Pasquali Film

EFSP collaborator Ivo Blom is currently the co-investigator of the international research project Museum of Dream Worlds. Today, 9 May 2026, as part of the UCL200 programme to celebrate UCL's bicentenary, there will be a screening of the Italian silent film Jone o Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei/ Jone, or The Last Days of Pompeii (Giovanni Enrico Vidali, 1913). This rare early Italian epic, starring Suzanne de Labroy as Nydia, Cristina Ruspoli as Jone, and Giovanni Enrico Vidali as Arbaces, vividly recreates the romance, intrigue and catastrophe of Pompeii's final days.

Jone o Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei/ Jone, or The Last Days of Pompeii, will be presented in a beautifully tinted digital print from the National Museum of Cinema in Turin, accompanied live by internationally acclaimed musicians John Sweeney (piano) and Jeff Davenport (percussion). The film will be introduced by the Museum of Dreamworlds research team (Maria Wyke, Ivo Blom, Bryony Dixon and Aylin Atacan) and followed by a Q&A. This special early evening event celebrates the power of silent cinema to bring the ancient world thrillingly to life. Date and time: Saturday 9 May 2026, 18:00–20:30. Venue: Bloomsbury Theatre, University College London (UCL), 15 Gordon St, London WC1H 0AH.

On this occasion, we have adapted and renewed our blog post on the company Pasquali Film and its films, actors and directors. Pasquali Film was one of the pioneering Italian film companies. The studio had its golden years in the period 1912-1914, with a yearly large output of films. In 1912, it was the second biggest producer of feature-length films in Italy, after Cines. Stars were the comedian Polidor (Ferdinand Guillaume), strongman Mario Guaita aka Ausonia, and diva Diana Karenne. With the death of its founder, Ernesto Maria Pasquali in 1919, Pasquali was integrated into the consortium Unione Cinematografica Italiana (UCI), which united the main Italian film companies at the time.


Page from Spanish film magazine Mundo Cinematográfico. Photos: Pasquali Film. Publicity for the Italian epic Jone, ovvero Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei / Jone, or The Last Days of Pompeii (Giovanni Enrico Vidali, Ubaldo Maria Del Colle, 1913). The film was presented at the Teatro de la Gran Via cinema in Madrid, Spain. Two scenes of the film: on top, the blind Nydia (Suzanne De Labroy) at Arbaces' orgy, and down, Arbaces' pupil Apaecides (actor unknown), defending his sister Jone (Cristina Ruspoli) against the lustful and intrusive Arbaces (Giovanni Enrico Vidali). Arbaces will murder him and blame Glaucus, Jone's lover. The Teatro-Cine Gran Via, the oldest cinema on this street in Madrid (Gran Via 66), was already open in 1913, but sadly was demolished three years later to make way for the big avenue. In 1944, a new cinema opened as Teatro Compac Gran Vía, still existing, now as Teatro edp Gran Vía.


Spanish minicard. Photo: Pasquali & Cie. Suzanne de Labroy.


Spanish minicard. Photo: Pasquali & Cie. Cristina Ruspoli.


Spanish minicard. Photo: Pasquali & Cie. Giovanni Enrico Vidali, here presented as Giovanni Novelli.


Picture from the Spanish film magazine Mundo Cinematográfico. Photpo: Pasquali Film. Publicity for the Italian epic Jone, ovvero Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei / Jone, or The Last Days of Pompeii (Giovanni Enrico Vidali, 1913). The film was presented at the Teatro de la Gran Via cinema in Madrid, Spain. Jone (Cristina Ruspoli) and Arbaces, high-priest of Isis (Giovanni Enrico Vidali), who is trying to seduce her. Part of the sets and props of this film were reused in Pasquali's subsequent epic, Spartaco (Giovanni Enrico Vidali, 1913).

The first successes

Pasquali Film was founded in 1908 in Turin by the journalist and theatre critic Ernesto Maria Pasquali, in association with his friend, the pharmacist Giuseppe Tempo. Pasquali was already a collaborator at Ambrosio Film. The new film company bore the name Pasquali & Tempo, but was renamed on 1 July 1910 as Pasquali & C. s.a.s. or in short, Pasquali Film. During its first two to three years of existence, the company produced short films, mostly made by Pasquali himself. Most of these were historical films.

