IEC
Born: 5 December 1889 [or 1884, or 1894], Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig, Thüringen, Germany.
Died: 18 August 1958, Göttingen, Germany [died in an accident during filming of 'Ohne Mutter geht es nicht'].
Career: Entered the film industry in 1910 working for Pathé Frères in Paris. In 1912, he became secretary and chef in the Pathé office in Vienna and later Berlin. He also did some work as cameraman. Went to New York for Pathé Weekly in 1913. Returned to Germany in 1914 and, after being wounded as a soldier, became still ph and 2nd cameraman at Projektions-AG Union [PAGU]. Became doph. After WWII, he worked for a couple of years as ph of doc's and newsreels before returning to feature films.
Was a member of the CdK.
In the feature film 'Shadow of the Vampire' [2000; d: E. Elias Merhige; ph: Lou Bogue], about the making of 'Nosferatu', the role of F.A. Wagner is played by Cary Elwes.
Up to 1933 one of the most important cameramen of the German cinema. After 1933 his work is of little importance.
Fritz Arno Wagner is responsible for photographing some of the most iconographic images in German cinema from 1919 to 1933. Except for Karl Freund, no other cameraman of the period achieved Wagner's level of versatility and technical expertise. His collaborations with G.W. Pabst, Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau are a virtual catalog of the expressive potential of the cinematographer's art, from Expressionist Stimmung to documentary realism. Stimmung is the operative word Lotte Eisner coined to describe the mood or atmosphere evoked by many films of the German silent era - brooding and introspective in tone, illuminated by pools or shafts of light, the total effect reflecting the characters' states of mind. Wagner's most extreme contribution to this genre was Arthur Robison's 'Schatten - Eine nächtliche Halluzination/Warning Shadows', in which a conjuror releases the repressed unconscious desires of the protagonists, who act out their fantasies in silhouette, shadow, or double exposure.
Despite his reputation as a cinematographer of Stimmung, it could be argued that the naturalistic or documentary aspect of Wagner's work is more interesting when viewed today. In Pabst's 'Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney', Wagner photographed Paris as if the camera was discovering it for the first time, tracking through the city, reveling in the details of train stations and busy streets. Yet, in the same film, Pabst could call on Wagner to diffuse the image with the facility of a portrait photographer when the hero and heroine enter a church. Lang's 'M' permitted Wagner a synthesis of styles: on one hand, an objective study of police procedure, the camera sniffing out clues along with the protagonists; on the other hand, a shadowy emanation of the murderer's state of mind as he is progressively cornered like a rat, in one shot circumscribed in both the camera frame and a garden trellis.
Pabst's 'Westfront 1918', 'Kameradschaft', and 'Die 3-Groschen-Oper' represent the pinnacles of Wagner's art. His major achievement in these films is the expressive use of camera movement, so often difficult to facilitate during the early sound period. The set designer Ernö Metzner worked closely with Wagner in devising apparatus to mask the movement of the camera in Pabst's astonishing evocation of a mining disaster, 'Kameradschaft'. Wagner's camera seems to be everywhere, tracking in front of a fleeing worker or receding from a trio searching for survivors, the retreat gradually revealing more and more of Metzner's artfully designed chaos. Similarly, Wagner's camera evokes the horror of war in 'Westfront 1918', tracking alongside soldiers as they make their way from crater to crater. Ironically, Pabst's controversial adaptation of 'Die 3-Groschen-Oper' marked a return for Wagner to the techniques of Stimmung. Camera movement seems less organic to this film, Pabst here more concerned with character than spectacle.
Wagner continued to work in Germany, producing competent, craftsmanlike work throughout the Second World War and up to his death in an automobile accident in 1958, but with the export or suppression of talent after 1933, opportunities became infrequent for the kind of visual experimentation that made his early work so innovative. [From article by Lee Tsiantis on the filmreference.com website.]
