Jacques Normand

Jacques Normand (1865-?) was a French theatre and film actor active from 1896 to 1934. During the early 1910s, he made over twenty films at Pathé, including La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1913), in which he portrayed Jesus.


French postcard by Edition Pathé Frères for Cinéma de la Poste, Neuilly.


French collector card from the album 'Pathé Frères, 1911'. Georges Vinter in Nick Winter et l’affaire du Célébric hôtel (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911). Georges Vinter played the detective Nick Winter, Jacques Normand as the hotel rat, while the hotel manager was played by Jacques Vandenne. Vinter stands right on this card, Vandenne left, Normand in the middle. Plot: Nick Winter has to deal with a notorious hotel rat who remains elusive, despite the many misdeeds that signal his presence. He's staying at the Celebric Hotel and is preparing, with the help of an accomplice, to carry out a successful robbery of an old lady's room, whose purse is stuffed with banknotes. But the tempting bag is a trap for our thieves. The old lady is none other than the astonishing Nick Winter, who triumphs once again in this scene.


French collector card from the album 'Pathé Frères, 1911'. Jacques Normand as Jean in Les victimes de l'alcool (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), scripted by Bourgeois and Paul Garbagni. On the card, Bourgeois is indicated as 'Mr. B. Gérard'. On the bed, Jean's daughter (La petite Lily), who has died because of his neglect. On the floor, his wife, who in her despair has committed suicide (Marie Berthe).

Pathé's Jesus

Jacques Normand was born Gustave Mulot in 1865 in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. He was the son of brush merchants, and he first worked in the family business. After his parents' death, he decided to work in the theatre and took his mother's second name, Joséphine Normand, as his stage name.

Normand first acted for the Théâtre de la République and Théâtre Antoine and then was a member of the Odéon theatre company for about twenty years.

He played leads as Camille Desmoulins in 'Lucile Desmoulins' (Théâtre de la République, 1895), and the title roles in 'Bajazet' (Odéon, 1905), 'Michel Strogoff' (Chatelet, 1906), and 'Nick Carter' (Théâtre Moncey, 1910).

Normand started acting in film in 1909, and for years, he worked for Pathé Frères. He played in shorts directed by Camille de Morlhon, Daniel Riche, Gérard Bourgeois and Paul Garbagni, such as Cagliostro, aventurier, chimiste et magicien / Cagliostro (Camille de Morlhon, Gaston Velle, 1910), Victimes de l'alcoolisme / In the Grip of Alcohol (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), Le Roman d'une pauvre fille / The Story of a Poor Girl (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), Nick Winter et l'affaire du Célébric Hôtel / Nick Winter and the Célébric Hotel Affair (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), La Rivale de Richelieu / The Musketeer's Love (Gérard Bourgeois, 1912), and La Fièvre de l'or / Gold Fever (Ferdinand Zecca, René Leprince, 1912).

In 1913, he played Jesus in Pathé's La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ / La Passion (Maurice André Maître, 1914). From the late 1910s, he played supporting parts such as Fauvette (Bourgeois, 1918) with Zany Miéris. In 1921, Spencer Gordon Bennett wove a frame story around Pathé's 1913 Passion film with Normand as Jesus, entitled Behold the Man!.


French collector card from the album 'Pathé Frères, 1911'. Jacques Normand as Jean in Les victimes de l'alcool / Victimes de l'alcoolisme / In the Grip of Alcohol (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), co-written by Bourgeois, indicated on this card as 'Mr. B. Gérard'. The downfall of Jean and his family: they are evicted. Marie Berthe as Jean's wife, Lascombe as little Jacques.


French collector card from the album 'Pathé Frères, 1911'. Léontine Massart in La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois,1911), also with Jacques Normand as the Count de Chalais, Auguste Volny as Richelieu, Philippe Damorès as the Count de Chateauneuf, Jeanne Berangère as the Queen, and Armand Hauterive as Louvigny. Plot: The enemies of Cardinal Richelieu (Auguste Volny), the famous prelate of the seventeenth century, included the beautiful Duchess de Chevreuse (Léontine Massart), who promised Count de Chalais (Jacques Normand), her ardent admirer, that she would marry him if he accomplished the death of the Cardinal. But the Duchess had a bitter enemy as well. He was the Count de Louvigny (Armand Hauterive), and when he learned that de Chalais had agreed to the request of the Duchess, he informed the Cardinal. De Chalais was arrested and condemned to die. The duchess was heartbroken at the failure of her scheme, and when de Louvigny taunts her about her unsuccessfulness, she becomes so enraged that she plunges a dagger into his breast until he expires and then buries the dirk in her own heart. The colouring of this film and the skill with which it is acted make it an absorbing and powerful drama.