In 1909, the Pasquali Film had its first successes with Ettore Fieramosca (which was remade in 1915), Cirano de Bergerac, Capitan Fracassa, and Teodora Imperatrice di Bisanzio. Ernesto Pasquali flourished, paid back Tempo and exchanged him for two new investors, increasing his investments.

Thanks to this, Pasquali built in 1911 a new, larger studio complex in Rome, luring the Ambrosio star couple Alberto Capozzi and Mary Cléo Tarlarini from Turin to Rome. In 1913, Pasquali hired the former Celio studio from Cines. Thus, Pasquali really expanded, but also expanded genre-wise, focusing more on modern subjects and crime films.

Between 1911 and 1914, the company produced the films of the hit crime series Raffles, directed and performed by Ubaldo Maria Del Colle. Also, Pasquali launched the production of comic films, first with Emile Vardannes (in the role of Totò) and then from 1912 with Ferdinand Guillaume (as Polidor), who previously had been a success at Cines as Tontolini. The Polidor comedies were numerous and an important backbone for Pasquali in the early 1910s.

The cameraman Piero Marelli shot several ‘dal vero’ travel films in Italy. In 1911-1912, he was sent on a long-lasting trip to Northern Europe (Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc.), to record the local landscape, cityscape, folklore, and native types. He often embellished his images with picturesque compositional strategies and subject matter, but also with ingenious cinematic innovations such as split-screen effects.


Italian postcard by La Rotofotografica / Unione Cinematografica Italiana, no. 137. Ferdinand Guillaume (1887-1977) was an Italian comical actor, famous in the 1910s as Tontolini and Polidor. After some 100 shorts as Tontolini and after the success of his first feature-length film, Pinocchio (Giulio Antamoro, 1911) at Cines, Ferdinand Guillaume moved to the Pasquali company. Here, he created the character of Polidor, named after a horse in his previous circus shows. He continued his double profession of leading actor and director, often being the scriptwriter of his films too. In the years 1912-1914, he made some 100 films, up to four films a month. The Polidor films were distributed all over Europe and the US. Guillaume's output shrunk considerately from the outbreak of the First World War, although he still had a large output in 1916-1917.


Italian postcard. Photo: Pasquali Film. Mario Guaita aka Ausonia in Spartaco / Spartacus (Enrico Vidali, 1913). Caption: Crassus moves against Spartacus amongst the celebrating people. Eventually, Spartacus (Mario Guaita-Ausonia) will beat Crassus (Enrico Bracci).


Italian postcard. Photo: Pasquali Film. Mario Guaita aka Ausonia in Spartaco / Spartacus (Enrico Vidali 1913). The Italian epic Spartaco - Il gladiatore della Tracia (Enrico Vidali, 1913) was based on a novel by Raffaello Giovagnoli. Caption: The Senate votes to hold a solemn funeral for Silla.


British postcard. Photo: Pasquali Film. Alberto Capozzi and Umberto Paradisi embrace in the Italian silent film I due sergenti / The Two Sergeants (Eugenio Perego, 1913).


Spanish collector card by Reclam Films, Mallorca, no. 5 of 6. Photo: Pasquali Film. Conchita Ledesma and Gustavo Serena in L'ultima danza / The Last Dance (Umberto Paradisi, 1914).


Spanish collectors card by Reclam Films, Mallorca, no. 6 of 6. Photo: Pasquali Film. Conchita Ledesma and Gustavo Serena in L'ultima danza / The Last Dance (Umberto Paradisi, 1914).

