Richard Häussler

One of the interesting programmes of Il Cinema Ritrovato 2024 is 'Dark Heimat', curated by Olaf Möller. The late 1940s and very early 1950s saw a scattered production of films in which the worries of today and the pain and shameful memories of the recent past were discussed in stories set at the edges of Germany and Austria – in the rural far-away of the Alpine regions. In terms of genre, they’re rooted in what soon would be called 'Heimatfilm': films set in specific landscapes whose people are seen as paragons of traditions needed to face the challenges of modern (city) life. But in contrast to the official Heimatfilm classics, a gem like Die Alm an der Grenze (1951) starring Richard Häussler had more to do with Film Noir and offers unexpected insights into a transitional period of Germany and Austria. The film and its star are little known even in Germany, so EFSP puts the spot on Richard Häussler.









German flyer by Illustrierte Film-Bühne, no. 1260. Photos: Peter Ostermayr-Film / Unitas un Kopp Verleih. Richard Häussler and Inge Egger in Die Alm an der Grenze/The Mountain Pasture on the Border (Walter Janssen, 1951).

Richard Häussler (1908-1964) was a German character actor and occasional director. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1936 and 1964. He also directed seven films between 1951 and 1957.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3427/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Bavaria Filmkunst.

One of the few German colour films during the war

Richard Häussler was born in 1908 in Munich, Germany. He made his stage debut in 1926 and acted in youthful leading roles. His film debut followed in the Bavarian crime comedy Der ahnungslose Engel/The Unsuspecting Angel (Franz Seitz, 1936) starring Joe Stöckel and Lucie Englisch.

He also appeared in the historical drama Maria Ilona (Géza von Bolvary, 1939) starring Paula Wessely and Willy Birgel. The film is set in Austria during the reign of Ferdinand I. During the war, he had a role in Der Fuchs von Glenarvon/The Fox of Glenarvon (Max W. Kimmich, 1940), a Nazi propaganda film portraying the years of the Irish fight for independence during World War I. It starred Olga Tschechova, Karl Ludwig Diehl and Ferdinand Marian.

He had a bigger part in the drama Mädchen im Vorzimmer/The Girl at the Reception (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1940) starring Magda Schneider, Heinz Engelmann, and Carsta Löck. He also appeared in the historical drama Komödianten/The Comedians (G. W. Pabst, 1941) starring Käthe Dorsch, Hilde Krahl and Henny Porten and based on the novel 'Philine' by Olly Boeheim. The film is set in the eighteenth century and portrays the development of German theatre.

Richard Häussler also played supporting parts in the dramas Das andere Ich/Her Other Self (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1941) starring Hilde Krahl, and Geheimakte W.B.1 (Herbert Selpin, 1942) starring Alexander Golling. The film portrays Wilhelm Bauer and his work on developing the submarine.

He played a leading role opposite Annelies Reinhold in the drama Violanta (Paul May, 1942). He co-starred with Will Dohm and Heli Finkenzeller in the comedy Das Bad auf der Tenne/The Bath in the Barn (Volker von Collande, 1943). The film was shot in Agfacolor, one of only a few German films made in colour during the war years.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3966/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Prag-Film / Binz.


West German postcard by F.J. Rúdel, Filmpostkarten-Verlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no. 124. Photo: Wesel / Junge Film Union.

A mainstay of Bavarian Heimatfilms

Richard Häussler could continue his career after the war and he was able to prove his acting abilities in popular films such as Wozzeck (Georg C. Klaren, 1947) starring Kurt Meisel, Das verlorene Gesicht/The Lost Face (Kurt Hoffmann, 1948) starring Marianne Hoppe and Gustav Fröhlich and the historical adventure film Der Bagnosträfling/The Prisoner (1949).

He directed the drama Die Martinsklause/The Cloister of Martins (Richard Häussler, 1951) starring Willy Rösner. Based on the novel of the same title by Ludwig Ganghofer, it was part of the postwar wave of Heimat films in Germany.

Häussler became a mainstay of Bavarian Heimatfilms, often in the role of well-to-do or gentlemanly professional men. To his other well-known post-war films belong the Austrian-German crime film Die Todesarena/Arena of Death (Kurt Meisel, 1953), the East German crime film Das Fräulein von Scuderi (Eugen York, 1955) starring Henny Porten in her last film role, and the TV film Affäre Dreyfus/The Dreyfus Affair (Hanns Farenburg, 1959).

Out of character, he played a gangster in the Edgar Wallace thriller Zimmer 13/Room 13 (Harald Reinl, 1964). His final film was a Spanish Spaghetti Western Los Pistoleros de Arizona/Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace (Alfonso Balcázar, 1964), starring Robert Woods.

Richard Häussler died in 1964 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. He was married to actress Maria Andergast from 1958 till his death.


West German postcard. Photo: Ostermayr-Film / Unitas. Richard Häussler in Die schöne Tölzerin/The Beautiful Girl From Tölz (Richard Häussler, 1952).


East German card, no. 62/55. Photo: DEFA / Neufeld. Richard Häussler in Das Fräulein von Scuderi/Mademoiselle de Scuderi (Eugen York, 1955).

Sources: Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.