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Carl Mayer (20 November 1894 – 1 July 1944) was an Austrian screenwriter who wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Head of Janus (1920), The Haunted Castle (1921), Der Letzte Mann (1924), Tartuffe (1926), Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), and 4 Devils (1928), most of them being films directed by F. W. Murnau. Mayer was a fundamental figure in the dramatic and narrative establishment of both German expressionist cinema and Kammerspielfilm.

Carl Mayer
Carl Mayer (c. 1920s)
Born(1894-11-20)November 20, 1894
Graz, Styria, Austria-Hungary
(present-day Graz, Austria)
DiedJuly 1, 1944(1944-07-01) (aged 49)
London, UK
Resting placeHighgate Cemetery, London
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1919–1940
Notable work
  • The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920)
  • The Last Laugh (1924)
  • Sunrise (1927)

Early life and career


Mayer was the son of a stock speculator who committed suicide, forcing the young Carl to leave school at 15, and go to work as a secretary. Mayer moved from native Graz to Innsbruck and then Vienna, where he worked as a dramatist. The events of World War I turned him into a pacifist.

In 1917, Mayer went to Berlin, where he worked at the small Residenztheater. He befriended Gilda Langer, a leading actress of the theater and fell in love with her. He wrote the script for Dr. Caligari (1920) with Hans Janowitz, and planned to have Langer star in the film. However, Langer became engaged to director Paul Czinner, then Langer died unexpectedly early in 1920. (The role went to actress Lil Dagover instead.) Mayer paid for Langer's tombstone and had notes from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde engraved on it.

Kabinett led to Mayer working with many leading directors in Germany. He worked with F. W. Murnau on Der Letzte Mann (1924, known as The Last Laugh in the English-speaking world) in Germany, and he also wrote the scenario for Murnau's Sunrise (1927), made during Murnau's stay in Hollywood. Mayer also co-wrote Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (1927) with Karl Freund and Walter Ruttmann.

Being Jewish as well as a pacifist, Mayer thought it best to leave Germany when the Nazis came to power. In 1933, shortly after working with Béla Balázs on the script for Das Blaue Licht (1932), directed by Leni Riefenstahl, he moved to London to escape the Nazi regime. In London, he worked as an adviser to the British film industry, and became friends with British film figures such as director and film writer Paul Rotha.


Death


The grave of Carl Mayer, Highgate Cemetery East
The grave of Carl Mayer, Highgate Cemetery East

In 1942, Mayer was diagnosed with cancer. Near the end of his life, he wanted to make a documentary film on London, but due to anti-German sentiment and difficult economic conditions, he was unable to find a producer.

His illness was treated somewhat ineptly due to war conditions and he died at the age of 49 on 1 July 1944, poor and almost forgotten, having only 23 pounds in cash and two books. He was buried in the eastern section of Highgate Cemetery, south of the entrance, facing the grave of William Friese-Greene, in London. His epitaph reads "Pioneer in the art of the cinema. Erected by his friends and fellow workers". The city of Graz has named a prize after him.[1]


Selected filmography



References


  1. Criterion Forum entry



На других языках


[de] Carl Mayer (Drehbuchautor)

Carl Mayer (* 20. November 1894 in Graz; † 1. Juli 1944 in London) war ein österreichischer Drehbuchautor und einer der bedeutendsten Drehbuchautoren des Weimarer Kinos. Er ist besonders bekannt als Ko-Autor des Drehbuchs zum Klassiker des expressionistischen Films Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920) und als Begründer des deutschen Kammerspielfilms. Bereits zu seinen Lebzeiten wurde Mayers ungewöhnlicher, rhythmisierter Drehbuchstil breit diskutiert; wegen dieses Stils bleibt er bis heute einer der meist erforschten deutschsprachigen Drehbuchautoren.
- [en] Carl Mayer

[es] Carl Mayer

Carl Mayer (Graz, 20 de noviembre de 1894 - Londres, 1 de julio de 1944) fue un guionista cinematográfico austríaco. Su trabajo conjunto con Robert Wiene y F. W. Murnau lo consagró como una de las figuras más importantes del expresionismo alemán.

[ru] Майер, Карл (писатель)

Карл Майер (нем. Carl Mayer, 20 ноября 1894 (1894-11-20), Грац, Австрия — 1 июля 1944, Лондон) — немецкий писатель и сценарист австрийского происхождения.



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