FILMS | |
---|---|
1919 |
Vendetta [Georg Jacoby] b&w; 2nd cam; ph: Theodor Sparkuhl; prod Projektions-AG Union (PAGU) (Berlin) |
1919 |
Madame Dubarry/Passion [Ernst Lubitsch] b&w; 2nd cam (+ still ph); ph: Theodor Sparkuhl; prod PAGU |
1919 |
Der Galeerensträfling [Rochus Gliese] b&w; in 2 parts; cph: Frederik Fuglsang; prod PAGU |
1919 |
Das Skelett des Herrn Markutius [Victor Janson] b&w; prod PAGU |
1920 |
Sumurun [Ernst Lubitsch] b&w; cph: Theodor Sparkuhl; prod PAGU |
1920 |
Das Martyrium [Paul Ludwig Stein] b&w; prod PAGU |
1920 |
Die geschlossene Kette [Paul Ludwig Stein] b&w; prod PAGU |
1920 |
Arme Violetta/Camille/The Red Peacock [Paul Ludwig Stein] b&w; prod PAGU |
1921 |
Der müde Tod - Ein deutsches Volkslied in 6 Versen/Between Two Worlds/Destiny/The Three Lights [Fritz Lang] b&w; ph Venetian, Oriental and Chinese seg; other ph: Erich Nitzschmann & Hermann Saalfrank; prod Decla-Bioscop AG (Berlin) |
1921 |
Schloß Vogelöd [- Die Enthüllung eines Geheimnisses]/The Haunted Castle [Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau] b&w; cph: László Schäffer; prod Uco-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1921 |
Nachtbesuch in der Northernbank [Karl Grune] b&w; ph last 6 days; cph: Carl Drews; prod Gloria-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1921 |
Das Spiel mit dem Feuer/Playing with Fire [Robert Wiene & Georg Kroll] b&w; prod Decla-Bioscop AG (Berlin) |
1921 |
Nosferatu - Eine Symphonie des Grauens/Nosferatu the Vampire/Nosferatu: The First Vampire/Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror[s] [F.W. Murnau] b&w; filmed July & October-December; restored in 1981, 1984, 1987 & 1995; prod Prana-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1921 |
Pariserinnen [Leo Lasko] b&w; prod Dea-Film GmbH Albert Pommer (Berlin) |
1921 |
Der brennende Acker - Das Drama eines Ehrgeizigen/Burning Soil [F.W. Murnau] b&w; ph 1st part; ph 2nd part: Karl Freund; prod Deulig-Film GmbH/Goron-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1922 |
Bardame [Johannes Guter] b&w; cph: Erich Waschneck; prod Decla-Bioscop AG (Berlin) |
1922 |
Lebenshunger [Johannes Guter & Leo Lasko] b&w; prod Dea-Film GmbH Albert Pommer (Berlin) |
1922 |
Wem nie durch Liebe Leid geschah [Heinz Schall] b&w; prod Koop-Film Co. mbH (Berlin) |
1922 |
Der Ruf des Schicksals [Johannes Guter] b&w; prod Dea-Film GmbH Albert Pommer (Berlin) |
1922 |
Der Graf von Essex [Peter Paul Felner] b&w; cph: Karl Hasselmann, Franz Stein & Eugen Hamm; prod National-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1922 |
Das hohe Lied der Liebe [Heinz Schall] b&w; prod Koop-Film Co. mbH (Berlin) |
1923 |
Die Magyarenfürstin/Eine Zirkus-romanze [Werner Funck] b&w; prod Primus-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1923 |
Zwischen Abend und Morgen. Der Spuk einer Nacht/Between Evening and Morning [Arthur Robison] b&w; prod DMB Deutsche Mutoskop- und Biograph GmbH (Berlin) |
1923 |
