# Anton Walbrook

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Austrian actor (1896–1967)

Anton Walbrook Born Adolf Anton Wilhelm Wohlbrück (1896-11-19)19 November 1896 Vienna, Austria-Hungary Died 9 August 1967(1967-08-09) (aged 70) Starnberger See, Bavaria, West Germany Occupation Actor Years active 1915–1966

**Adolf Anton Wilhelm Wohlbrück** (19 November 1896 – 9 August 1967) was an [Austrian](/source/Austrian_people) actor who settled in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) under the name **Anton Walbrook**. A popular performer in Austria and [pre-war Germany](/source/Weimar_Republic), he left Germany in 1936 out of concerns for his own safety and established a career in British cinema. Walbrook is perhaps best known for his roles in the original British film of *[Gaslight](/source/Gaslight_(1940_film))*, *[The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp](/source/The_Life_and_Death_of_Colonel_Blimp)*, *[The Red Shoes](/source/The_Red_Shoes_(1948_film))* and *[Victoria the Great](/source/Victoria_the_Great)* (as [Prince Albert](/source/Albert%2C_Prince_Consort)).

## Early life

Walbrook was born in [Vienna](/source/Vienna), Austria, as Adolf Wohlbrück.[1] He was the son of Gisela Rosa (Cohn) and Adolf Ferdinand Bernhard Hermann Wohlbrück.[2][3] He was descended from ten generations of actors, though his father broke with tradition and was a circus [clown](/source/Clown).[4] He attended a monastery school and considered becoming a monk, but eventually decided to become an actor.[4]

Wohlbrück moved to Berlin to study at the [Deutsches Theater](/source/Deutsches_Theater_(Berlin)) under Austro-German director [Max Reinhardt](/source/Max_Reinhardt). His career was temporarily interrupted by the First World War, during which he was captured in France and spent time in a POW camp.[5]

## Career

After the war, Wohlbrück built up a career in German theatre and cinema, with the support of his friend [Hermine Körner](/source/Hermine_K%C3%B6rner).[6] In the 1930s he was one of Germany's most popular actors.[7] However, as the Nazis came to power, Wohlbrück realized that he could not stay in Germany for long, as he risked being persecuted by the Nazis due to his Jewish mother[8] and his [homosexuality](/source/Persecution_of_homosexuals_in_Nazi_Germany_and_the_Holocaust).[9] When Nazi Germany absorbed Austria in the 1938 [Anschluss](/source/Anschluss), the Austrian option was taken off the table as well.

In 1936, Wohlbrück went to [Hollywood](/source/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles) to reshoot dialogue for the 1937 multinational *[The Soldier and the Lady](/source/The_Soldier_and_the_Lady)*, in which he portrayed the [Jules Verne](/source/Jules_Verne) hero *[Michael Strogoff](/source/Michael_Strogoff)*, and changed his name from Adolf Wohlbrück to Anton Walbrook.[7] Ironically, due in part to his popularity in Germany (which persisted through the early parts of the Nazi regime), some German emigres in Hollywood suspected that he was a Nazi spy, and some Jewish-American groups threatened to boycott his films.[7] Although RKO convinced the Jewish organizations to lift the boycott by pointing out Walbrook's actual ethnic heritage, the damage was done.[10] He moved to London in 1937, settling down in an area with many German-speaking emigres. One of his neighbours was director [Emeric Pressburger](/source/Emeric_Pressburger), who later cast him in some of his most famous roles.[10] He acquired British citizenship in 1947.[7]

In Britain, Walbrook continued working as an actor, specialising in playing continental Europeans. He "steer[ed] away from the dangerously sexy screen persona of his German career to the image of a passionate spokesman for pan-European liberalism."[11] He played Otto in the first London production of *[Design for Living](/source/Design_for_Living)* at the [Haymarket Theatre](/source/Haymarket_Theatre) in January 1939 (later transferring to the [Savoy Theatre](/source/Savoy_Theatre)), and running for 233 performances, opposite [Diana Wynyard](/source/Diana_Wynyard) as Gilda and [Rex Harrison](/source/Rex_Harrison) as Leo.[12] In 1952 he appeared at the Coliseum as Cosmo Constantine in *[Call Me Madam](/source/Call_Me_Madam)*, also participating alongside Billie Worth, Jeff Warren and [Shani Wallis](/source/Shani_Wallis) on the [EMI](/source/EMI) cast recording.[13] Producer-director [Herbert Wilcox](/source/Herbert_Wilcox) cast him as [Prince Albert](/source/Albert%2C_Prince_Consort) in *[Victoria the Great](/source/Victoria_the_Great)* (1937) and its sequel *[Sixty Glorious Years](/source/Sixty_Glorious_Years)* (1938). In *[Dangerous Moonlight](/source/Dangerous_Moonlight)* (1941), a romantic melodrama, he was a [Polish](/source/Polish_people) pianist torn over whether to return home.

