02 October 2020

Helga Martin

German actress Helga Martin (1940-1959) was one of the young stars of the Wirtschafswunder cinema in the late 1950s. She played supporting parts in 12 films, mostly comedies, and musicals. Her career was finished after a labour trial in 1960.

Helga Martin and Hardy Krüger in Banktresor 713 (1957)
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam, no. 3747. Photo: Wesel / Berolina Film / Deutsche Film Hansa. Helga Martin and Hardy Krüger in Banktresor 713/Bank Vault 713 (Werner Klingler, 1957).

Helga Martin
Austrian postcard by Benco Verlag, Wien, no. 477. Photo: Schulz-Film.

Hardy's girlfriend


Helga Martin was born in 1940 in Germany as Helga Dümler.

At 16, she made her film debut with a small part in the comedy Meine Tante, deine Tante/My Aunt, Your Aunt (Carl Boese, 1956) with Theo Lingen and Hans Moser.

The following year, she played the girlfriend of Hardy Krüger in the crime drama Banktresor 713/Bank Vault 713 (Werner Klingler, 1957).

In the next years, he became known for such light entertainment films as Wehe wenn sie losgelassen.../Funny fellows (Géza von Cziffra, 1958) with Peter Alexander, Liebe, Mädchen und Soldaten/Love, girls and soldiers (Franz Antel, 1958) starring Renate Holm, and Ein Sommer, den man nie vergißt/A Summer You Will Never Forget (Werner Jacobs, 1959) with Claus Biederstaedt.

Helga Martin
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam, no. 3745. Spanjersberg was the Dutch licency holder for Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof. Photo: Wesel / Berolina Film / Deutsche Film Hansa. Helga Martin in Banktresor 713/Bank Vault 713 (Werner Klingler, 1957).

Helga Martin in Banktresor 713 (1957)
German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof. no. FK 3746. Photo: Wesel / Berolina Film / Deutsche Film Hansa. Helga Martin in Banktresor 713/Bank Vault 713 (Werner Klingler, 1957).

Helga Martin
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin-Charlottenburg, no. I 257. Photo: Bertolina / Deutsche Film Hansa (DFH) / Wesel. Helga Martin in Banktresor 713/Bank Vault 713 (Werner Klingler, 1957).

Germany your little stars


Helga Martin's only lead was in the nostalgic drama Das gab's nur einmal/It Only Happened Once (Géza von Bolváry, 1958) opposite Hans Albers.

After a dozen films, suddenly her film career was over. Journalist and filmmaker Will Tremper had reported about her in the Stern magazine series 'Deutschland deine Sternchen' (Germany your little stars), whereupon the film producer Rudolf Kalmowicz prematurely terminated a film contract with her.

The following labour court trial in 1960 made headlines when Kalmowicz became palpable against Martin's lawyer Lothar Frantz after he doubted his liquidity.

In 1961, she played in a TV film, the comedy Lauter Lügen/All lies (Thomas Engel, 1961), but that was her last screen credit.

Helga Martin died in 1999 in Germany. She was 59. She is buried at the Munich Waldfriedhof .

Helga Martin
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin-Charlottenburg, no. A 1729. Photo: Divina / Gloria / Bayer. Helga Martin in Der Haus-Tyrann/The house tyrant (Hans Deppe, 1959).

Helga Martin in Banktresor 713 (1957)
German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin-Charlottenburg, no. S 757. Photo: Wesel / Berolina Film /Deutsche Film Hansa. Helga Martin in Banktresor 713/Bank Vault 713 (Werner Klingler, 1957).

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

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