Schatten - Eine nächtliche Halluzination/Warning Shadows [Arthur Robison] b&w; prod Pan-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1923 |
Der Großindustrielle [Fritz Kaufmann] b&w; prod Metro-Film AG (Berlin) |
1923 |
Der Sprung ins Leben - Roman eines Zirkuskindes/Leap Into Life [Johannes Guter] b&w; prod Universum-Film AG (UFA) (Berlin) |
1923 |
Zur Chronik von Grieshuus/Um das Erbe von Grieshuus/At the Grey House/The Chronicles of the Gray House [Arthur von Gerlach] b&w; cph: Carl Drews & Erich Nitzschmann; shorter version: 'Junker Hinrichs verbotene Liebe'; prod UFA |
1924 |
Pietro der Korsar/Peter the Pirate/Sea Wolves [Arthur Robison] b&w; cph: Rudolph Maté & George Schneevoigt; prod UFA |
1925 |
Das Fräulein vom Amt/Liebe und Telephon [Hanns Schwarz] b&w; prod UFA |
1925 |
Der rosa Diamant/Karriere [Rochus Gliese] b&w; prod UFA |
1926 |
Die drei Kuckucksuhren/Adventure Mad [Lothar Mendes] b&w; prod UFA |
1926 |
Eine Dubarry von heute/A Modern Dubarry [Alexander Korda] b&w; trick ph: Eugen Schüfftan; prod Felsom-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1926 |
Liebeshandel/Agentur Übersee [Jaap Speyer] b&w; prod Terra-Film AG (Berlin) |
1926 |
Vater werden ist nicht schwer... [Erich Schönfelder] b&w; cph: Walter Harvey-Pape; prod Eichberg-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1926 |
Natur und Liebe [- Ein Film von Liebe und lebendigem Werden] [- Von der Urzelle zum Menschen] [Willy Achsel, Ulrich Schulz & Wolfram Junghans] b&w; doc + dram seq/2116mtr; cph: Carl Hoffmann, Paul Krien & Waldemar Siewertzen; prod UFA - Kulturabteilung |
1926 |
Der Weltkrieg. 1. Teil. Des Volkes Heldengang/World War [Leo Lasko] b&w; doc/2346mtr; addph; ph: Konstantin Irmen-Tschet, Ewald Daub & Hans Scholz; trick ph: Svend Nolden; prod UFA |
1927 |
Am Rande der Welt/At the Edge of the World [Karl Grune] b&w; prod UFA |
1927 |
Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney/The Love of Jeanne Ney/Lusts of the Flesh [Georg Wilhelm Pabst] b&w; cph: Walter Robert Lach; prod UFA |
1927 |
Spione/Spies [Fritz Lang] b&w; restored in 2003-04; prod UFA |
1928 |
Marquis d'Eon, der Spion der Pompadour/The Spy of Madame Pompadour [Karl Grune] b&w; prod Münchner Lichtspielkunst AG (Emelka) (München) |
1928 |
Waterloo [Karl Grune] b&w; cph: Josef Wirsching & Hugo von Kaweczynski; prod Emelka |
1928 |
Das letzte Fort [Kurt Bernhardt] b&w; cph: Artur von Schwertführer; prod Nero-Film AG (Berlin) |
1929 |
Tagebuch einer Verlorenen/Diary of a Lost Girl [G.W. Pabst] b&w; uncred cph (?); ph: Sepp Allgeier; restored in 1997 (112m); prod Pabst-Film GmbH (Berlin) |
1929 |
Wenn Du einmal Dein Herz verschenkst [Johannes Guter] b&w; prod UFA |
1929 |
Napoleon auf St. Helena - Der gefangene Kaiser [Lupu Pick] b&w; cph: Robert Baberske, Ludwig Lippert & Friedrich Weinmann; prod Peter Ostermayr-Filmproduktion GmbH (Berlin) |
1930 |
Westfront 1918 - Vier von der Infanterie/Comrades of 1918 [G.W. Pabst] b&w; cph: Charles Métain |
1930 |
Die Jagd nach dem Glück/Running After Luck [Rochus Gliese] b&w |