[Thorold Dickinson](/source/Thorold_Dickinson) cast Walbrook in *[Gaslight](/source/Gaslight_(1940_film))* (1940), in the role played by [Charles Boyer](/source/Charles_Boyer) in the later Hollywood [remake](/source/Gaslight_(1944_film)). One of Walbrook's most unusual films was Dickinson's *[The Queen of Spades](/source/The_Queen_of_Spades_(1949_film))* (1949), a [Gothic](/source/Gothic_fiction) thriller based on the [Alexander Pushkin](/source/Alexander_Pushkin) short story, in which he co-starred with [Edith Evans](/source/Edith_Evans).

In 1941 Walbrook began collaborating with [Michael Powell](/source/Michael_Powell) and [Emeric Pressburger](/source/Emeric_Pressburger), for which he is now best remembered. In *[49th Parallel](/source/49th_Parallel_(film))* (1941) he played a leader of a [Hutterite](/source/Hutterite) community in Canada. In *[The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp](/source/The_Life_and_Death_of_Colonel_Blimp)* (1943) he played the role of the dashing, intense military officer Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff, a sympathetic German refugee from the Nazi regime. He also portrayed the tyrannical ballet [impresario](/source/Impresario) Lermontov in *[The Red Shoes](/source/The_Red_Shoes_(1948_film))* (1948). His *Red Shoes* co-star [Moira Shearer](/source/Moira_Shearer) recalled Walbrook was a loner on set, often wearing dark glasses, as in his character costume in the film, and eating alone.[14]

After the war, he worked in some continental productions, working with [Max Ophüls](/source/Max_Oph%C3%BCls) as the [ringmaster](/source/Ringmaster_(circus)) in *[La Ronde](/source/La_Ronde_(1950_film))* (1950) and [Ludwig I, King of Bavaria](/source/Ludwig_I%2C_King_of_Bavaria) in *[Lola Montès](/source/Lola_Mont%C3%A8s)*.[6]

Walbrook retired from feature films in 1958 and moved to West Germany, where he worked as a stage and television actor during the 1960s.

## Private life

Anton Walbrook was for a short time in a relationship with the painter and graphic artist [Ferdinand Finne](/source/Ferdinand_Finne), whom he had met in 1938 on a train ride in France. The relationship ended in 1946 after Walbrook began an affair with the Englishman Eugene Edwards. Nevertheless, Walbrook set up a flower shop for the man, who was a good thirty years his junior, and continued to remain in contact with him, right up until his death.

## Death

Walbrook's grave in St John-at-Hampstead parish church yard, London

In 1967, Walbrook suffered a heart attack on stage while acting in a theatrical production. He survived but later died at the home of actress [Hansi Burg](/source/Hansi_Burg) in the Garatshausen district of [Feldafing](/source/Feldafing), [Bavaria](/source/Bavaria), West Germany.[1][7][15] His ashes were interred in the churchyard of [St. John's Church, Hampstead](/source/St_John-at-Hampstead_Church), London, as he had wished in his will.[16] He is buried with his partner Eugene Edwards, a London florist, although Edwards' name is not on the tombstone.[17]

A biography of Walbrook, penned by James Downs, was published in 2020.[7]

## Legacy

American director [Wes Anderson](/source/Wes_Anderson) is a great fan of *[The Red Shoes](/source/The_Red_Shoes_(1948_film))*, and once boasted that he knew all of Walbrook's dialogue in that film by heart.[18] [Ralph Fiennes](/source/Ralph_Fiennes), who played the dandyish hotel concierge Gustave H. in Anderson's film *[The Grand Budapest Hotel](/source/The_Grand_Budapest_Hotel)*, said that Anderson asked him to study Walbrook's work in *The Red Shoes* to prepare for his performance.[19] In addition, Gustave's mustache is based on Walbrook's.[20]

