Victor Janson aka Viktor Janson (1884-1960) was a German actor and director. He appeared in many of the early German Ernst Lubitsch comedies. During his long career, Janson played in almost 140 silent and sound films and directed 52 films.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 611/2. Photo: Union / Ufa. Victor Janson in Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919). In his early European films, Lubitsch alternated between escapist comedies and large-scale historical dramas, enjoying great international success with both. A triumph was Die Austernprinzessin, featuring Ossi Oswalda, with Victor Janson as her rich American father. It is a sparkling satire caricaturing American manners.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 611/3. Photo: Union / Ufa. Victor Janson, Ossi Oswalda and Harry Liedtke in Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 611/6. Photo: Union / Ufa. Victor Janson in Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919).
Victor Janson was born in 1884 in Riga (now Latvia, then the Russian Empire). After acting and singing lessons, Janson went to Berlin at the age of 17, where he received further acting training. He began his first permanent engagement in 1904 at the Court Theater in Detmold. In 1905 he played in Libau, in 1906 in Neisse and in 1908 in Opole, where he also directed for the first time.
In 1909 he moved to the New Operetta Theatre in Berlin. As a funny character actor, he was particularly active in the Central and Residenz Theatre in the following years. As part of an operetta tour, he reached as far as South America.
From 1913 Janson acted in silent films. He subsequently played under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch in a large string of films, often with Ossi Oswalda or Pola Negri. These films were Wenn vier dasselbe tun/When Four Do the Same (1917), Prinz Sami/Prince Sami (1917), Ich möchte kein Mann sein/I Don't Want to Be a Man (1918), Das Mädel vom Ballett/The Ballet Girl (1918), Meine Frau, die Filmschauspielerin/My Wife the Movie Star (1918), Carmen (1918), Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (1919), Die Puppe/The Doll (1919), Die Wohnungsnot/The Housing Shortage (1919), and Die Bergkatze/The Mountain Cat (1921).
Janson also acted in films by other well-known German directors, including Nebel und Sonne (Joe May, 1916), Die grosse Wette/The big bet (Harry Piel, 1916), Das Mädel von nebenan/The Girl Nextdoor (Otto Rippert, 1917), Dornröschen/Aurora (Paul Leni, 1917), Die schöne Jolan/The beautiful Jolan (Rudolf Meinert, 1918), Das Teehaus zu den zehn Lotosblumen/The tea house to the ten lotus flowers (Georg Jacoby, 1919), and in many other films.
In 1918 Victor Janson began to work as a director, but he remained an actor too. Janson debuted as a silent film director with Der gelbe Schein/The Yellow Ticket (1918, codirected with Eugen Illés), starring Pola Negri, and with Janson himself in a supporting part. It is a remarkable philosemitic German drama, partly shot at the Jewish quarter in Warsaw, and initially intended as anti-Russian propaganda. Though the Nazis had tried to destroy all copies of it, a print of the film was found a few years ago in a Dutch private collection, and restored by Kevin Brownlow. Before Der gelbe Schein, Janson had already directed in 1916 the film Das Geheimnis der Mumie/The Secret of the Mummy, but the film was not released until 1921.
German postcard by Photochemie, no. K.171. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 501/1. Photo: Decla. Hella Moja in Das Mädel von Nebenan/The Girl Nextdoor (Otto Rippert, 1917). The man holding Hella's foot is Victor Janson.
German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, K. 2268. Photo: Berliner Film-Manufaktur. Lya Mara and Victor Janson in Die Serenyi (Alfred Halm, 1918).
German postcard by Photochemie, no. K.172. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.
In the early 1920s, Victor Janson also directed a series of comedies with Ossi Oswalda, produced by her own film company, such as Amor am Steuer/Cupid at the Wheel (Victor Janson, 1921), Colibri (Victor Janson, 1924), and Niniche (Victor Janson, 1925). Janson also directed dramatic films such as Der Trödler von Amsterdam/The Dealer from Amsterdam (1925) starring Werner Krauss.