L'ultima danza / The Last Dance (1914) deals with Jean (Serena), a poor artist smitten with a successful Spanish dancer, Conchita (Ledesma), and in vain hoping to paint her. His poor girlfriend, Ninon (Laura Darville), sacrifices herself and begs the dancer to pose once for him, so he can paint his portrait. Conchita dances before him while he sleeps. The painting is a success, but the romance with the dancer finishes when she has finished his fortune. He returns to poverty, attended by his girlfriend. When he is about to die, Ninon desperately asks Conchita once more to dance for him. Jean dies in her arms, after which the dancer prefers to follow him. Apparently, Conchita Ledesma was a popular Spanish dancer in real life, so the Italian press was eager to finally see her perform. Gustavo Serena played at Pasquali in the years 1914-1915, after which he returned to Rome to continue his career there.


Spanish collector card by Reclam Films, Mallorca, no. 1 of 6. Photo: Pasquali Film. Suzanne De Labroy in Salambò (Domenico Gaudo, 1914), very freely adapted from Gustave Flaubert's classic novel.


Spanish collector card by Reclam Films, Mallorca, no. 5 of 6. Photo: Pasquali Film. Suzanne De Labroy and Mario Guaita-Ausonia in Salambò (Domenico Gaudo, 1914). The picture shows Matho and Salambò in his tent.

Suzanne De Labroy plays the title role of the Carthaginian princess, keeper of the sacred veil of the goddess Tanit and daughter of general Amilcar. When Matho (Mario Guaita-Ausonia), head of the mercenaries, steals the veil, Salambò is ordered to get it back. By doing so, she falls in love and loses her dignity. Prince Narr Havas helps Amilcar conquer Matho's army, and the latter is caught and destined to die. While in the book he is killed by Salambò after which she commits suicide, in the film there is a happy end, when Matho's aid Spendius pretends to be the Voice of Tanit, ordering marriage between Matho and Salambò.

Golden years

Pasquali Film had its golden years in the period 1912-1914, with a yearly large output of films. In 1912, Pasquali was the biggest producer of feature-length films, after Cines. In 1911-1912, a third studio was opened, which was fully closed and equipped for artificial lighting. In 1913, Pasquali was the fourth largest Italian film company, but again the second in the output of long films. The company now also opened various offices abroad.

Pasquali made its mark with impressive, spectacular period pieces such as I promessi sposi (1913) and Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei (1913). Both films were produced in competition with rival versions by Ambrosio. Pasquali also presented two Antiquity films with Mario Guaita-Ausonia: Spartaco (Enrico Vidali, 1913) and Salambò (Domenico Gaudo, 1914).

The only diva Ernesto Maria Pasquali really launched was the Polish actress Diana Karenne. He presented her in Passione tzigana / Gypsy Passion (Umberto Paradisi, 1916), and immediately she became a star. Between 1916 and 1920, Karenne fascinated audiences with her eccentric dresses and make-up, and with her prima donna behaviour.

With the outbreak of the First World War, the Pasquali company experienced for the first time a decline in production because of a lack of raw film stock and bank loans. The modernisations undertaken did not allow the company to face the increasing competition, particularly from the United States. Production numbers went down fast.

With the death in 1919 of its founder Ernesto Maria Pasquali, who was only 36 years old, the studio was integrated into the consortium Unione Cinematografica Italiana (UCI), which brought together the main Italian film companies, even if Pasquali still kept its name on the outside. Pasquali's last successful production was the historical episode film Il ponte dei sospiri / The Bridge of Sighs (Domeno Gambino, 1921), starring Luciano Albertini, Antonietta Calderari, Garaveo Onorato and Carolina White, and set in Venice.


Spanish postcard for Chocolat Imperiale by Tip. Lit. Aubery, card no. 6 of a series of 6. Photo: Pasquali Film. Diana Karenne in the title role in Sofia di Kravonia (Ernesto Maria Pasquali, 1916).


Italian postcard. Photo: Pasquali Film. Scene from La disfida di Barletta (Umberto Paradisi, 1915). Caption: Zoraide saves Fieramosca, sucking the venom of the wound and dies.


Italian postcard. Photo: Pasquali Film. Scene from La disfida di Barletta (Umberto Paradisi, 1915). Caption: Valentino Borgia's local cronies press the sacristan to leave the door of the church open.