French collector card from the album 'Pathé Frères, 1911'. Léontine Massart in La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois,1911), also with Jacques Normand, Auguste Volny and Armand Hauterive.


French collector card from the album 'Pathé Frères, 1911'. Léontine Massart in La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), also with Jacques Normand, Auguste Volny and Armand Hauterive.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of the French silent film La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. ELD also issued a postcard series on the other three parts of the films: 1. Naissance de Jésus; 2. L'Enfance de Jésus; 3. Vie publique et miracles de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. A print of this film has been preserved by the Cinémathèque française. Caption: The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. Caption: Jesus chases the Mercenaries from the Temple.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères.This was the fourth part of the French silent film La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. Caption: Peter denies the Lord.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of the French silent film La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. Caption: Jesus before Pilate: Ecce Homo.

Cyrano de Bergerac

In the 1920s, Jacques Normand was mostly absent from the film sets in the 1920s. He was Cyrano de Bergerac in the fantasy film Les Mystères du Ciel (Louis Forest, 1921) and played Valcour in the episode film La Loupiote (Georges Hatot, 1922) starring Lucien Dalsace.

Jacques Normand returned to the screen in the early 1930s for a handful of sound films. He appeared in Casanova (René Barberis, 1934), a sound remake of the 1927 silent classic about the adventures of the notorious womaniser and Venetian adventurer Chevalier Giacomo Casanova. Casanova was again portrayed by Ivan Mozzhukhin.

His last known presence was a bit part in Feyder's Le Grand Jeu / The Great Game (Jacques Feyder, 1934) starring Marie Bell and Pierre Richard-Willm. When the film was released in May 1934, Normand would have been around 70 years old. At the time, he was living at 17 Rue Lepic in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, where he had lived since his marriage in September 1921 to Marie-Thérèse Dubor, a dramatic artist twenty years his junior. When and where Jacques Normand died is unknown.

In an interview in the journal Mon ciné in 1923, Normand recalled that when shooting Les Victimes de l'alcool, he performed a delirium tremens with so much vigour and imagination that the whole crew was convinced he really had been drunk while acting the scene.

When questioned by the director, Gérard Bourgeois, afterwards, who was annoyed as this was an anti-alcohol film after all, Jacques Normand responded that he had been 'dry' for over a month and only drank Vichy water since.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. Caption: The Flagellation.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. Caption: The Crown of Thorns.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. Caption: Jesus falls under the cross (Miracle of Veronica).


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. Caption: Calvary.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ. Caption: The Crucifixion.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand as Christ. Caption: Death of Jesus.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand as Christ. Caption: In Descent.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand as Christ. Caption: The Grave.


Spanish edition by ELD of the postcard series Passion et mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Photo: Films Pathé Frères. This was the fourth part of the French silent film La Vie de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (Maurice André Maître, 1914), with Jacques Normand playing Christ.  Caption: Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus.

Sources: Gallica for Mon ciné (17 May 1923), Wikipedia (French) and IMDb. 

Mary Carr

American character actress Mary Carr (1874-1973) was famous for her mother roles. She appeared in more than 140 films from 1915 to 1956.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 902/1, 1925-1926. Photo: Transocean Film Co., Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 3233/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Balázs, Berlin.

A poverty-stricken mother who is rejected by almost all of her siblings

Mary Carr was born in 1874 in Germantown, a Philadelphia suburb, as Mary Kennevan. She became a schoolteacher, but soon gave it up for work as an actress in touring companies.

She married actor William Carr and toured extensively with his company. After the turn of the century, he became involved in film production as both an actor and director.

He brought Mary and their six children into the film business with him. Mary made her film debut in the silent drama short The Shadow of Tragedy (1914), directed by and starring Arthur V. Johnson.

Her roles as self-sacrificing, maternal characters in Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (Hugh Ford, 1919) and Over the Hill to the Poorhouse (Harry F. Millarde, 1920) made her a star.

