Eight hundred German filmmakers (cast and crew) fled the Nazis in the 1930s. The film uses voice-overs, archival footage, and film clips to examine Berlin's vital filmmaking in the 1920s; then it follows a producer, directors, composers, editors, writers, and actors to Hollywood: some succeeded and many found no work. Among those profiled are Erich Pommer, Joseph May, Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, and Peter Lorre. Once in Hollywood, these exiles helped each other, housed new arrivals, and raised money so others could escape. Some worked on anti-Nazi films, like Casablanca. The themes and lighting of German Expressionism gave rise in Hollywood to film noir.
Credits
Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood Cast
| Name |
Character |
|
Sigourney Weaver
She was 59, now 75 years old
|
as Narrator |
|
Billy Wilder
He was 102, 95 years old when he died
|
as Himself (archive footage) |
|
Marlene Dietrich
She was 107, 90 years old when she died
|
as Herself (archive footage) |
|
Fritz Lang
He was 118, 85 years old when he died
|
as Himself (archive footage) |
|
Fred Zinnemann
He was 101, 89 years old when he died
|
as Himself (archive footage) |
|
Hedy Lamarr
She was 94, 85 years old when she died
|
as Herself (archive footage) |
|
Peter Lorre
He was 104, 59 years old when he died
|
as Himself (archive footage) |
|
Rudi Fehr
He was 97, 87 years old when he died
|
as Himself (archive footage) |
|
Peter Viertel
He was 88, 86 years old when he died
|
as Himself (archive footage) |
|
Elsa Lanchester
She was 106, 84 years old when she died
|
as Herself (archive footage) |
|
Lupita Tovar
She was 98, 106 years old when she died
|
as Herself (archive footage) |
Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood Crew