La disfida di Barletta (Umberto Paradisi, 1915) is an adaptation of the classic, nationalistic novel 'Ettore Fieramosca' by Massimo D'Azeglio. The scenography was done by Domenico Gaido, according to film historian Vittorio Martinelli, while IMDb claims Gaido was co-director with Paradisi. Acclaimed actors Gustavo Serena and Domenico Gambino had supporting parts in the film. While already produced in 1915, Ettore Fieramosca was released late. When the film premiered in 1917 in Turin, Turinese critics claimed that the film would have been lauded before the First World War, but now looked old-fashioned, for instance in its performances, despite the tasteful sets and shots on location.


Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana. Postcard for the four-part serial Il ponte dei sospiri / The Bridge of Sighs (Domenico Gaido 1921). Caption: Imperia tries to seduce Rolando (Luciano Albertini), but she is rejected and will take vile revenge.


Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana. Postcard for the four-part serial Il ponte dei sospiri / The Bridge of Sighs (Domenico Gaido, 1921). Caption: Altieri stops Dandolo for a duel. Luigi Stinchi played Altieri, one of the conspirators, while Dandolo, Leonora's father, was played by Bonaventura Ibanez.


Italian postcard. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana. Postcard for Il ponte dei sospiri / The Bridge of Sighs (Domenico Gaido 1921). Caption: The Conspiracy of the young patricians in the crypt of San Marco. In the foreground, one recognises Altieri (Luigi Stinchi).

Sources: Wikipedia (Italian and French), and IMDb.

Mon Ciné

The 1920s were a decade that saw the emergence of many film magazines. Mon ciné was a French example, subtitled 'the first and true film journal for the public'. It championed French and popular cinema, which, above all, conveys 'emotion', the supreme value according to the magazine. Any critical element that could interfere with its mission as a popular publication was clearly not allowed.

Each issue featured two films in serial form, adapted by specialists such as Maurice Bessy or Fabrice Delphi. The formula of the magazine also included a film presented as a double-page spread (a kind of precursor to the photo novel), plus news from the entertainment world ("we learn that…"), a presentation of new films, and sometimes an interview with an author or director, an article on a technical aspect, or on a film profession. There was also the section 'Your Voice Matters' with letters to the editor, a feature that would occupy the bulk of the magazine between 1924 and 1926. We also found a few star cards, which were issued as a supplement.

Mon ciné was founded by V. Marchand on 22 February 1922 with the support of the Offenstadt press group, a publisher of comics and children's magazines. The magazine was printed by Crété in Corbeil and published by Société parisienne d'éditions. At the time, it was the cheapest and most popular weekly magazine for silent films in France. Its success was immediate and considerable. Mon ciné was published from 1922 to 1937.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, no. 30, 14 September 1922. Musidora in Soleil et ombre / Sol y sombre / Sun and Shadow (Jaime De Lasuen, Musidora, 1922). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, no. 32, 28 September 1922. Jaque Catelain (1897-1965) was one of the most well-known faces of the French silent era. Catelain, also written Jaque-Catelain, Jacques Catelain and Jacque Cathelain, was originally named Jacques Guerin-Castelain.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, no. 44, 21 December 1922. Jean Toulout in La Conquête des Gaules / The Conquest of Gaul (Marcel Yonnet, Yan Bernard Dyl, Léonce-Henri Burel, 1922). The film deals with a film director, Jean Fortier, who, with scarce means, tries to film Julius Caesar's The Conquest of Gaul. The film was shot at the Gaumont studios.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, II, no. 97, 27 December 1923. Charles de Rochefort during the shooting of the American silent film Law of the Lawless (Victor Fleming, 1923).


French card by Mon Ciné. Alla Nazimova. The card was a supplement to the magazine Mon Ciné, no. 102, published 3 January 1924.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, III, no. 130, 14 August 1924. Max Linder in Max, der Zirkuskönig / King of the Circus (Édouard-Émile Violet, 1924), released in France as Le Roi du Cirque. As the cover tells, originally the film had a different title and was being shot at the Vita-Film studios in Austria.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, V, no. 204, 14 January 1926. Alice Terry in Mare Nostrum (Rex Ingram, 1926).