1930 |
Die zwölfte Stunde. Eine Nacht des Grauens [Waldemar Roger & F.W. Nurnau] b&w; adaptation of Murnau's 'Nosferatu' + new scenes; see 1921 |
1930 |
Skandal um Eva [G.W. Pabst] b&w |
1930 |
Dolly macht Karriere/Mein Schatz hat eine Klarinette/Dolly Gets Ahead/Dolly's Way to Stardom [Anatole Litvak] b&w; cph: Robert Baberske |
1930 |
Brand in der Oper/Barcarole/Fire in the Opera House [Carl Froelich] b&w |
1930 |
Barcarolle d'amour [Carl Froelich & Henry Roussel] b&w; French-language version of 'Brand in der Oper' |
1930 |
Ariane [Paul Czinner] b&w |
1930 |
Die 3-Groschen-Oper/Die Dreigroschenoper/The Beggar's Opera/The Threepenny Opera [G.W. Pabst] b&w; 2nd cam: Robert Baberske |
1930 |
L'opéra de quat'sous [G.W. Pabst] b&w; French-language version of 'Die 3-Groschen-Oper' |
[Right] with dir Fritz Lang [left] - "M"
1931 |
M [- Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder] [- Dein Mörder sieht Dich an] [- Mörder unter uns]/The Murderers Are Among Us [Fritz Lang] b&w; 2nd cam: Robert Baberske; released as 'M' in 1931 (3208mtr); re-released as 'M - Dein Mörder sieht Dich an' in 1960 (2693mtr); restored in 2000 (2996mtr) |
1931 |
Kameradschaft/Comradeship [G.W. Pabst] b&w; 2nd cam: Robert Baberske |
1931 |
Ronny [Reinhold Schünzel] b&w; 2nd cam: Robert Baberske |
1931 |
Ronny [Roger Le Bon & Reinhold Schünzel] b&w; 2nd cam: Robert Baberske; French-language version of 'Ronny' |
1931 |
Es wird schon wieder besser.../Things Are Getting Better Already [Kurt Gerron] b&w; cph: Robert Baberske |
1932 |
Das Lied einer Nacht [Anatole Litvak] b&w; cph: Robert Baberske |
1932 |
Tell Me Tonight/Be Mine Tonight [Anatole Litvak] b&w; 2nd cam: Robert Baberske; English-language version of 'Das Lied einer Nacht' |
1932 |
La chanson d'une nuit [Anatole Litvak & Henri-Georges Clouzot] b&w; 2nd cam: Robert Baberske; French-language version of 'Das Lied einer Nacht' |
1932 |
Das schöne Abenteuer/Wehe dem, der lügt/Beautiful Adventure [Reinhold Schünzel] b&w; cph: Robert Baberske |
1932 |
La belle aventure [Roger Le Bon & Reinhold Schünzel] b&w; 2nd cam: Robert Baberske; French-language version of 'Das schöne Abenteuer' |
1932 |
Wie sag' ich's meinem Mann?/How Shall I Tell My Husband? [Reinhold Schünzel] b&w; cph: Carl Hoffmann & Robert Baberske |
1932 |
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse/The Crimes of Dr. Mabuse/The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse/The Testament of Dr. Mabuse [Fritz Lang] b&w; released in Germany in 1951 |
1932 |
Le testament du Dr. Mabuse [Fritz Lang & René Sti] b&w; French-language version of 'Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse' |
1933 |
Spione am Werk/Spies at Work [Gerhard Lamprecht] b&w; cph: Robert Baberske & Robert Weichsel |
1933 |
Die Nacht der großen Liebe [Geza von Bolvary] b&w |
1933 |
Flüchtlinge [Gustav Ucicky] b&w |
1933 |
Au bout du monde/Les fugitifs [Henri Chomette & Gustav Ucicky] b&w; French-language version of 'Flüchtlinge' |
1933 |