He also directed such romantic comedies as the period piece Zopf und Schwert – Eine tolle Prinzessin/Braid and Sword - A Great Princess (Victor Janson, 1926) with Mady Christians, Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume/Die Königin seines Herzens/Vienna, You City of My Dreams (Victor Janson, 1927) with Liane Haid, and Es flüstert die Nacht/It Whispers the Night (Victor Janson, 1929) with Lil Dagover.
In sound cinema, Victor Janson continued to be used as an actor - primarily in comic roles - especially from the late 1930s until the early 1950s, when he stopped working as an actor. All in all, he acted in almost 140 films. Janson continued to direct until 1939 and would make 52 films in total. His sound productions included films such as Die Frau von der man spricht/The Woman You Talk About (1931), Das Blaue vom Himmel/The Blue Sky (1932), Sie und die Drei/She and the Three (1935), Mädchen in Weiß/Girls in White (1936), and Wer küßt Madeleine/Who Kisses Madeleine (1939).
In the early 1950s, Janson acted as a German voice actor for a few American films, including Disney's Alice in Wonderland. Until well into the 1950s, he was active on the Berlin stages, especially at the Schlossparktheater and Schillertheater.
In 1920, Victor Janson married the singer Helene Landt-Merviola, who appeared under the name Helene Merviola. Janson died in Berlin in 1960 and was also buried there.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 685/4, 1919-1924. Photo: Ossi Oswalda and Victor Janson in Niniche (Victor Janson, 1925).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1467/2. Photo: Aafa Film. Mady Christians in Zopf und Schwert – Eine tolle Prinzessin/Braid and Sword - A Great Princess (Victor Janson, 1926).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 65/3. Photo: Aafa-Film. Mady Christians and Viktor Janson in Die geschiedene Frau/The Divorcée (Viktor Janson, 1926).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 128/1. Photo: Aafa Film. Paul Westermeier in Der Bettelstudent/The Beggar Student (Victor Janson, 1931), one of the many film adaptations of the eponymous operetta 'Der Bettelstudent' (1882) by Karl Millöcker.
Sources: Filmportal.de, Wikipedia (German), and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 17 November 2024.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 611/2. Photo: Union / Ufa. Victor Janson in Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919). In his early European films, Lubitsch alternated between escapist comedies and large-scale historical dramas, enjoying great international success with both. A triumph was Die Austernprinzessin, featuring Ossi Oswalda, with Victor Janson as her rich American father. It is a sparkling satire caricaturing American manners.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 611/3. Photo: Union / Ufa. Victor Janson, Ossi Oswalda and Harry Liedtke in Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 611/6. Photo: Union / Ufa. Victor Janson in Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919).
Under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch
Victor Janson was born in 1884 in Riga (now Latvia, then the Russian Empire). After acting and singing lessons, Janson went to Berlin at the age of 17, where he received further acting training. He began his first permanent engagement in 1904 at the Court Theater in Detmold. In 1905 he played in Libau, in 1906 in Neisse and in 1908 in Opole, where he also directed for the first time.
In 1909 he moved to the New Operetta Theatre in Berlin. As a funny character actor, he was particularly active in the Central and Residenz Theatre in the following years. As part of an operetta tour, he reached as far as South America.
From 1913 Janson acted in silent films. He subsequently played under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch in a large string of films, often with Ossi Oswalda or Pola Negri. These films were Wenn vier dasselbe tun/When Four Do the Same (1917), Prinz Sami/Prince Sami (1917), Ich möchte kein Mann sein/I Don't Want to Be a Man (1918), Das Mädel vom Ballett/The Ballet Girl (1918), Meine Frau, die Filmschauspielerin/My Wife the Movie Star (1918), Carmen (1918), Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (1919), Die Puppe/The Doll (1919), Die Wohnungsnot/The Housing Shortage (1919), and Die Bergkatze/The Mountain Cat (1921).