Over the Hill was a tremendous success due in large part to her touching portrayal of a poverty-stricken mother who is rejected by almost all of her siblings. Only the black sheep of the family will help her in the end.


French postcard. Photo: Fox. Mary Carr in Over the Hill to the Poorhouse (Harry F. Millarde, 1920). The film was a huge success in the Netherlands in 1923-1924, where it ran for three weeks at the Amsterdam cinema Theater Tuschinski and four weeks at the Rotterdam-based Grand Theatre (also owned by Abraham Tuschinski). Normally, every week, Dutch cinemas had a new film. For years, Dutch papers would refer to this film with every new film with Carr. The Dutch title was 'Moeder' (Mother), like the French title 'Maman'.


French postcard. Photo: Fox. Mary Carr in Over the Hill to the Poorhouse (Harry F. Millarde, 1920). The film was a huge success in the Netherlands in 1923-1924, where it ran for three weeks at the Amsterdam cinema Theater Tuschinski and four weeks at the Rotterdam-based Grand Theatre (also owned by Abraham Tuschinski). Normally, every week, Dutch cinemas had a new film. For years, Dutch papers would refer to this film with every new film with Carr. The Dutch title was 'Moeder' (Mother), like the French title 'Maman'.

The mother of the movies

Mary Carr followed the success of a poverty-stricken mother, who is rejected by almost all of her siblings, with similar roles in scores of films throughout the silent period. Her Hollywood nickname was 'The Mother of the Movies.'

As older actresses such as Mary Maurice and Anna Townsend passed on, Carr, still in her forties, seemed to inherit all the matriarchal roles in silent films. She separated from William Carr in 1926.

Her notable film appearances include Jesse James (Lloyd Ingraham, 1927) and Second Wife (Russell Mack, 1930). She acted with Laurel and Hardy in the short film One Good Turn (James W. Horne, 1931), in which she demonstrated considerable comedic talent as James Finlayson's antagonist.

In Pack Up Your Troubles (George Marshall, a.o., 1932), she played her signature role as a matronly old woman. Then her film appearances became smaller and fewer, and Carr found herself nearly destitute.

Publicity about her status rallied help to her cause, and she found help and occasional work. She spent her later years appearing infrequently, often in films directed by her son, Thomas Carr. She died at the age of 99 in 1973. She was interred in Calvary Cemetery. Almost all of her children were involved in the film business and appeared with her in Over the Hill to the Poorhouse (1920).


French postcard by Le Deley. Photo: Fox. Mary Carr in Over the Hill to the Poorhouse (Harry F. Millarde, 1920). The French title was 'Maman'.


French postcard by Editions La Malibran, Paris, no. CA 78. Mary Carr, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in One Good Turn (James W. Horne, 1931).

Sources: Jim Beaver (IMDb), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.

Vanessa Paradis

At only 14, Vanessa Paradis (1972) became a child star with the worldwide hit single 'Joe le taxi' (1987). Since then, the French beauty has made several films and albums, has become the face of Chanel, and was in a long relationship with Johnny Depp.


French postcard, no. A069.


French poster postcard by Cart'Postal System, Bourgoin, no. CPS092. Image: Les Films du Losange. Vanessa Paradis in Noce Blanche / White Wedding (Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1989).


Swiss postcard by Editions de la Lune, no. VP 106, 1989. Photo: Patrick Rouchon.


English postcard by New-Line, no. 203.


French poster postcard by CartaPub. Affiche: MK2. Vanessa Paradis and Vincent Rottiers in Mon Ange / My Angel (Serge Frydman, 2004). Caption: The world is bigger when you meet your angel.

Sensual, untamed, mysterious and frankly disturbing

Vanessa Chantal Paradis was born in the Paris suburb of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés in 1972, to interior designers André and Corinne Paradis. Her younger sister is actress Alysson Paradis. Vanessa began to develop her singing career at the age of eight when her uncle, record producer Didier Pain, helped her appear on the local television program L'École des fans, a talent show for child singers. She recorded her first single, 'La Magie des surprises-parties', in 1983 and performed it on an Italian festival in 1985.