## Filmography

Year Title Role Language Director Notes 1915 Marionetten Zirkusdirektor Richard Löwenbein 1923 Martin Luther Silent Karl Wüstenhagen 1924 Mater dolorosa Silent Joseph Delmont 1925 The Secret of Castle Elmshoh Axel Silent Max Obal 1931 Salto Mortale Robby German E. A. Dupont 1932 The Pride of Company Three Prinz Willibald German Fred Sauer Three from the Unemployment Office Max Binder German Eugen Thiele The Five Accursed Gentlemen Petersen German Julien Duvivier German-language version of a French film Melody of Love Kapellmeister German Georg Jacoby Baby Lord Cecil German Karel Lamač 1933 Waltz War Johann Strauss German Ludwig Berger Keine Angst vor Liebe [de] Helmut Höfert German Hans Steinhoff Victor and Victoria Robert German Reinhold Schünzel 1934 George and Georgette French Reinhold Schünzel, Roger Le Bon French-language version of Victor and Victoria The Switched Bride Charles German Karel Lamač Maskerade Ferdinand von Heideneck German Willi Forst A Woman Who Knows What She Wants Axel Basse German Victor Janson The English Marriage Warwick Brent German Reinhold Schünzel 1935 Regine Frank Reynold German Erich Waschneck The Gypsy Baron Sandor Barinkay German Karl Hartl Le Baron tzigane Sandor Barinkay French Karl Hartl, Henri Chomette French-language version of The Gypsy Baron I Was Jack Mortimer Fred Sponer German Carl Froelich The Student of Prague Balduin German Arthur Robison 1936 The Czar's Courier Michael Strogoff German Richard Eichberg Michel Strogoff French Richard Eichberg, Jacques de Baroncelli French-language version of The Czar's Courier Tomfoolery Philip German Willi Forst Port Arthur Boris Ranewsky French Nicolas Farkas Port Arthur German Nicolas Farkas German-language version of Port Arthur 1937 The Soldier and the Lady Michael Strogoff English George Nicholls Jr. Remake of The Czar's Courier Victoria the Great Prince Albert English Herbert Wilcox The Rat Jean Boucheron English Jack Raymond 1938 Sixty Glorious Years Prince Albert English Herbert Wilcox 1940 Gaslight Paul Mallen/Louis Bauer English Thorold Dickinson 1941 Dangerous Moonlight Stefan Radetzky English Brian Desmond Hurst 49th Parallel Peter English Powell and Pressburger 1943 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff English Powell and Pressburger 1945 The Man from Morocco Karel Langer English Mutz Greenbaum 1948 The Red Shoes Boris Lermontov English Powell and Pressburger 1949 The Queen of Spades Capt. Herman Suvorin English Thorold Dickinson 1950 La Ronde Master of Ceremonies French Max Ophüls King for One Night Graf von Lerchenbach German Paul May 1951 Vienna Waltzes Johann Strauss German Emil-Edwin Reinert 1952 Le Plaisir Narrator, German version Max Ophüls Uncredited 1954 On Trial (L'affaire Maurizius) Grégoire Waremme French Julien Duvivier 1955 Oh... Rosalinda!! Dr. Falke English Powell and Pressburger Lola Montès King Ludwig I of Bavaria French Max Ophüls 1957 Saint Joan Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais English Otto Preminger 1958 I Accuse! Major Esterhazy English José Ferrer

### Television (West Germany)

Year TV Show Role Notes 1960 Venus Observed [de] The Duke of Altair based on Venus Observed 1962 Laura [de] Waldo Lydecker based on Laura 1963 The Doctor's Dilemma [de] Sir Colenso Ridgeon based on The Doctor's Dilemma 1966 Robert and Elisabeth Edward Moulton-Barrett based on Robert and Elizabeth (final film role)

## See also

- [Biography portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Biography)

