The early Henny Porten films

Through the years, EFSP has done many posts on Henny Porten (1890-1960) and her many films. Porten made her first film appearance in Meißner Porzellan/The Porcelain of Meissner (1906), a very short sound film, directed by her father, Franz Porten, for film pioneer Oskar Messter and his company Messter Film. In 1907, the young Porten became a professional actress. Her striking appearance and simple style of acting exerted a magnetic effect on the public. Henny became the first diva of the German cinema with her role as a blind girl in the melodrama Das Liebesglück der Blinden/The Love of a Blind Girl (1911), written by her sister, Rosa Porten. People started to ask for her name, and thus 'the Messter girl' became one of the first film stars who was known by name. During 'the Great war', the Berlin postcard company Rotophot started its Film-Sterne series with sepia cards, showing stills of Porten films, produced in 1916 and 1917. Ivo Blom collected this complete 500-series.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/1. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Die Räuberbraut/The robber bride (Robert Wiene 1916).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/2. Photo: Messter Film, Berlin. Henny Porten and Theodor Loos in Gelöste Ketten/Dissolved chains (Rudolf Biebrach, 1916).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/3. Photo: Messter Film, Berlin. Henny Porten and Emil Jannings in Die Ehe der Luise Rohrbach/The marriage of Luise Rohrbach (Rudolf Biebrach 1917), based on a novel by Emmi Elert.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/4. Photo: Messter Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Feenhände/Fairy hands (Rudolf Biebrach, 1917).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/5. Photo: Messter Film, Berlin. Henny Porten and Paul Hartmann in Christa Hartungen (Rudolf Biebrach, 1917).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/6. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in the German silent drama Der Ruf der Liebe/The call of love (Rudolf Biebrach, 1916).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/7. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in the German silent drama Der Ruf der Liebe/The call of love (Rudolf Biebrach, 1916).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/8. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten and Bruno Decarli in Das wandernde Licht/ The wandering light (Robert Wiene, 1916).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/9. Photo: Messter Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Die Prinzessin von Neutralien/The Princess of Neutralien (Rudolf Biebrach, 1917).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 500/10. Photo: Messter Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Die Prinzessin von Neutralien/The Princess of Neutralien (Rudolf Biebrach, 1917).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/11. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Der Liebesbrief der Königin/The Queen's Love Letter (Robert Wiene, 1916).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film-Sterne series, no. 500/12. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Der Liebesbrief der Königin/The Queen's Love Letter (Robert Wiene, 1916).

For many, many more postcards of Porten, check out our Henny Porten album at Flickr.