Ossi Oswalda
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.
The Doll
as Ossi / The DollThe misadventures of an effete young man who must get married in order to inherit a fortune. He...
Movie pageI Don't Want to Be a Man
as OssiA teenage tomboy, tired of being bossed around by her strict guardian, impersonates a man so she...
Movie pageThe Oyster Princess
as Ossi, his daughterA pampered American oyster tycoon decides to buy a husband for his daughter, but things don’t go...
Movie pageThe Merry Jail
as uncreditedA neglected wife disguises herself in order to lure her wastrel husband into a compromising...
Movie pageThe Toboggan Cavalier
as Ossi HannemannA young woman is forced by her father to marry a man she doesn't love and flees before the...
Movie pageMeyer from Berlin
as uncreditedSally Meyer, a young Berliner, persuades his Doctor to convince his wife that he is ill, so that...
Movie pageDie Kleine vom Varieté
as Rositta, die Kleine vom VarietéPeter Verdy falls in love with Lola (Ossi Oswalda) who is mistaken for a boy when she appears in...
Movie pagePinkus's Shoe Palace
as ApprenticeSally Pinkus is an German-Jewish boy who takes a job as a shoe store clerk after being expelled...
Movie pageExpress Train of Love
as KittySilent romantic comedy set on a train.
Movie pageA Night of Horror
as uncreditedAn extremely jealous artist slips into a monkey costume and kills all those men who come too...
Movie pageMy Wife, the Movie Star
as Ossi, der Filmstar der FabrikWhile making a movie in the Alps, the female star falls in love with a nobleman.
Movie pageSir or Madame
as uncreditedA girl posing as a knight's male valet is vamped by his fiancée
Movie page