French magazine Mon Ciné, V, no. 204, 14 January 1926, p. 6. Alice Terry in Mare Nostrum (Rex Ingram, 1926).


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, V, no. 210, 25 February 1926. Greta Garbo in the German silent film Die freudlose Gasse / Joyless Street (G.W. Pabst, 1925), released in France in 1926 as La rue sans joie.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, V, no. 219, 29 April 1926. Lilian Constantini in La chèvre aux pieds d'or (Jacques Robert, 1926).


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, V, no. 253, 23 December 1926. Director/ actor Abel Gance as Saint-Just, one of the leading men of the French Terror, the character he played in his film Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927).


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, VII, no. 309, 18 January 1928. Emil Jannings in Varieté / Variety (Ewald André Dupont, 1925). The caption below claims Jannings' best three parts were those in Der letzte Mann / Le dernier homme/ The Last Laugh (1924), Varieté / Variétées / Variety (1925), and The Call of the Flesh / Quand la chair succombe (1927).

Sources: Paris Bibliothèques Patrimoniales (French), Wikipedia (French), Ciné-Ressources (French), Virtual History and Moviemags.com.

Jane Hylton

English actress Jane Hylton (1926-1979) appeared in 30 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s. She moved into television work in the latter half of her career in the 1960s and 1970s.


Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 140. Photo: Rank Film.


Dutch postcard. Photo: Eagle Lion.


Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 135. Photo: Rank Film.

Starlet at the Rank Charm School

Jane Hylton was born as Audrey Gwendolene Clark in 1926 in London. In her teens, she studied for a commercial career at Clarks College but gave it up when she was talent-spotted. She went to RADA and then to the Rank Organisation's Company of Youth.

The 'Rank Charm School' took promising young actors and groomed them for a film career. The programme turned out some genuine stars such as Dirk Bogarde and Diana Dors, but most alumni only had modest film careers. They were regularly employed in British films but rarely received star billing.

Female graduates of the programme were often referred to, somewhat disparagingly, as "Rank Starlets". Hylton, however, featured in substantial roles with prominent billing. Her first screen appearance came in the programmer A Girl in a Million (Francis Searle, 1946). She quickly moved on to minor roles in films produced by Gainsborough Studios, such as Jassy (Bernard Knowles, 1947) and When the Bough Breaks (Lawrence Huntington, 1947).

For Ealing Studios, she appeared in Holiday Camp (Ken Annakin, 1947) and It Always Rains on Sunday (Robert Hamer, 1947). In 1948, she landed her largest role to date, as an escaped convict's mistress in Gainsborough's My Brother's Keeper (Alfred Roome, 1948), starring Jack Warner.

She was then cast as one of the daughters in the successful comedy Here Come the Huggetts (Ken Annakin, 1948). In 1949, she played Molly Reed in the Ealing Comedy Passport to Pimlico (Henry Cornelius, 1949) starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley.


Dutch postcard, no. 3189-73.


Dutch postcard. Photo: Eagle Lion.


Vintage collector card. Photo: Eagle Lion. Jane Hylton in Passport to Pimlico (Henry Cornelius, 1949).

Toiling mainly in quickly-shot B-films

In the early 1950s, Jane Hylton was cast in major roles in several films with a predominantly female cast and targeted at female audiences. These included Dance Hall (Charles Crichton, 1950), It Started in Paradise (Compton Bennett, 1952), set in the world of haute couture, and the women's prison drama The Weak and the Wicked (J. Lee Thompson, 1954) starring Glynis Johns.

After giving birth to a baby girl, she returned to the screen in the mystery Burnt Evidence (Daniel Birt, 1954). The quality of film roles offered to her then began to fall. She found herself for the rest of the decade toiling mainly in quickly-shot B-films. An exception was a prominent role in the Horror film Circus of Horrors (Sidney Hayers, 1960) opposite Anton Diffring.

Hylton's first television appearance was in the starring role of Queen Guinevere in the series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (Bernard Knowles et al., 1956) with William Russell. From the early 1960s, she spent her career entirely in television and featured in several one-off productions for the BBC and ITV. She also appeared in series such as Dixon of Dock Green, Journey to the Unknown, The Troubleshooters and Take Three Girls. Her most identifiable TV role was Beryl Fisher, the mother of Betty Spencer (Michele Dotrice) in the comedy series Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.

