26 February 2016

EFSP's Dazzling Dozen: Kissing Willy Fritsch

Willy Fritsch (1901-1973) was the darling of the female filmgoers of the 1930s and 1940s. He was the immensely popular ‘Sunny Boy’ of the Ufa operettas and a real heartthrob for our grannies. With Lilian Harvey, he formed the 'Traumpaar' (Dream couple) of the German cinema, but Fritsch kissed also many other girls onscreen. And Willy formed a perfect pair with his Austrian (and gay) co-star Willi Forst.

Willy Fritsch
Willy Fritsch. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6746/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Ufa.

Xenia Desni, Willy Fritsch, Ein Walzertraum
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 48/5, 1925-1926. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ein Walzertraum/The Waltz Dream (Ludwig Berger, 1925) with Xenia Desni and Willy Fritsch.

La dernière valse
French postcard by ACE. Photo: Ufa. Suzy Vernon and Willy Fritsch in the German operetta film Der letzte Walzer/The Last Waltz (Arthur Robison, 1927).

Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo in Ungarische Rhapsodie
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 104/3, 1925-1935. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo.

Jenny Jugo and Willy Fritsch in Die Carmen von St. Pauli (1928)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3585/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Jenny Jugo and Willy Fritsch in Die Carmen von St. Pauli/Docks of Hamburg (Erich Waschneck, 1928).

Willy Fritsch, Käthe von Nagy
Dutch postcard, no. 657. Photo: Ufa. Willy Fritsch and Käthe von Nagy played together in several films of the early 1930s, such as Ihre Hoheit befehlt (Hanns Schwarz, 1930/1931), Ronny (Reinhold Schünzel, 1931) and Ich bei Tag und du bei Nacht (Ludwig Berger, 1932).

Willy Fritsch, Lilian Harvey and Willi Forst in Ein blonder Traum (1932)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 143/6, 1925-1935. Photo: Ufa. Willi Forst, Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch in the musical comedy Ein blonder Traum/Happy Ever After (Paul Martin, 1932).

Willi Forst and Willy Fritsch in Ein Blonder Traum
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6982/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still of Willi Forst and Willy Fritsch in the musical comedy Ein blonder Traum/Happy Ever After (Paul Martin, 1932).

Willy Fritsch, Renate Müller in Walzerkrieg
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 192/3, 1932-1933. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Walzerkrieg/Waltz Time in Vienna (Ludwig Berger, 1933) with Willy Fritsch and Renate Müller. Collection: Egbert Barten.

Rose Barsony and Willy Fritsch in Walzerkrieg (1933)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 192/4, 1925-1925. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Walzerkrieg (Ludwig Berger, 1933) with Rose Barsony and Willy Fritsch.

Heli Finkenzeller and Willy Fritsch in Boccaccio (1936)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 9677/1, 1935-1936. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Boccaccio (Herbert Maisch, 1936) with Heli Finkenzeller and Willy Fritsch.

Willy Fritsch and Lilian Harvey in Ein blonder Traum
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7035/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Atelier Jacobi, Berlin / Ufa. Publicity still for Ein blonder Traum/Happy Ever After (Paul Martin, 1932) with Willy Fritsch and Lilian Harvey.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday, hosted by Beth at the The Best Hearts are Crunchy. You can visit her by clicking on the button below.

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