11 September 2021

Josep Caklovic

in the 1920s, Josep Caklovic was an editor of film postcards in Zagreb, then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, now Croatia. He published postcards of film stars and scenes for the Yugoslavian film production and distribution companies Mosinger, Pan-Film, Balkan-Film, and others. Caklovic started probably with his production in 1923. Early Caklovic postcards included those for Mosinger to promote the French Albatros film Le Prince Charmant, for Pan-Film for the German films Garragan with Carmel Myers and Der Gardeoffizier with Maria Corda, and for Balkan-Film for Fritz Lang's masterpiece Die Nibelungen. Postcards with the Yugoslavian star Steffi Vidacic were also included. Two series exist of the Caklovic cards: those with the name 'Ed. Caklovic' and numbers on the front, and those with the name (logo) 'Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb' and numbers on the back.

Carmel Myers in Garragan 1924
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, Bromografija, no. 5. Photo: Pan-Film Zagreb. Carmel Myers in Garragan (Ludwig Wolff, 1924), starring Edward Burns and Myers. 

Ludwig Wolff also produced and scripted the film, while the script was based on a novel by Wolff himself. Wolff did this multitasking more often. Garragan treats one of Wolff's favourite themes, that of reincarnation. Baron Garragan, who has been rightly condemned to ten years in prison for murdering a man he believed to be his wife's lover. Then he is released...

Julanne Johnston and Edward Burns in Garragan (1924)
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, Bromografija, no. 6. Photo: Pan-Film Zagreb. Julanne Johnston (aka Julianne Johnston) and Edward Burns in Garragan (Ludwig Wolff, 1924). 

In between the shooting of Ben-Hur in Italy, Hollywood actress Carmel Myers and two other American actors, Edward Burns, and Julanne aka Julianne Johnston became the protagonists of the German production Garrigan. Not much about the film is known. While for Myers it was her only European role, Johnston stayed on in Germany to have a female lead, with Olga Tschechowa, in Die Stadt der Versuchung (Walter Niebuhr, 1925) and Burns had a leading role in Der Farmer aus Texas (Joe May, 1924-1925). Johnston just had had a major role as the princess in The Thief of Bagdad, starring Douglas Fairbanks, while Myers would reach stardom as the seductive Iras in Ben-Hur (1925). Instead, Burns was an unlikely lead, as he had mostly been a supporting actor in American Westerns for Universal or small companies.

Olaf Fjord and Sabri Mahir in Der gestohlene Professor
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no 16. Photo: Pan-Film, Zagreb. Olaf Fjord and Sabri Mahir in Der gestohlene Professor (Emil Justitz, 1924). It was her only film role.

Charlotte Ander, Claude France, and Carmen Cartellieri
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no 23. Photo: Pan-Film, Zagreb. Charlotte Ander, Claude France, and Carmen Cartellieri.

Carmen Cartellieri
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no. 26. Photo: Pan-Film, Zagreb. Carmen Cartellieri (1891-1953) was a film actress of the Hungarian, Austrian and German silent cinema of the 1920s.

Alfred Abel in Die Finanzen des Großherzogs (1924)
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no. 37. Photo: Balkan Film, Zagreb. Alfred Abel in Die Finanzen des Großherzogs (F. W. Murnau, 1924). Collection: Didier Hanson.

Ossi Oswalda in Niniche
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no 43. Photo: Mosinger Film, Zagreb. Ossi Oswalda in Niniche (Victor Janson, 1925).

Maria Jacobini and  Harry Liedtke in Orient (1924)
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no 44. Photo: Mosinger Film, Zagreb. Maria Jacobini and Harry Liedtke in Orient - Die Tochter der Wüste (Gennaro Righelli, 1924).

Maria Corda in Der Gardeoffizier
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no 57. Photo: Pan Film, Zagreb. Maria Corda in the German film Der Gardeoffizier (Robert Wiene, 1927), based on the play 'A testör' by Ferenc Molnár.

Maria Corda and Alfred Abel in Der Gardeoffizier
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no 59. Photo: Pan Film, Zagreb. Maria Corda and Alfred Abel in Der Gardeoffizier (Robert Wiene, 1927)r. The man kneeling and begging for forgiveness is Abel. The man in the back is possibly Anton Edthofer, who plays a critic.

Rudolf Klein-Rogge in Die Nibelungen
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no 65. Photo: Balkan-Film, Zagreb. Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Lord Etzel, King of the Huns, in Fritz Lang's medieval legend Die Nibelungen (1924).

Nathalie Kovanko in Le prince charmant
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no 72. Photo: Mosinger Film, Zagreb. Nathalie Kovanko in Le prince charmant/Prince Charming (Viktor Tourjansky, 1925).

Jaque Catelain
Yugoslavian postcard by Jos. Caklovic, Zagreb, no. 75. Photo: Mosinger Film, Zagreb. Jaque Catelain in Le prince charmant/Prince Charming (Viktor Tourjansky, 1925).

Štefica Vidačić/Steffie Vida
Yugoslavian postcard by Edit. Caklovic, Zagreb. Photo: Reputin, Zagreb. Yugoslavian beauty Štefica Vidačić (1905-?) became Miss Europe 1927. This triumph led to a brief career in the German silent cinema under the stage name Steffie Vida. It made her an idol in Croatia, but her marriage to a rich German lead to desolate reactions of her male fans in Zagreb.

Karina Bell in Klovnen (1926)
Yugoslavian postcard by Edit. Caklovic, Zagreb, no. 3747/1. Photo: Mosinger Film. Karina Bell in Klovnen/The Clown (A.W. Sandberg, 1926).

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