Camilla Horn

Born: 1903-04-25

The daughter of a railroad official, Camilla Horn was educated in Germany and Switzerland. She initially trained as a dressmaker and received her first job experience in a fashion salon in Erfurt. This was merely a stepping stone for a performing career which began with dance lessons in Berlin and subsequent acting studies under Lucie Höflich. The lithe, blond and strikingly beautiful Camilla soon appeared in cabaret revues staged by Rudolf Nelson. By 1926, she was employed as an extra at Ufa, where she was spotted by the director F.W. Murnau, who found in her the ideal representation of Gretchen for his seminal production of Fausto (1926) . The role catapulted Camilla to instant stardom. Within a year, she was signed by United Artists in Hollywood, befriending Charles Chaplin and, more importantly, studio chairman Joseph M. Schenck. The friendship with Schenck may, or may not, have led to an affair -- depending on which story one is to believe -- but it did result in two high profile starring roles opposite John Barrymore in the torrid melodramas Tempestad (1928) and Amor eterno (1929), both produced by Schenck. Neither film was a commercial success. With the coming of sound, Camilla returned to Europe, briefly appearing on stage in London and Paris, before resuming her screen career in Germany. As the 1930's went on, she rarely turned down a role, playing anything from baronesses and fashion models, to vamps and 'fallen women'. The quality of her films was variable, but there were several noteworthy standouts, such as Hans in allen Gassen (1930) (opposite Hans Albers), Fiesta en palacio (1934) and Payasos (1938) (as a circus artiste, again with Albers). During this tumultuous decade, Camilla conducted a lengthy affair with the singer Louis Graveure, fifteen years her senior. This came to an end in 1938, when Graveure was suspected of espionage by the Gestapo and fled to England, via the Cote d'Azure. After her luxury villa in Berlin was ransacked in search for non-existent clues, Camilla's outspoken criticism of the Nazi regime reached a point where it got her into serious trouble. She saw out the first half of her career with a trio of long forgotten films made in Italy. Having failed in an attempt to flee to Switzerland, she kept a low profile and even tried her hand at farming. After the war, she had a stint as an interpreter for the occupying U.S. forces in Germany. Camilla made a successful return to the stage in a 1948 Frankfurt production of Jean Cocteau's "L'Aigle a Deux Tetes" (aka 'The Eagle Has Two Heads'). She spent the latter half of her acting career playing grand dames, matriarchs and worldly ladies with colourful backgrounds, in both films and on television. In 1974, she was awarded the 'Filmband in Gold' (also known as 'Lola') for lifetime achievement in the German film industry. In her 1985 autobiography, "Verliebt in die Liebe" ('In Love with Love'), she happily recounted her marriages and liaisons.


Placeholder

Faust

as Gretchen Marguerite
Released: 1926-10-13

God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and...

Movie page

Tartuffe

as (uncredited)
Released: 1926-01-25

A young man shows his millionaire grandfather a film based on Molière's play "Tartuffe" in order...

Movie page

Schloß Königswald

as Fürstin Großmutter
Released: 1988-01-14

Movie page

Appointment in Beirut

as Evelyn Brown
Released: 1968-09-20

When an international casino crime ring is planning a big score at a fixed roulette game, the...

Movie page

White Slaves

as Manja - seine Tochter
Released: 1937-01-05

Russia, 1917. Revolution is in the air. The Sevastopol anchors In Saint Petersburg. The sailors...

Movie page

Broken Love

as Corinna Dellys, l'amante di Alberto
Released: 1942-03-10

The well off daughter of a tenor breaks up a romance with a helpful youth from a...

Movie page

Eternal Love

as Ciglia
Released: 1929-05-11

In the Swiss Alps of the early 19th century, a couple forced into loveless marriages struggle to...

Movie page

Fahrendes Volk

as Pepita, Kunstreiterin
Released: 1938-12-15

Fernand has escaped from prison and finds shelter in the traveling circus Barlay, where his...

Movie page

Eva and the Grasshopper

as Camille de Saxe
Released: 1927-06-10

Mary and Eva are best friends, although they couldn't be more different. Armand, Mary's fiancee,...

Movie page

Tempest

as Princess Tamara
Released: 1928-05-27

In the final days of Czarist Russia, a peasant is raised from the ranks to Lieutenant. The other...

Movie page

Zentrale Rio

as Diane Mercier
Released: 1939-10-04

Maria Halmborg is a widow. Her husband Erik - missing for years - is considered dead. Suddenly...

Movie page

Matinee Idol

as Sonia Vance
Released: 1933-08-29

A well-known actor is murdered. Another performer becomes an amateur sleuth so she can prove her...