The film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane praise her "quite unusual intensity and a real capacity for depicting working-class lives". They also note her extensive B-movie career in the 1950s: "Virtually everything she did is worth watching, for her if sometimes for little else." Hylton's first marriage to film producer Euan Lloyd ended in divorce, although the couple remained on good terms. The marriage produced a daughter, Rosalind Lloyd, who also became an actress. Hylton and her daughter both appeared in Lloyd's big-budget mercenary drama The Wild Geese (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1978), starring Richard Burton and Roger Moore. It was Hylton's first screen role for 17 years and turned out to be her last.

Jane Hylton met her second husband, actor Peter Dyneley, on the set of Ett kunglit aventyr / Laughing in the Sunshine (Daniel Birt, 1956). Their marriage lasted until Dyneley's death from cancer in 1977. Hylton, who had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect in her late 30s, died of a heart attack in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1979. She was only 52.


Dutch postcard by Rembrandt N.V., Amsterdam. William Russell (left) as Sir Lancelot and Jane Hylton as Queen Guinevere in the TV series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (Bernard Knowles, a.o., 1956). The Dutch title was Sir Lancelot. Sent by mail in the Netherlands in 1965.


Dutch postcard by Rembrandt N.V., Amsterdam. Jane Hylton as Queen Guinevere, William Russell (middle) as Sir Lancelot and Martin Benson (left) as Hassim in the TV series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (Bernard Knowles, a.o., 1956). The Dutch title was Sir Lancelot. Sent by mail in the Netherlands in 1965.


Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam. William Russell (left) as Sir Lancelot and Jane Hylton as Queen Guinevere in the TV series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (Bernard Knowles, a.o., 1956). The Dutch title was Sir Lancelot.

Sources: The Goon Show Depository, Wikipedia and IMDb.

Paul Otto

Paul Otto (1878-1943) was a balding German stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He was appointed State Actor by Adolf Hitler in 1937. However, the Nazis discovered his Jewish ancestry in 1943, and to avoid deportation, he and his wife committed suicide.


German postcard by Verlag Louis Blumenthal, Berlin-W., no. 5001. Photo: Becker & Maass.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 614/5. Photo: Union. Asta Nielsen in Rausch / Intoxication (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919), produced by Paul Otto.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 174. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.

Gentlemen and unscrupulous seducers

Paul Otto was born in 1878 in Berlin as Paul Otto Schlesinger. Initially, he began an apprenticeship for retail merchant and took acting lessons on the side.

At only 17, he made his stage debut in 1895. After engagements in Halle, Wiesbaden, and Hanover, he came to Berlin in 1906, where he performed on almost all the major stages until his death.

From 1910 onwards, Otto also appeared in films, often directed by Max Mack, Alwin Neuß, and Georg Jacoby. Between 1911 and 1920, he also directed films on several occasions.

One of his first parts was that of the French gentleman thief Arsène Lupin opposite Viggo Larsen as the brilliant English detective Sherlock Holmes in the five-part serial Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes (Viggo Larsen, 1910). He started at Duskes, where he made such films as Schuldig / Guilty (Paul Otto, 1912). Later, he also directed films at Oliver-Film. His preferred roles as a film actor were those of gentlemen: officers and diplomats, judges, professors, but he also played unscrupulous seducers.

Paul Otto was Asta Nielsen's partner in Die Filmprimadonna (1913) and Vordertreppe – Hintertreppe / Frontstairs and Backstairs (1916), both directed by Urban Gad. Otto played the railway inspector in Lupu Pick's Scherben / Shattered (1921), which is considered to be the earliest example of the Kammerspielfilm. Opposite Henny Porten, he acted in the drama Inge Larsen (Hans Steinhoff, 1923).


