Harald Paulsen

Fast-talking German actor Harald Paulsen (1895-1954) appeared in 125 films between 1920 and 1954, including Robert Wiene's Genuine (1920) and Alraune (1930) with Brigitte Helm. He was on stage from 1913 and an ensemble member of Max Reinhardt's Deutsche Theater in the 1920s. Paulsen also played Mack the Knife in the original cast of 'Die Dreigroschenoper' (The Threepenny Opera) written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. The show's opening number, 'Mack the Knife', became the most popular song of its time.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 6509. Photo: Von Gudenberg. Sent by mail in 1935.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5493/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Atelier d'Ora / Benda, Wien.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag. Photo: Cicero Film / Deutscher Tonfilm / Leopold Barth & Co. Perhaps a card for Eine Stunde Glück/One Hour Of Happiness (Wilhelm Dieterle, 1931), in which Paulsen played one of two engineers working the night shift at a department store who pretends to give gifts from the store to a poor girl (Evelyn Holt).

Mack the Knife

Harald Johannes David Paulsen was born in Elmshorn in the German Empire, in 1895. He first appeared on stage at age sixteen but was unable to make a living from it and earned extra money as a musician in a band. He then studied under Leopold Jessner, who was then senior director at Hamburg's Thalia Theater.

Paulsen made his debut at the Hamburg Stadttheater in 1913. From 1915 until 1917, he served in the German Army during World War I and in 1917–1918 he played at the Fronttheater in Mitau. After the end of the war, he initially toured the Ruhr and Westphalia with a touring company. In 1919 he was brought to the Deutsches Theater in Berlin by legendary stage director Max Reinhardt.

There, Paulsen quickly made a name for himself as a renowned actor and began studying singing in 1922, which made him versatile. In addition to acting, he now also appeared in operas, operettas and revues. He often acted as a bon vivant, comedian, couplets singer and dancer. He usually wrote his songs and thought-provoking poems shortly before performing. From his extensive theatrical work, his role as Mackie Messer (Mack the Knife) in the world premiere of Bertolt Brecht's 'The Threepenny Opera' is particularly noteworthy. This performance took place on 31 August 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm. At that time, Paulsen was considered a Brecht admirer.

Paulsen also appeared in several silent films. Robert Wiene directed him in the historical drama Die Nacht der Königin Isabeau/The Night of Queen Isabeau (Robert Wiene, 1920) starring Fern Andra and Fritz Kortner, and the expressionist Horror fantasy Genuine (Robert Wiene, 1920) starring Fern Andra as an ancient and cruel divinity, who seduces men and induce them to kill as a proof of love. Paulsen co-starred in Das Mädel aus der Hölle/The Girl from Hell (Friedrich Zelnik, 1923) opposite Lya Mara and Carl Auen. He also had a major role in the Henny Porten vehicle Das Abenteuer der Sibylle Brant/The Adventures of Sybil Brent (Carl Froelich, 1925).

Harald Paulsen's acting career continued into the sound film era. Probably his best-known sound film is the Science Fiction Horror film Alraune (Richard Oswald, 1930). Like the silent 1928 version, the film again featured Brigitte Helm in the role of Alraune. He also appeared in Oswald's Horror comedy Unheimliche Geschichten/The Living Dead (Richard Oswald, 1932) starring Paul Wegener. Georg Jacoby directed him in the crime thriller Der große Bluff/The Big Bluff (Georg Jacoby, 1932) and Der kühne Schwimmer/The Daring Swimmer (Georg Jacoby, 1934), starring Ralph Arthur Roberts.


German postcard for Das Programm von Heute by Ross Verlag. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for Der große Bluff/The Big Bluff (Georg Jacoby, 1933).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7538/1, 1932-1933. Photo: Hisa-Film-Vertrieb GmbH. Dolly Haas and Harald Paulsen in Die Kleine Schwindlerin/The Little Crook (Johannes Meyer, 1933).


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3520/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis.

A fervent National Socialist

Shortly after Adolf Hitler seized power, Harald Paulsen became a fervent National Socialist and carried the Flag of Nazi Germany for the student representatives at the May Day rally in Tempelhof. In 1938, Paulsen became director of the Theater am Nollendorfplatz in Berlin, where mainly operettas were performed at that time. He also directed and performed in singing roles.

Paulsen appeared in approximately ninety sound films, mainly mediocre comedies and operettas. He also played roles such as Imre Berczy in the melodrama Stradivari (Géza von Bolváry, 1935), Fritz Niemeyer in the drama Traumulus/The Dreamer (Carl Froelich, 1936) and the singing teacher Enrico Falotti in the comedy Wenn wir alle Engel wären/If We All Were Angels (Carl Froelich, 1936) alongside Heinz Rühmann.

In Eskapade/Escapade (Erich Waschneck, 1936), he was seen with Renate Müller and Georg Alexander. Paulsen appeared as lawyer Hanefeld together with protagonist Emil Jannings in Veit Harlan's Nazi propaganda film Der Herrscher/The Ruler (Veit Harlan, 1937), which is still one of the reserved films today. He also appeared in the crime thriller Mordsache Holm/Murder Case Holm (Erich Engels, 1938) as Detective Wiegand.

Harald Paulsen participated in several Nazi propaganda films, such as the biopic Ohm Krüger/Uncle Krüger (Hans Steinhoff, 1941) starring Emil Jannings as the South African politician Paul Kruger and the pro-euthanasia melodrama Ich klage an/I Accuse (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1941). The Viennese actor Rolf Kutschera reported in his memoirs that Paulsen was notorious among his colleagues as an informant to Nazi authorities. Following the End of World War II in Europe, Paulsen was forced to resign from his position as director of the Theater am Nollendorfplatz in 1945.

Paulsen made his last screen appearance in 1954 as Count Carnero in the operetta adaptation Der Zigeunerbaron/The Gypsy Baron (Arthur Maria Rabenalt, 1954) starring Paul Hörbiger. He had appeared in around 125 films and was one of the busiest German actors of those years. Harald Paulsen died in 1954, aged 58, in the general hospital in the Hamburg borough of Altona after suffering from a stroke. He was buried in the Catholic cemetery in Elmshorn. He was married to Hilla Höfer. Their son Uwe Paulsen (1944–2014) was a stage and film actor, cabaret artist, and prolific voice actor, who dubbed foreign language film and television into German.


West German postcard by Star Foto Hasemann, no. 97. Photo: Herzog Film-Verleih.


West-German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 923. Photo: Berolina / Herzog-Film / Wesel. Harald Paulsen in Briefträger Müller/Mailman Mueller (John Reinhardt, 1953).


West-German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin, no. A 923. Photo: Goedecke / Astra-Planet / Super-Film. Harald Paulsen in Sanatorium total verrückt/Sanatorium totally crazy (Alwin Elling, 1954).

Sources: Stephanie D'heil (Steffi-Line - German), Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.