Das Schloß im Süden/The Castle in the South [Geza von Bolvary] b&w |
1933 |
Château de rêve/Un château dans la midi/Dream Castle [Geza von Bolvary & Henri-Georges Clouzot] b&w; French-language version of 'Das Schloß im Süden' |
1934 |
Ein Mann will nach Deutschland [Paul Wegener] b&w |
1934 |
Spiel mit dem Feuer/Playing with Fire [Ralph Arthur Roberts] b&w |
1934 |
Prinzessin Turandot [Gerhard Lamprecht] b&w |
1934 |
Turandot, princesse de Chine [Gerhard Lamprecht & Serge Véber] b&w; French-language version of 'Prinzessin Turandot' |
1934 |
Liebe, Tod und Teufel/The Devil in a Bottle/The Imp in a Bottle [Heinz Hilpert & Reinhart Steinbicker] b&w |
1934 |
Le diable en bouteille [Heinz Hilpert, Reinhart Steinbicker & Raoul Ploquin] b&w; French-language version of 'Liebe, Tod und Teufel' |
1934 |
Volga en flammes/Volga in Flames [Viktor Tourjansky] b&w; cph: Václav Vích |
1935 |
Amphitryon [- Aus den Wolken kommt das Glück] [Reinhold Schünzel] b&w; cph: Werner Bohne; optical efx: Werner Bohne & Heinrich Weidemann |
1935 |
Les dieux s'amusent [Reinhold Schünzel & Albert Valentin] b&w; optical efx: Werner Bohne; French-language version of 'Amphitryon' |
1935 |
Schwarze Rosen [Paul Martin] b&w; uncred cph: Werner Krien |
1935 |
Black Roses/Flaming Hearts/Did I Betray? [Paul Martin] b&w; English-language version of 'Schwarze Rosen' |
1935 |
Roses noires [Paul Martin & Jean Boyer] b&w; French-language version of 'Schwarze Rosen' |
1936 |
Savoy-Hotel 217/Mord im Savoy [Gustav Ucicky] b&w |
1936 |
Unter heißem Himmel [Gustav Ucicky] b&w |
1937 |
Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war/Zwei lustige Abenteurer/Two Merry Adventurers [Karl Hartl] b&w |
1937 |
Glamorous Night [Brian Desmond Hurst] b&w |
1937 |
Der zerbrochene Krug/The Broken Jug [Gustav Ucicky] b&w |
1937 |
Tango Notturno [Fritz Kirchhoff] b&w |
1938 |
Das Mädchen mit dem guten Ruf [Hans Schweikart] b&w; cph: László Schäffer |
1938 |
Schatten über St. Pauli/Shadows Over St. Pauli [Fritz Kirchhoff] b&w |
1938 |
Adrienne Lecouvreur [Marcel L'Herbier] b&w |
1938 |
Der Vierte kommt nicht [Max W. Kimmich] b&w |
1939 |
Ein hoffnungsloser Fall/A Hopeless Case [Erich Engel] b&w |
1939 |
Robert Koch [, der Bekämpfer des Todes] [Hans Steinhoff] b&w |
1939 |
Aus erster Ehe [Paul Verhoeven] b&w |
1939 |
Der Fuchs von Glenarvon/The Fox of Glenarvon [Max W. Kimmich] b&w |
1940 |
Feinde [Viktor Tourjansky] b&w |
1940 |
Friedrich Schiller - Der Triumph eines Genies [Herbert Maisch] b&w |
1940 |
Ohm Krüger [Hans Steinhoff; (uncred) Herbert Maisch & Karl Anton] b&w; ext ph: Friedl Behn-Grund & Karl Puth |
1941 |
Der Fall Rainer/Ich warte auf dich [Paul Verhoeven] b&w |
1941 |
Was geschah in dieser Nacht? [Theo Lingen] b&w |
1942 |
Die Entlassung/Schicksalswende/Bismarck's Dismissal [Wolfgang Liebeneiner] b&w |
1942 |
Lache Bajazzo [Leopold Hainisch] b&w |
1942 |
I pagliacci/Bajazzo/Laugh Pagliacci [Giuseppe Fatigati & Leopold Hainisch] b&w; Italian-language version of 'Lache Bajazzo' |
1942 |