## References

### Citations

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-1) "Walbrook [formerly Wohlbrück], (Adolf Wilhelm) Anton (1896–1967)". *[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography)* (online ed.). Oxford University Press. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/ref:odnb/60815](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F60815). (Subscription, [Wikipedia Library](https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/partners/88/) access or [UK public library membership](https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required.)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Anton Walbrook – Tomb With a View"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190408142058/http://tombwithaview.org.uk/abg-people/anton-walbrook/). Archived from [the original](http://tombwithaview.org.uk/abg-people/anton-walbrook/) on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Hergemöller, Bernd-Ulrich (2001). [*Mann für Mann*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Vv3ZAAAAMAAJ&q=anton+walbrook+Gisela+Rosa+Cohn). Suhrkamp. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9783518397664](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9783518397664).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_4-1) Cross, Brenda (14 February 1948). ["Interview with Anton Walbrook"](https://powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/Anton/Anton01.html). *powell-pressburger.org*. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Anton Walbrook: Uncovering a Life of Masks and Mirrors by James Downs"](https://www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/news/anton-walbrook-uncovering-a-life-of-masks-and-mirrors-by-james-downs/). *www.bdcmuseum.org.uk*. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_6-1) Berki, Bibi (9 July 2021). ["Duality of an Exile: Anton Walbrook, A Life of Masks and Mirrors"](https://filmint.nu/anton-walbrook-james-downs-review-bibi-berki/). *FilmInt.nu*. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:3_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:3_7-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:3_7-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:3_7-5) Downs, James (25 June 2021). ["Masks, Mirrors and Paper trails: Anton Walbrook and the archive"](https://iamhist.net/2021/06/masks-mirrors-paper-trails-anton-walbrook-archive/). Retrieved 17 October 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Offermanns, Ernst (2005) (in German). *Die deutschen Juden und der Spielfilm der NS-Zeit*. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. p. 69.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** David Ehrenstein (20 July 2010). ["The Red Shoes: Dancing for Your Life"](http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1518-the-red-shoes-dancing-for-your-life). *Current*. The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 27 August 2012.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:4_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:4_10-1) Downs, James (27 April 2021). ["The Jewish Actor Accused of Being a Nazi Spy"](https://www.jewthink.org/2021/04/27/the-jewish-actor-accused-of-being-a-nazi-spy/). *JewThink*. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Harper, Sue (October 2023). ["James Downs, Anton Walbrook: A Life of Masks and Mirrors"](https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/jbctv.2023.0690). *Journal of British Cinema and Television*. **20** (4): 520–522. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3366/jbctv.2023.0690](https://doi.org/10.3366%2Fjbctv.2023.0690). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1743-4521](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1743-4521).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** *[The Observer](/source/The_Observer)*, 29 January 1939, p. 11

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [WorldCat entry for Call Me Madam, with details of cast](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/947820887) accessed 7 August 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Commentary track on Criterion DVD of *The Red Shoes*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** James (9 August 2014). ["Anton Walbrook died 47 years ago today"](https://darklanecreative.com/anton-walbrook-died-47-years-ago-today-2/). *Dark Lane Creative*. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_16-0)** ["Anton Walbrook – the enigmatic actor who is still remembered – Hampstead Parish Church"](https://hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk/anton-walbrook-the-enigmatic-actor-who-is-still-remembered/). 31 August 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Moor, Andrew (31 July 2022). ["Book Review: James Downs, Anton Walbrook: A Life of Masks and Mirrors (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2020)"](https://www.openscreensjournal.com/article/id/9026/). *Open Screens*. **5** (1). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.16995/OS.9026](https://doi.org/10.16995%2FOS.9026). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2516-2888](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2516-2888).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Brody, Richard (25 October 2009). ["The Anderson Tapes"](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-anderson-tapes). *The New Yorker*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0028-792X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-792X). Retrieved 17 October 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Crow, David (5 March 2014). ["Grand Budapest Hotel Interview with Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori"](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/grand-budapest-hotel-interview-with-ralph-fiennes-and-tony-revolori/). *Den of Geek*. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["At 'The Grand Budapest,' A Banquet Of Beards And Melange Of Mustaches"](https://www.npr.org/2015/02/14/384130972/at-the-grand-budapest-a-banquet-of-beards-and-melange-of-mustaches). *NPR*. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

### General sources

- Moor, Andrew, *Dangerous Limelight: Anton Walbrook and the Seduction of the English* (2001)

- *Anton Walbrook. A Life of Masks and Mirrors* by James Downs (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2020) [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-78997-710-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-78997-710-3)

## External links

- [Anton Walbrook](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0906932/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Anton Walbrook](http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/464396/) at the [BFI](/source/British_Film_Institute)'s [Screenonline](/source/Screenonline). Biography & filmography

- [Photographs of Anton Walbrook](http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=277)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Anton Walbrook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Walbrook) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Walbrook?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.