Movie page

Der Doppelgänger

as Jenny Miller
Released: 1934-02-01

Movie page

The Great Longing

as Eva von Loe
Released: 1930-08-24

During lunch break at the movie studio, the extras rush to the canteen Hans Adalbert Schlettow,...

Movie page

Der Unsichtbare

as Olga Benjamin
Released: 1987-01-01

TV star Benjamin inherits from his uncle a cloak of invisibility. Invisible he must discover...

Movie page

The Luck of a Sailor

as Louise
Released: 1934-04-26

In this romantic comedy, the king of Ruritania marries an impoverished commoner after he is...

Movie page

Racoczy-Marsch

as Vilma
Released: 1933-12-15

Movie page

Sunday of Life

as Ellen Hobart
Released: 1931-01-29

Ellen Hobart is a gold-digging manicurist who sights her sights on David Stone, a wealthy young...

Movie page

The Five Accursed Gentlemen

as Camilla
Released: 1932-03-23

European tourists on holiday in Morocco are threatened by a native sorcerer who predicts five of...

Movie page

Ways to Strength and Beauty

as uncredited
Released: 1925-03-16

The perfect body as an object of cult worship. Based on the mass sports and body worship...

Movie page

Friedemann Bach

as Mariella Fiorini
Released: 1941-06-25

During a house concert, the Bach family gets a visit by their son Wilhelm Friedemann, who has...

Movie page

Three Around Edith

as Lady Edith Trent
Released: 1929-11-12

Notorious jewel thief Roger "Tiger" Brown sneaks into the trust of diamond dealer Thomas...

Movie page

Los 5 Faust de F. W. Murnau

as Herself / Gretchen (archive footage)
Released: 2002-11-26

Movie page

Fundvogel

as Andrea
Released: 1930-05-19

Young Jan Bergwall visits his grandmother, the so-called centenary, at Woyland Castle. There he...

Movie page

Moral und Liebe

as Vera
Released: 1933-02-03

Film by Georg Jacoby.

Movie page

The Night Without Pause

as Letta Larbo
Released: 1931-12-22

When Julius Seipold's wife Regine becomes suspicious that he is having an affair after...

Movie page

Money Governs the World

as Lilly
Released: 1933-10-13

In this French set comedy, five million francs change hands one weekend between a man pretending...

Movie page

Madame Wants No Children

as uncredited
Released: 1926-12-14

Movie page

Hans in Every Street

as Elisabeth, the Bride
Released: 1930-12-23

Movie page

Die letzte Runde

as Lilly
Released: 1940-11-20

Movie page

The Cheeky Devil

as Alice Ménard
Released: 1932-04-28

Adaptation of a French comedy, set in Paris, in which a lecherous man sets his sights on a...

Movie page

The Bordellos of Algiers

as Adrienne Brisson
Released: 1927-05-10

Movie page

Intimitäten

as Helene
Released: 1948-02-03

Movie page

The Love Nest

as Fifi
Released: 1933-07-01

On the eve of his own marriage, a man offers shelter to a runaway wife with whom he strikes up...

Movie page

I Go Out and You Stay Here

as Gaby
Released: 1931-04-09

Weimar era screwball comedy about a floor model who is required to go out evenings to escort...

Movie page

The Song of the Nations

as uncredited
Released: 1931-03-17

Movie page

A Waltz for You

as Fürstin Stefanie
Released: 1934-08-11

Ruritanian power struggle with opera singing.

Movie page

Der letzte Walzer

as Vera
Released: 1934-11-27

Film by Jacoby.

Movie page

The Red Rider

as Hasia Nowrowska
Released: 1935-02-01

Movie page

If I Were King

as Inge Winkler
Released: 1934-01-09

Movie page

Die keusche Geliebte

as Renée Lemonier
Released: 1940-12-27

Movie page

Gesucht wird Majora

as Gritt Faller
Released: 1949-09-02

Movie page

Ich sehne mich nach dir

as Ivonne Brandt
Released: 1934-12-20

Movie page

Die große Chance

as Helga
Released: 1934-03-30

Movie page

Morals at Midnight

as Nelly Wendt
Released: 1930-06-20

Berlin, the center of pleasures and kingdom of small virtues. From all over Germany, young night...

Movie page

The Black Forest Clinic

as Dr. Rens′ Mutter
First aired: 1985-10-22

The Black Forest Clinic is a German language medical drama television series that was produced...

TV Show page

Unheimliche Geschichten

as uncredited
First aired: 1982-04-05

TV Show page