Pommer, Erich

Pommer was born in Hildesheim , Hanover , in the family of Gustav and Anna Pommer. After practicing with Herrenkonfektion Machol & Lewin, Pommer began his career in 1907 at the German branch of Gaumont , subsequently moving to the Vienna branch in 1910. In 1912, Pommer completed his military service and became the representative of the French company Éclair in Vienna, where he was responsible for Central and Eastern Europe. Since 1913, he has been Éclair's principal representative in Central Europe, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Poland, residing in Berlin. In the same year, he married Gertrude Levy and became, together with Marcel Vandall, CEO of Éclair. Under the direction of Pommer, the company begins producing feature films, including Das Geheimnis der Lüfte / Le mystère de l'air . The other 5 films were presented in 1915.

With the financial support of Éclair and together with Fritz Holtz, Pommer founded Decla-Film-Gesellschaft-Holz & Co. (Decla Film Society Holz & Co.) in Berlin in 1915. Decla ("German Eclair") released adventure films, detective stories, dramas, and short films. Her rental division, under the direction of Ehrmann Saklikauer, also showed foreign paintings. Pommer served in World War I on the Western and Eastern Fronts, but after being wounded he returned to Berlin in 1916, where he was responsible for hiring teachers and later for the Film and Painting Service (Bufa). After the merger of Decla and Meinert-Film-Gesellschaft in 1919, Rudolf Meinert begins to manage the production and Erich Pommer is responsible for relations with foreign countries. Decla is becoming more ambitious. The brands Decla Abenteuerklasse (including the painting by Fritz Lang Die Spinnen. 2. Teil: Die Brillantenschiff ) and Decla Weltklasse (including The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), directed by Robert Vine ) are being created.

Decla merged with German Bioskop AG to create Decla Bioskop AG and in 1920 became the second largest German film company after the UFA . She owned a studio in Nyubalsberg and a network of cinemas. Two subsidiaries were created: Uco-Film GmbH and Russo Films. Uco film GmbH, based on the Ullstein printing house, was filming lengthy short stories. Schloß Vogeloed-Die Enthüllung eines Geheimnisses and Phantom were released, under the direction of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau , as well as the film Fritz Lang Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler . The focus of Russo Films is to adapt the works of world literature. In an interview in 1922, Pommer stated that the international success of German films should be linked to the production of quality films.

Pommer gathered around him other directors ( Karl Frelich and Fritz Wendhausen ), screenwriters ( Thea von Harbou , Karl Mayer and Robert Liebman ), cameramen ( Karl Freund , Karl Hoffman , and Willy Hamister ), architects ( Walter Roerig and Robert Gerlt ), and also actors and actresses. In November 1921, Decla Bioskop came under the control of the UFA , although it had little independence.

At the beginning of 1923, Erich Pommer joined the board of Universum Film AG as responsible for the operations of Decla Bioskop. At the same time, he became the first chairman of the Central Organization of Cinematography, which formed the German cinema since the Weimar Republic. During this period, many paintings that received international recognition were released - Der letzte Mann (1924), Varieté (1925), Faust (1926), and Manon Lescaut (1926). The high cost of filming led the UFA to a financial crisis. Finally, due to the huge increase in the cost of the Metropolis painting, Pommer's contract was not renewed.

While working at Paramount Pictures in the USA, he produced two films featuring Paula Negri , Hotel Imperial and Barbed Wire (both in 1927). After a short job at MGM , Pommer returns to the UFA (1927). Pommer brought organizational and technical innovations from America. As a producer of Erich-Pommer-Produktion der Ufa, he releases Heimkehr and Ungarische Rhapsodie (both in 1928). Erich Pommer is a pioneer of multilingual versions: Melodie des Herzens / Melody of the Heart , released in late 1929 in Berlin, includes an English, French, Hungarian version, as well as a silent version. Erich-Pommer-Produktion der Ufa released several hits in subsequent years, most notably Joseph von Sternberg 's The Blue Angel (1930), featuring Marlene Dietrich .

During the “ Arianization ” of Germany in the early years of the Nazi regime in 1933, the UFA canceled Pommer's contract and was forced to work abroad at the Fox Film Corporation , first in Paris, where he releases Max Ofyuls's paintings On a volé un homme (1933) and Fritz Lang Liliom (1934), then in Hollywood. In 1936, he works in Britain for Alexander Korda ( Fire Over England , 1937). In 1937, he founded Mayflower Picture Corp. with Charles Lawton . Their first film, Vessel of Wrath (also known as The Beachcomber ), was Pommer's only directing attempt. In 1938, he released Sidewalks of London (directed by Tim Whelan ), with the participation of Lawton and Vivien Leigh ), and in 1939 Alfred Hitchcock's film “Jamaica Tavern ” also with Lawton.

In 1939, he signed a contract with Hollywood RKO Radio Pictures for which he produced two paintings. After a serious illness in 1941 (he suffered a heart attack), his contract with RKO was not renewed. Financial difficulties forced him and his wife to work in a china factory. Pommer became a U.S. citizen in 1944.

In 1946, Pommer returned to Germany, where he held an important position in the cinematography service of the American military government in Germany and was responsible for the reorganization of the German film industry, the reconstruction of studios and the issuance of licenses. After several disputes, in 1949 he resigned and returned to America. He tried to launch Signature Pictures for the release of German-American films, but failed.

In 1951, he opened the Intercontinental Film GmbH in Munich with several paintings: Nachts auf den Strassen (1951) and Kinder, Mütter und ein General (1955). However, his limited abilities (he was forced to move in a wheelchair after leg amputation) forced him to return to California and end his career as a producer.

He died in 1966 in Los Angeles, California.

• 1953 German Award for Nachts auf den Strassen.
• 1955 Golden Globe Award for Best Film - for "Kinder, Muetter, und ein General".
• 1956 Gran-Prix de l'Union de la Critique de Cinéma (UCC) for Kinder, Muetter, und ein General.

• Hans-Michael Bock (Ed.): The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema . New York, Oxford: Berghahn Books 2009.
• The silent cinema reader
• Deutsches Film Institut, article by Laura Betzerra [1]