Janson also acted in films by other well-known German directors, including Nebel und Sonne (Joe May, 1916), Die grosse Wette/The big bet (Harry Piel, 1916), Das Mädel von nebenan/The Girl Nextdoor (Otto Rippert, 1917), Dornröschen/Aurora (Paul Leni, 1917), Die schöne Jolan/The beautiful Jolan (Rudolf Meinert, 1918), Das Teehaus zu den zehn Lotosblumen/The tea house to the ten lotus flowers (Georg Jacoby, 1919), and in many other films.
In 1918 Victor Janson began to work as a director, but he remained an actor too. Janson debuted as a silent film director with Der gelbe Schein/The Yellow Ticket (1918, codirected with Eugen Illés), starring Pola Negri, and with Janson himself in a supporting part. It is a remarkable philosemitic German drama, partly shot at the Jewish quarter in Warsaw, and initially intended as anti-Russian propaganda. Though the Nazis had tried to destroy all copies of it, a print of the film was found a few years ago in a Dutch private collection, and restored by Kevin Brownlow. Before Der gelbe Schein, Janson had already directed in 1916 the film Das Geheimnis der Mumie/The Secret of the Mummy, but the film was not released until 1921.
German postcard by Photochemie, no. K.171. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 501/1. Photo: Decla. Hella Moja in Das Mädel von Nebenan/The Girl Nextdoor (Otto Rippert, 1917). The man holding Hella's foot is Victor Janson.
German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, K. 2268. Photo: Berliner Film-Manufaktur. Lya Mara and Victor Janson in Die Serenyi (Alfred Halm, 1918).
German postcard by Photochemie, no. K.172. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.
Directing Ossi Oswalda
In the early 1920s, Victor Janson also directed a series of comedies with Ossi Oswalda, produced by her own film company, such as Amor am Steuer/Cupid at the Wheel (Victor Janson, 1921), Colibri (Victor Janson, 1924), and Niniche (Victor Janson, 1925). Janson also directed dramatic films such as Der Trödler von Amsterdam/The Dealer from Amsterdam (1925) starring Werner Krauss.
He also directed such romantic comedies as the period piece Zopf und Schwert – Eine tolle Prinzessin/Braid and Sword - A Great Princess (Victor Janson, 1926) with Mady Christians, Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume/Die Königin seines Herzens/Vienna, You City of My Dreams (Victor Janson, 1927) with Liane Haid, and Es flüstert die Nacht/It Whispers the Night (Victor Janson, 1929) with Lil Dagover.
In sound cinema, Victor Janson continued to be used as an actor - primarily in comic roles - especially from the late 1930s until the early 1950s, when he stopped working as an actor. All in all, he acted in almost 140 films. Janson continued to direct until 1939 and would make 52 films in total. His sound productions included films such as Die Frau von der man spricht/The Woman You Talk About (1931), Das Blaue vom Himmel/The Blue Sky (1932), Sie und die Drei/She and the Three (1935), Mädchen in Weiß/Girls in White (1936), and Wer küßt Madeleine/Who Kisses Madeleine (1939).
In the early 1950s, Janson acted as a German voice actor for a few American films, including Disney's Alice in Wonderland. Until well into the 1950s, he was active on the Berlin stages, especially at the Schlossparktheater and Schillertheater.
In 1920, Victor Janson married the singer Helene Landt-Merviola, who appeared under the name Helene Merviola. Janson died in Berlin in 1960 and was also buried there.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 685/4, 1919-1924. Photo: Ossi Oswalda and Victor Janson in Niniche (Victor Janson, 1925).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1467/2. Photo: Aafa Film. Mady Christians in Zopf und Schwert – Eine tolle Prinzessin/Braid and Sword - A Great Princess (Victor Janson, 1926).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 65/3. Photo: Aafa-Film. Mady Christians and Viktor Janson in Die geschiedene Frau/The Divorcée (Viktor Janson, 1926).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 128/1. Photo: Aafa Film. Paul Westermeier in Der Bettelstudent/The Beggar Student (Victor Janson, 1931), one of the many film adaptations of the eponymous operetta 'Der Bettelstudent' (1882) by Karl Millöcker.
Sources: Filmportal.de, Wikipedia (German), and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 17 November 2024.
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