Although 'La Magie des surprises-parties' was not a hit, it paved the way for the song with which she became internationally famous, 'Joe le taxi' (1987), when she was 14. It was no. 1 in France for 11 weeks and, unusually for a song sung in French, was released in the United Kingdom, where it reached no. 3. It was taken from her first album 'M&J' (it stands for Marilyn & John) which, although it gained a number 13 placing in France, drew little attention in the UK and did not enter the chart. From 1988 to 1991, Paradis dated French singer Florent Pagny. In March 1989, at age 16, she left high school to pursue her career.

She released the album 'Variations sur le même t'aime' in 1990, containing a remake of the Lou Reed song 'Walk on the Wild Side'. The album was written by acclaimed French composer Serge Gainsbourg, whom she met when she received the best singer award at Les Victoires de la Musique in 1990. Paradis made her film debut in Noce Blanche / White Wedding (Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1990) with Bruno Cremer. For her role as a moody 17-year-old girl in love with her 47-year-old philosophy teacher, Paradis won the 1990 César Award for Most Promising Actress. James Travers at French Films: “Although a teenager when she made this, her first film, she portrays her character with an uncanny maturity and natural spontaneity. Sensual, untamed, mysterious and frankly disturbing, Paradis brings new depth and meaning to the traditional femme fatale of French cinema.” Regrettably, the promising young actress decided to give up acting and concentrate on a singing and modelling career.

In 1991, Vanessa Paradis signed a lucrative contract with Chanel to be the spokesperson for Coco, their latest endeavour. In an advertisement shot by Jean-Paul Goude, she was covered in black feathers, portraying a bird swinging in a cage. In 1992, she moved to the United States to work with Lenny Kravitz, whom she also dated at the time. She started working on a new album in English, a language in which she was now fluent. Written and produced by Kravitz, the album, titled 'Vanessa Paradis', topped the French chart and briefly made the UK listings (number 45). One of the singles from it was 'Be My Baby', which made number 5 in France and gave her another Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at no. 6. After the relationship with Kravitz ended, she dated French-Slovenian actor Stanislas Merhar until their breakup in 1998.

In March 1993, Paradis started her first international tour, the Natural High Tour. She performed in France, England and Canada. In 1994, 'Live' was released in France. Paradis filmed Élisa (Jean Becker, 1995) with Gérard Depardieu as her father. The film was a big success in France. Other films were Un amour de sorcière / Witch Way Love (René Manzor, 1997) with Jeanne Moreau and Jean Reno, and Une chance sur deux / Half a Chance (Patrice Leconte, 1998), with Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. The dreamy black-and-white romance La fille sur le Pont / Girl on the Bridge (Patrice Leconte, 1999) gave her worldwide the status of an emerging actress. Jason Clark at AllMovie: “Playing the object of affection of acclaimed French actor Daniel Auteuil, Paradis earned rave reviews and a place in the hearts of smitten men all over the world.”


French postcard, no C 198.


French postcard, no. A068. With Serge Gainsbourg.


French postcard, no. C84.


French postcard, no C. 133.


French postcard by Ed. F. Nugeron, no. Record 235. Photo: Paul Cox / London Features.

An angel in Amsterdam

Vanessa Paradis played a call girl in Amsterdam who reluctantly finds herself taking care of an orphaned teenage boy after trying to do a favour for a fellow prostitute in trouble in Mon Ange / My Angel (Serge Frydman, 2004). That same year, Paradis promoted Chanel's new handbags called 'Ligne Cambon'. The following year, she modelled for Chanel again for The New Mademoiselle handbag, and in 2008, she modelled for Miu Miu. On the musical side, she was included in the French children's album and concert 'Le Soldat Rose' (2006).

In 2007, Paradis released the new album 'Divinidylle' and started the Divinidylle Tour. Some concerts were filmed, and a DVD/CD of the tour was released. Paradis won two Les Victoires de la Musique awards for this album in 2008. Some of her later projects include the greatest hits CD 'Best of Vanessa Paradis', which includes the commercial jingle 'I love Paris in the Springtime'. In the cinema, she starred in the romantic comedy L'arnacoeur / Heartbreaker (Pascal Chaumeil, 2010) featuring Romain Duris, and in the 3D animated musical adventure film Un monstre à Paris / A Monster in Paris (2010).

