
Scenario by Hans Kräly and Rudolph Kurtz, from the play Die Flamme by Hans Muller.
Photography: Theodor Sparkühl, Alfred Hansen
Sets: Ernst Stern, Kurt Richter, Hans Minzloff
Costume Design: Ali (Alexander) Hubert
Notes: Pola plays the character of Yvette in this, the final German Negri/Lubitsch collaboration. This is also the final German silent for Pola, and the final German picture ever for Lubitsch. It too was heavily censored in the U.S., complete with a tacked-on happy ending, and released in 1924 by Paramount as Montmarte.
Preservation Status: Apparently only two fragments of footage survive, which run approximately 20 minutes; it has been given full restoration treatment with stills replacing the missing footage.