German postcard in the Film Sterne Series by Rotophot, no. 501/2. Photo: Decla. Hella Moja in Das Mädel von nebenan / The Girl Next Door (Otto Rippert, 1917), scripted by Paul Otto.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 501/3. Photo: Decla. Hella Moja and Theodor Loos (far left) in Die das Glück suchen / Those Searching for Happiness (1917). Odd is that this title does not appear in the databases Filmportal.de and IMDb. Yet, an announcement in Der Kinematograph of 1918 and earlier remarks in Der Lichtbildbühne of 1917 suggest the film did exist. It was directed by Otto Rippert and scripted by Paul Otto. By looking at the serial numbers of the Film-Sterne series, the film must be from 1917. It is not clear when the film when and if the film was released. Other actors mentioned as playing in the film were Hermann Thimig (who might be the doctor-like figure on our other card of the film), Anderly Lebius, and Oto Lins-Morstadt. Cinematography was by Max Fassbender. (With thanks to Jean Ritsema for this information).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 502/2. Photo: Decla. Alwin Neuss in Die Faust des Schicksals / Fist of Doom (Alwin Neuss, 1917), scripted by Paul Otto.


German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 511/3. Photro: Decla. Hella Moja in Die Tochter der Gräfin Stachowska (Otto Rippert, 1917), produced by Erich Pommer and scripted by Paul Otto.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 650/5. Photo: Henny Porten Filmproduktion (HPF). Henny Porten and Paul Otto in Inge Larsen (Hans Steinhoff, 1924).

His Jewish background remained undiscovered at first

Paul Otto also worked as a screenwriter and producer. In the late 1910s, he wrote several scripts for films with Hella Moja. He founded Argus-Film GmbH together with Marcel Boas in June 1918. His most ambitious production was Ernst Lubitsch's adaptation of August Strindberg's Rausch / Intoxication (1919), starring Asta Nielsen. In the film Erdgift / Earth Poison (Paul Otto, 1919), starring Grit Hegesa, and which Otto wrote and directed in 1919, he adapted motifs from Frank Wedekind's drama 'Erdgeist', using expressionist stylistic devices in part.

From 1921, Otto only acted in film and stopped his career as a scriptwriter and director. He became a popular supporting actor throughout the 1920s and acted in such films as Thamar, das Kind der Berge / Thamar, Child of the Mountains (Robert Dinesen, 1924) with Lya de Putti, Frauen, die man oft nicht grüßt / Women You Rarely Greet (Friedrich Zelnik, 1925) with Lya Mara, and Die Frauengasse von Algier / The Bordellos of Algiers (Wolfgang Hoffmann-Harnisch, 1926) with Maria Jacobini. In 1929, Otto was elected to the board of the newly founded Association of Berlin Stage Artists.

After roles in 96 silent films, Paul Otto made an effortless transition to sound film. In the early 1930s, he acted in such films as Yorck / General Yorck (Gustav Ucicky, 1931), Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen / Rasputin, Demon with Women (Adolf Trotz, 1931) with Conrad Veidt, Der Hauptmann von Köpenick / The Captain from Köpenick (Richard Oswald, 1931) starring Max Adalbert and Liebelei / A Love Story (Max Ophüls, 1933).

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Paul Otto turned his attention increasingly to theatre work. He continued to appear in numerous films, but always in supporting roles. His Jewish background remained undiscovered at first. In 1937, he was appointed State Actor by Adolf Hitler on account of his stage work at Heinz Hilpert's Deutsches Theater, which was highly regarded by the National Socialists, and in 1942, he took over the management of the stage department of the Reichskulturkammer (Reich Theatre Chamber).

By chance, Paul Otto's Jewish ancestry was discovered in the fall of 1943. Otto didn't see a way out of his situation. To avoid deportation, he and his wife, actress Charlotte Klinder-Otto, took their own lives in their home in Berlin. His grave is located in the Wilmersdorf Cemetery in Berlin. Altogether, he played in 96 silent and 57 sound films.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3109/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Rembrandt, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 154/2. Photo: FFG. Gitta Alpár and Paul Otto in Die - oder keine / She, or Nobody (Carl Froelich, 1932).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 2666/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Quick / Tobis.

Sources: Filmportal, Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.