Ernst Winar

Ernst Winar

Birth : 1894-09-03, Leiden, Netherlands

Death : 1978-06-28

History

Ernst Winar, born Wilhelm Joseph Carl Eichhoff (1894–1978), was a German-Dutch actor, film director and novelist. He appeared in 34 films between 1916 and 1955, and directed 14 films in that period. In 1920 he published the novel 'Peccavi...???', which he co-wrote with actor Adolphe Engers; the book was considered scandalous at the time because of its gay protagonist. Born into a German family as Wilhelm Joseph Carl Eichhoff, Winar broke off his studies in engineering at a young age and joined the Filmfabriek Hollandia in Haarlem; he assisted directors and crew, and made his acting debut in a supporting role in the film Majoor Frans (1916). Winar was also active on stage, joining the Bouwmeester theater for a short time. Adter some time he started taking on acting jobs in Germany as well; he got his first leading role in Zirkus Renz ('Circus Renz', 1927) by Austrian director Wolfgang Neff. He trained his directing skills at the Terra Film film school in Berlin and in 1923 he directed his first film, Der Mann im Hintergrund ('The Man in the Background'). In the early thirties he came back to the Netherlands. He signed with the Cinetone Studios and subsequently made the films De kribbebijter (1935) and Op stap (1935) with Louis Davids in the lead role. Winar was considered one of only few Dutch directors at Cinetone who had truly mastered the filmmaking profession. After the Second World War, Winar shifted his interest to making children's films, such as Dik Trom en zijn dorpsgenoten ('Dik Trom and his fellow villagers', 1947) and Vier Jongens en een Jeep ('Four guys and a jeep', 1955). The latter was his last film as both actor and director. In the 1960s, Winar supervised young filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as editor and co-writer for his short film Eén hagedis teveel ('One lizard too many', 1960) and documentary Het Korps Mariniers ('The Marine Corps', 1965).

Profile

Ernst Winar

Movies

The Cross-Patch
Director
Willy, the son of baron Van Hergershuizen, finds himself disinherited after he marries an untitled girl. His wife decides to take action and applies for the job of the baron's housekeeper.
The Dutch Cabaret Album
Director
Compilation of cabaret songs and sketches. Louis Davids sings and acts with Sylvain Poons, Fien de la Mar and Heintje Davids, among others. The film includes such numbers as ‘Naar de Artis’, ‘De volkstuinkoningin’, ‘De draaiende Venus’ and ‘Hollands Hollywood’. Every song was subtitled so that audiences could sing along.
On the Move
Director
Janus Fortuin is a goodhearted piano tuner married to a greedy landlady. Their daughter Polly is engaged to young songwriter George van Reen. When rich uncle Barend from Batavia makes a surprise visit — pretending to be a lodger called 'Van Santen' — the Fortuin family finds their lives turned upside down.
Was eine Frau im Frühling träumt
Tom Braun
Der Hafenbaron
Director
Die Millionenkompagnie
Wettlauf ums Glück
The man in the background
Editor
The guests at Count Otto von Trepow's East Prussian estate Gross-Ehrenfeld are Lord and Lady Ruthven, Mr Hendriks with his wife and foster-daughter Mariska, a gypsy they adopted years ago, Kundry, the fiancée of Otto's son Bernhard, and Count Stanislaus Larinski, who claims to be a Polish revolutionary wanted by the Russian government. A boating trip is organized but ends when the motor breaks down. While waiting for it to be repaired, the guests go to an inn run by Andreas and his daughter Käthe. Hendriks goes for a walk, sees the boat come back and that a man with a bent back leaves it. He notices that Kundry is afraid of Bernhard.
The man in the background
Director
The guests at Count Otto von Trepow's East Prussian estate Gross-Ehrenfeld are Lord and Lady Ruthven, Mr Hendriks with his wife and foster-daughter Mariska, a gypsy they adopted years ago, Kundry, the fiancée of Otto's son Bernhard, and Count Stanislaus Larinski, who claims to be a Polish revolutionary wanted by the Russian government. A boating trip is organized but ends when the motor breaks down. While waiting for it to be repaired, the guests go to an inn run by Andreas and his daughter Käthe. Hendriks goes for a walk, sees the boat come back and that a man with a bent back leaves it. He notices that Kundry is afraid of Bernhard.
Am roten Kliff
Der Erbe der van Diemen
Die Benefiz-Vorstellung der vier Teufel
Fritz
One out of three silent adaptations of the novella "Les quatre diables" written by Danish author Herman Bang. The most famous one, although unfortunately lost, is without any doubt F.W. Murnau's "4 Devils". This German version, by Danish director A.W. Sandberg, was done eight years prior to Murnau's American one, and was a big success at the time.
Fate's Plaything
Dolores gets a marriage proposal from the promising young doctor Lucas, but on the day of their marriage, she leaves him in the lurch and takes off with the South American dancer and adventurer Hugo Amadis. But Hugo treats her badly. Dolores leaves Hugo and begins a career as a dancer to make ends meet for her and her son. One day, the son gets sick, and the doctor who helps the child through the crisis is Doctor Lucas. Lucas and Delores decide to start over.
A Carmen of the North
On the verge of getting married to Marijke, young and insecure detective Jozef is assigned the case of a murdered factory girl. His relationship is threatened when he becomes madly infatuated with Carmen, the alluring prime suspect.
The Devil in Amsterdam
The devil has arrived in Amsterdam, hell-bent on bombarding a poor girl, a wealthy banker and a young painter with great misfortune. This film is presumed lost.
Gloria transita
A street singer manages to work his way up to the position of an opera artist, only to be struck by fate, and return to his life on the street.
La Renzoni
Married housewife Alda decides to become a singer under the stage name 'La Renzoni', in a duo-act with her father. All goes well, until her husband mistakes her father for her lover...
Major Frans
When his granddaughter is born, debt-ridden Colonel von Zwenken misses out on Aunt Roselaar's allowance of 20,000 guilders. Anxious to keep the money, his son-in-law telegraphs the aunt that a son was born, Frans, and the girl is brought up as a boy. Based on the novel by Anna L.G. Bosboom-Toussaint.
De Kroon der Schande