Ossi Oswalda

Born: 1897-01-31

Ossi Oswalda (born Oswalda Amalie Anna Stäglich, 2 February 1897 – 7 March 1947) was a German actress, who mostly appeared in silent films. She was given the nickname 'The German Mary Pickford' due to her popularity at the time. Oswalda trained as a ballerina and became a dancer for a theater in Berlin. She made her film debut in Richard Oswald's Nächte des Grauens (Night of Horrors) before being discovered by the actor and screenwriter Hanns Kräly, who in turn recommended her to director Ernst Lubitsch. During her early career, she starred in several films by Lubitsch, including The Merry Jail, I Don't Want to Be a Man, The Oyster Princess and The Doll. Her popularity at the time earned her the nickname 'The German Mary Pickford'. In 1921, Oswalda started her own film production company with her husband at the time, the Hungarian Baron Gustav Wilhelm Viktor Freiherr von Koczian-Miskolczy (1877–1958). However, during the next four years they only produced four films, all starring Oswalda. From 1925 on, she was contracted to Ufa. The couple divorced in 1925, and Oswalda began a high profile affair with Wilhelm, German Crown Prince. Oswalda's career waned along with the silent film era, and she only acted in two sound films, making her final appearance on screen in the 1933 film The Star of Valencia. She escaped Nazi Germany and emigrated to Prague with her partner Julius Aubenberg in the 1930s. Later on, she became a stage actor, and in 1943, wrote the screenplay for the Czechoslovakian film Čtrnáctý u stolu. By spring 1947, Oswalda went bankrupt and was suffering from multiple health problems. Oswalda died penniless in Prague at the age of 50. She is buried at Olsany Cemetery.


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The Doll

as Ossi / The Doll
Released: 1919-12-05

The misadventures of an effete young man who must get married in order to inherit a fortune. He...

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The Oyster Princess

as Ossi, his daughter
Released: 1919-06-26

A pampered American oyster tycoon decides to buy a husband for his daughter, but things don’t go...

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I Don't Want to Be a Man

as Ossi
Released: 1918-10-01

A teenage tomboy, tired of being bossed around by her strict guardian, impersonates a man so she...

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The Merry Jail

as uncredited
Released: 1917-11-30

A neglected wife disguises herself in order to lure her wastrel husband into a compromising...

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Meyer from Berlin

as uncredited
Released: 1919-01-17

Sally Meyer, a young Berliner, persuades his Doctor to convince his wife that he is ill, so that...

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The chaste Joseph

as uncredited
Released: 1930-09-19

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Pinkus's Shoe Palace

as Apprentice
Released: 1916-06-09

Sally Pinkus is an German-Jewish boy who takes a job as a shoe store clerk after being expelled...

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Das Mädel mit der Maske

as Hothilde van Erlenkamp
Released: 1922-02-24

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Niniche

as Niniche
Released: 1925-02-13

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Frühere Verhältnisse

as Pepi
Released: 1927-06-15

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Gräfin Plättmamsell

as uncredited
Released: 1926-11-25

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Prinz Sami

as Herzogin Maria
Released: 1918-01-01

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Der Stern von Valencia

as Rita
Released: 1933-07-04

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Colibri

as Colibri
Released: 1924-03-01

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Sir or Madame

as uncredited
Released: 1928-11-13

A girl posing as a knight's male valet is vamped by his fiancée

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The Toboggan Cavalier

as Ossi Hannemann
Released: 1918-03-01

A young woman is forced by her father to marry a man she doesn't love and flees before the...

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A Crazy Night

as Margot Olschinsky
Released: 1927-01-21

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Die Puppe

as uncredited
Released: 1990-01-01

A child is moved around like a doll

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Die Kleine vom Varieté

as Rositta, die Kleine vom Varieté
Released: 1926-10-25

Peter Verdy falls in love with Lola (Ossi Oswalda) who is mistaken for a boy when she appears in...

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Der Hilferuf

as uncredited
Released: 1916-07-01

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My Wife, the Movie Star

as Ossi, der Filmstar der Fabrik
Released: 1919-01-24

While making a movie in the Alps, the female star falls in love with a nobleman.

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A Night of Horror

as uncredited
Released: 1917-02-09

An extremely jealous artist slips into a monkey costume and kills all those men who come too...

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Express Train of Love

as Kitty
Released: 1925-05-06

Silent romantic comedy set on a train.

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Die Fahrt ins Abenteuer

as uncredited
Released: 1926-04-16

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