In the Canadian film Café de Flore (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2011), she plays a single mother in the 1960s with a child with Down syndrome. Paradis garnered a Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2012 Genie Awards (the Canadian Oscars). She released an acoustic album, 'Une nuit à Versailles' (2011), recorded at L'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles. She also released 'Anthologie' (2010), a set of DVDs with rare live performances and interviews from 1987–2007. In 2010, she also became the face of Chanel's new lipstick, Rouge Coco, and of their new handbag line Ranger. Her 2011 international tour included performances in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Turkey.

From 1998 to 2012, Paradis was in a relationship with American actor Johnny Depp. They have a daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp (1999), and a son, John Christopher ‘Jack’ Depp III (2002). Vanessa Paradis was seen in the films Dubaï Flamingo (Delphine Kreuter, 2012) with Sergi Lopéz, the comedy Je me suis fait tout petit / Low Profile (Cécilia Rouaud, 2012) and the psychological drama Cornouaille / House in Brittany (Anne Le Ny, 2012), with Samuel Le Bihan. In 2013 followed the American comedy Fading Gigolo (John Turturro, 2013) with Liev Schreiber and Woody Allen, and a year later, Homosapiennes (Audrey Dana, 2014) with Laetitia Casta and Isabelle Adjani.

In 2016, Paradis co-starred in the American Horror comedy Yoga Hosers (Kevin Smith, 2016) with her daughter Lily-Rose, as a history teacher. She started dating director Samuel Benchetrit, who directed her in his fifth film, Chien / Dog (Samuel Benchetrit, 2017). In 2018, they married in the town of Saint-Siméon. Paradis has a country estate nearby, and her late father owned a small restaurant in the quiet country commune. In 2021, she made her theatre debut in the play 'Maman', written and directed by her husband, at the Edouard VII theatre in Paris. For her performance, she was nominated for the Molière Award for Best Actress in a Private Theatre. Among her recent films are the romantic comedy Cette musique ne joue pour personne / Love Songs for Tough Guys (Samuel Benchetrit, 2021), the melodrama Dis-moi juste que tu m'aimes / Out of Control (Anne Le Ny, 2025) starring Omar Sy, and the upcoming T'as pas changé / Class Reunion (Jérôme Commandeur, 2025).


French postcard, no CP. 104.


French postcard, no A067.


French postcard.


English postcard by New-Line, no. 203.


French postcard by Éditions Damilla, Paris, no. 95108. Photo: Pierre Terrasson.


British postcard, no. MM 201.


Chinese postcard. Bruno Cremer and Vanessa Paradis in Noce Blanche / White Wedding (Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1989).

Sources: Jason Clark (AllMovie - Page now defunct), James Travers (French Films), Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.

New record: 318,734 in January 2026

Dear readers,

EFSP started 2026 with a new visitor record. In January, our view count went through the 300,000 views-in-one-month barrier. It's amazing.

The last record was in November 2025, when we counted 288,011 views in a single month.

Thank you all for visiting us. We hope you liked our blog and will keep coming back this year.

Please, make comments under our posts and keep sending us your emails with suggestions and anecdotes. We love to read them.

Comments or emails with a commercial message will be deleted and never answered. EFSP will remain a labour of love, a non-commercial e-island, free for you to visit without advertisements or requests for money.

Greetings from Amsterdam,

Paul van Yperen,
co-editor of European Film Star Postcards.

Ellen Richter

We highly recommend a new, German-language book, 'Ellen Richter, Die grosse Unbekannte des Weimarer Kinos'. The title refers to a 1924 adventure film by the Austrian actress and film producer in which she travelled by car, ship and aeroplane around the world. She was a modern woman, and her films were exciting, humoristic and extraordinary. Of the 70-odd films in which Ellen Richter appeared between 1913 and 1933, only a fraction have survived. Thanks to the growing interest in women in film history, several of her films have been rediscovered and restored by film archives. Philipp Stiasny and Oliver Hanley wrote a wonderful book about this forgotten film star, lavishly illustrated with images of posters, tinted film stills and postcards, including a couple from our own collection.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 766/3, 1925-1926. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 766/4, 1925-1926. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1017/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1199/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Ufa.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3360/2, 1928-1929. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3874/1, 1928-1929.


