European Film Star Postcards: Max Adalbert

13 June 2025

Max Adalbert

German stage and film actor Max Adalbert (1874-1933) was one of the great names of the German theatre at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was famous for his roles in comedies. His greatest success was the title role in the comedy Der Hauptmann von Köpenick / The Captain from Köpenick (1931) which he played on stage and in the cinema.

German collectors card in the series 'Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst - Der Tonfilm', album no. 11, picture no. 131. Photo: Messtro-Film / Ross Verlag. Max Adalbert and Harald Paulsen in Mein Leopold / My Leopold (Hans Steinhoff, 1931).

German cigarette card for Hänsom cigarettes by Jasmatzi Cigarettenfabrik G.M.b.H, Dresden/Ross Verlag, Film Series 4 'Aus tönenden Filmen' (From sound films), no. 572. Photo: Ufa. Max Adalbert in Das Ekel / The Scoundrel (Eugen Schüfftan, Franz Wenzler, 1931).

Missing the possibility of using words

Max Adalbert was born Maximilian Adalbert Krampf in 1874 in Danzig in Imperial Germany, now Gdansk in Poland. He was the son of a Prussian Officer.

Using his first two names as his stage name, he debuted at 19 at the theatre of Lübeck and in 1894 at the municipal theatre of Barmen. Adalbert also appeared in St. Gallen (Switzerland), Nuremberg and Vienna (Austria). He moved to Berlin in 1899 to work at the Residenztheater.

In 1915, Adalbert joined the film business. In the following years, he took part in silent productions like Wie werde ich Amanda los? / How do I get rid of Amanda? (Danny Kaden, 1915), Die Buchhalterin / The Accountant (Paul von Woringen, 1918) with Lotte Neumann, König Nicolo / King Nicolo (Paul Legband, 1919) starring Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur, and the crime drama Die Verführten / The Seduced (Carl Froelich, 1919) in which he played the seducer.

When Adalbert came in contact with Curt Bois, he turned into a comedian. During the 1920s, Max Adalbert appeared in several silent films, including Der Dummkopf / The Blockhead (Lupu Pick, 1921), Lady Hamilton (Richard Oswald, 1921) starring Liane Haid, and Die Flamme / The Flame (Ernst Lubitsch, 1923) starring Pola Negri. The highlights are two masterpieces by Fritz Lang, Der müde Tod / Destiny (Fritz Lang, 1921) and Dr. Mabuse der Spieler / Mabuse the Gambler (Fritz Lang, 1922), the first film in the Dr. Mabuse series about the master criminal who featured in the novels of Norbert Jacques.

In 1923, Max Adalbert retired temporarily from the cinema because he missed the possibility of using words. Together with the actors Paul Morgan and Kurt Robitschek, he founded the 'Kabarett der Komiker' in 1924 which soon became established in Berlin and enjoyed great popularity.

German postcard by Kunstverlag Juno, Charlottenburg, no. 123. Photo: Alice Matzdorf.

German postcard for 'Die trustfreie Eidelsan' by Margarinewerk Eidelstedt Gebr. Fauser G.m.b.H., Holstein, Serie 1, no. 22. Photo: Marcus.

An enormous increase in his popularity

After a few years solely devoted to the stage, Max Adalbert successfully returned to the cinema when sound film was introduced in Germany. Both on stage and in films, he experienced an enormous increase in his popularity. He was very good in the film comedy Mein Leopold / My Leopold (Hans Steinhoff, 1931) opposite Harald Paulsen as Leopold.

In 1931 he also made his debut at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin as the lead character of Carl Zuckmayer's 'Der Hauptmann von Köpenick'. He took the role over from Werner Krauss and it became his greatest triumph on stage.

Because of this huge success, he was also engaged in the film adaptation, Der Hauptmann von Köpenick / The Captain from Köpenick (Richard Oswald, 1931). The story centres on the Hauptmann von Köpenick affair in 1906. With this role, he set a cinematic monument for himself.

He also appeared in the comedy Das Ekel / The Scoundrel (Eugen Schüfftan. Franz Wenzler, 1931) with Evelyn Holt, musical romance Mein Herz sehnt sich nach Liebe / My Heart Longs for Love (Eugen Thiele, 1931) starring Trude Berliner, and the comedy Lachende Erben / Laughing Heirs (Max Ophüls, 1933) starring Heinz Rühmann.

In 1933, Max Adalbert suddenly died - of pneumonia or a heart attack (the sources differ) - while in Munich for a guest performance. He was 58. The actor was buried at the Stahnsdorf South-Western Cemetery near Berlin.

German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5665/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Ufa.

Max Adalbert in Die Schlacht von Bademünde (1931)

German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6140/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Ufa. Max Adalbert in Die Schlacht von Bademünde / The Battle of Bademuende (Philipp Lothar Mayring, 1931).