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Known as one of the great producers and promoters of the film industry, Eric Pommer had a life-long commitment to German film - despite his emigration in 1933 - and worked in France and Britian, as well as the United States.
As German producer, studio executive, and film politician in the pre-Hitler era Erich (later Eric) Pommer (1889-1966), a native of Germany, was an innovator and pioneer, a vital force in leading German cinema to international acclaim with successes such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, The Nibelungen and The Blue Angel. As Motion Picture Control Officer of the US Military Government he undertook , from 1946-49, the difficult task of rebuilding West Germany's film industry from the ashes of the Second World War. He succeeded brilliantly, but not without paying the hefty price of becoming embroiled in the turmoil of postwar German politics which made him many friends, but also many enemies. This book is the first detailed account in English of the remarkable career of Pommer who became a legend in his own lifetime.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. International Beginnings
The French Connection: Berlin and Vienna
The Balkans
Chapter 2. Berlin: Pommer’s Decla
Looking Beyond Germany
German Film Art
Chapter 3. Ufa: Silent Film Production
Berlin Merger: Decla-Bioscop, Union-Film, Ufa
Pommer’s Rise to Power
Pride Before the Fall
Fall from Grace
Chapter 4. American Interlude
Hollywood
Bringing Hollywood to Berlin
Chapter 5. Ufa: Transition to Sound Film
The New Ufa
Erich Pommer Produktion
Chapter 6. Exile and Immigration
Paris
Hollywood
London
Hollywood Again
Chapter 7. Germany Revisited
Postwar Germany
Eric Pommer, U.S. Military Government Film Control Officer
Eric Pommer, Independent Producer
Conclusion Appendix I: Biography of John E. Pommer
Appendix II: American Films in Germany
Appendix III: Filmography
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Ursula Hardt is an independent scholar and writer who lives in Middlebury, Vermont
Summary
Known as one of the great producers and promoters of the film industry, Eric Pommer had a life-long commitment to German film - despite his emigration in 1933 - and worked in France and Britian, as well as the United States.