German collector card by Ross Verlag in the series Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst - Der stumme Film, picture no. 66. Photo: Ellen-Richter-Film. Ellen Richter, Anton Pointner and Hans Brausewetter in Der Flug um den Erdball / The Flight Around the Globe (Willi Wolff, 1925).

Sensation and adventure films

Ellen Richter was born Käthe Weiss in 1893 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria). She studied acting with Ferdinand Gregori at the Akademie für darstellende Kunst.

In 1915, she conquered European audiences with sensation and adventure films like the Joe Deebs detective film Das Gesetz der Mine / The Law of the Mine (Joe May, 1915) starring Max Landa.

She became, in no time, a competitor of action star Harry Piel in films like Der Ring des Schicksals / The Ring of Fate (Richard Eichberg, 1916), Der Spion / The Spy (Karl Heiland, 1917), and Der Flieger von Görz / The Aviator of Gorizia (Georg Jacoby, 1918) starring Harry Liedtke.

These films had enormous success. In 1920, Ellen Richter founded her own production company, Ellen Richter Film, together with her later husband, Willi Wolff.

From then on, he directed and wrote, and she produced and acted in films tailored to her. She soon had the reputation that her films always contained an expensive excursion to exotic locations.


Italian postcard by Ed. G. Vettori, Bologna, no. 341. Photo: Ellen Richter-Film. Ellen Richter in Lola Montez, die Tänzerin des Königs (Willi Wolff, 1922).


German postcard by NPG (Neue Photographische Gesellschaft), no. 911. Photo: Anny Eberth, Berlin.


German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin, no. 5078. Photo: Atelier Eberth. Perhaps this photo refers to Richter's film Zigeunerweisen (Rudolf Meinert, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 192. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 193. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin. Collection: Didier Hanson.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 194. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2199. Photo: Mac Walten, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, no. K. 2604. Photo: Meinert Film. Ellen Richter in Die schöne Jolan (Rudolf Meinert, 1918), scripted by Willi Wolff. The man on her right is probably Hugo Flink, Richter's co-actor in this film.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3245. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 120/1. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin. Collection: Didier Hanson. The picture possibly refers to the Union film Das Teehaus zu den zehn Lotosblumen (Georg Jacoby, 1919), with Richter in the lead.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 120/2. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin.


German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 120/3. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin.


German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 120/5. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin.


German postcard by Rotophot, no. 1651. Photo: Willinger.

The nerveless woman

Ellen Richter married Willi Wolff in 1923. She was able to hold her popularity well till the end of the 1920s.

Richter appeared in his films like Lola Montez, die Tänzerin des Königs / Lola Montez, the King's Dancer (Willi Wolff, 1922) with Georg Alexander, Der Flug um den Erdball / The Flight Around the Globe (Willi Wolff, 1925), Moral (Willi Wolff, 1928) and Die Frau ohne Nerven / The Nerveless Woman (Willi Wolff, 1929) opposite Walter Janssen.

In the 1930s, Richter only played in a few films, such as Die Abenteurerin von Tunis / The Adventuress of Tunis (Willi Wolff, 1931) and Das Geheimnis von Johann Orth / The Secret of Johann Orth (Willi Wolff, 1932) with Karl Ludwig Diehl, before she retired from the film business.

Her last film was the crime comedy Manolescu, der Fürst der Diebe / Manolescu, King of Thieves (Georg C. Klaren, Willi Wolff, 1933) starring Iván Petrovich. The rise of the Nazis ended her film career. The Jewish Richter was forbidden to produce more films and was in 1938 excluded from the Reichsfilmkammer.

During the Second World War, she lived in foreign countries. After her return to Germany, she worked again in film production, but now on a small scale. Ellen Richter died in 1969 in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Willi Wolff had passed away in 1947.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 766/2, 1925-1926. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1017/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 1017/3, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1768/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3047/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Ufa.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3874/2, 1928-1929.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3360/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5110/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Wengeroff film.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6149/1, 1931-1932. Ellen Richter in Die Abenteurerin von Tunis / The Adventurer of Tunis (Willi Wolff, 1932).


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 6607. Photo: Ellen Richter Tonfilm.


Cover of 'Ellen Richter, Die grosse Unbekannte des Weimarer Kinos' (2026) by Philipp Stiasny and Oliver Hanley. Published by Synema - Gesellschaft für Film und Medien, Wien.

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Wikipedia (German), and IMDb.