German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4297/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Ufa.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4691/1, 1929-1930. Sent by mail in 1930. Photo: Ufa.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3113/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 2110/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Hämmerer / Ufa. Gustl Stark-Gstettenbaurin Der Edelweißkönig/King of the Edelweiss (Paul May, 1939).
Classics by Fritz Lang
August Ludwig Gstettenbaur was born in 1914 in Straubing, Germany. He was discovered for the stage by the actor Eugen Klöpfer.
Gustl had his first stage role at the age of 13 as Falstaff's page in 'Heinrich IV'(Henry IV) in the Lessing Theater in Berlin. He was best known for his portrayal of Piccolo Gustel in the popular operetta 'Im Weißen Rössl' (The White Horse Inn) by Ralph Benatzky.
One of his first film roles was in the silent comedy Der Piccolo vom Goldenen Löwen/The Page Boy at the Golden Lion (Carl Boese, 1928) starring Fritz Kampers.
Then followed a small part in the espionage thriller Spione/Spies (Fritz Lang, 1928) and a bigger one as a childish runaway in the classic Science Fiction film Frau im Mond/Woman in the Moon (Fritz Lang, 1930).
In 1930 he acted in the children's play 'Kakadu-Kakada' by Carl Zuckmayer in Berlin. The transition to the sound film was no problem. He soon became established as an actor for comedies.
German collectors card by Ross Verlag in the series Vom Werden Deutscher Filmkunst - Der Stumme Film, picture no. 138, group 40. Photo: Ufa. Willy Fritsch, Gerda Maurus and Gustl Stark-Gstettenbauer in Frau im Mond/Woman in the Moon (Fritz Lang, 1929).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6553/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Felsom Film. Gustl Stark-Gstettenbaur in Mädchen zum Heiraten/Marry Me (Wilhelm Thiele, 1932).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6823/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Atelier Jacobi, Berlin.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 2261/1, 1939-1940. Photo: Ufa.
Forest rangers, smugglers, hunters, etc.
With the advent of the sound film, Gustl Stark-Gstettenbaur's engagements at the theatres decreased, and the film came to the fore.
His film roles included Delikatessen/Delicatessen (Géza von Bolváry, 1930) with Harry Liedtke, Wien, du Stadt der Lieder/Vienna, you city of songs (Richard Oswald, 1930), Mädchen zum Heiraten/Girls to marry (Wilhelm Thiele, 1932) with Renate Müller, and Soldaten – Kameraden/Soldier comrades (Toni Huppertz, 1936).
Gstettenbaur continued his career after the Second World War, mainly in music and Heimat-films as forest rangers, smugglers, hunters, etc. In 1954 he played his one hundredth film role in the Austrian-German comedy Wenn ich einmal der Herrgott wär/If I were once God (Anton Kutter, 1954).
In the years from 1969 to 1971, he played in 5 episodes of the series Königlich Bayerisches Amtsgericht/The Royal Bavarian District Court. For several years Gustl Gstettenbaur ran a guest house with a café in Hindelang / Allgäu under the name 'Filmstüberl "Bei Gustl"'.
In 1985 he received the Filmband in Gold award for his many years of outstanding work in the German cinema. Gustl Stark-Gstettenbaur died in 1996 in Bad Hindelang, Bavaria, Germany. He was 82. He was married to Gracie Schenk.
German postcard by Ross Verlag for Das Programm von Heute, Berlin. Photo: Hämmerer / Ufa.
Austrian postcard by Verlag Hubmann, Wien (HDH Verlag), no. 301. Photo: Union-Film, Wien. Gustl Stark-Gstettenbauer in Wenn ich einmal der Herrgott wär/If I Could Be God Just Once See (Anton Kutter, 1954).
West-German postcard by F.B.Z., no. 278. Photo: Astra-Film / Hochreiter / Siegel / Monopol.
German postcard by Klei. Photo: König Film / Kopp-Film. Gustl Stark-Gstettenbaur in Jägerblut/Hunter's blood (Hans H. König, 1957).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
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