Altes Herz wird wieder jung [Erich Engel] b&w |
1943 |
Ich werde dich auf Händen tragen/I'll Carry You On My Hands [Kurt Hoffmann] b&w |
1943 |
Ein glücklicher Mensch/Schule des Lebens [Paul Verhoeven] b&w |
1943 |
Herr Sanders lebt gefährlich [Robert A. Stemmle] b&w; cph: Eugen Klagemann |
1944 |
Meine Herren Söhne [Robert A. Stemmle] b&w; cph: Eduard Mayer |
1944 |
Das kleine Hofkonzert/Palace Scandal [Paul Verhoeven] c; released in 1949 |
1945 |
Befreite Musik [Peter Pewas] b&w; doc/17m; cph: Heinz Klinkmüller |
1948 |
Die Brücke/The Bridge [Arthur Pohl] b&w |
1949 |
Du bist nicht allein [Paul Verhoeven] b&w |
1949 |
Mädchen hinter Gittern/Girls Behind Bars [Alfred Braun] b&w |
1949 |
Frauenarzt Dr. Prätorius [Curt Goetz & Karl Peter Gillmann] b&w |
1950 |
Herrliche Zeiten/50 Jahre - heiter betrachtet/Wonderful Times [Günter Neumann & Erik Ode] b&w; doc/95m |
1950 |
Kennen Sie Berlin? [Wolfgang Kaskeline] b&w; doc/15m & 36m; cph: Hans Minzloff & Horst Kaskeline |
1950 |
Das Mädchen aus der Südsee [Hans Müller] b&w |
1950 |
Die tödlichen Träume/Liebestraum [Paul Martin] b&w |
1951 |
Die Frauen des Herrn S. [Paul Martin] b&w |
1951 |
Die Schuld des Dr. Homma [Paul Verhoeven] b&w |
1951 |
Torreani [Gustav Fröhlich] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1951 |
Ein ganz großes Kind/Die leibhaftige Unschuld [Paul Verhoeven] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1952 |
Der Fürst von Pappenheim [Hans Deppe] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1952 |
Mein Herz darfst Du nicht fragen [Paul Martin] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1952 |
1. April 2000 [Wolfgang Liebeneiner] b&w |
1952 |
Fräulein Casanova [E.W. Emo] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1953 |
Die Rose von Stambul/The Rose of Stamboul [Karl Anton] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1953 |
Der Vetter aus Dingsda [Karl Anton] b&w; cph (?): Karl Löb |
1953 |
Die tolle Lola [Hans Deppe] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1953 |
Aus eigener Kraft [Franz Schroedter] c; doc/86m; cph: Karl Löb, Wolf Göthe & Fritz Brill |
1954 |
Der treue Husar/The Faithfull Hussar [Rudolf Schündler] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1954 |
Konsul Strotthoff [Erich Engel] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1954 |
Clivia [Karl Anton] b&w; cph: Karl Löb |
1954 |
Heideschulmeister Uwe Karsten/Eternal Love [Hans Deppe] c; cph: Karl Löb |
1955 |
Die Frau des Botschafters/The Ambassador's Wife [Hans Deppe] b&w |
1955 |
Hotel Adlon [Josef von Baky] b&w |
1956 |
Verwegene Musikanten/Meine 16 Söhne [Hans Domnick] b&w |
1956 |
Die wilde Auguste [Georg Jacoby] c |
1956 |
Tausend Melodien [Hans Deppe] c |
1956 |
Hochzeit auf Immenhof [Volker von Collande] c |
1956 |
Geliebte Corinna/Corinna Darling [Eduard von Borsody] b&w |
1957 |
Das Mädchen ohne Pyjama [Hans Quest] c |
1957 |
Kindermädchen für Papa gesucht [Hans Quest] c |
1957 |
Ferien auf Immenhof [Hermann Leitner] c |
1957 |
Liebe, Jazz und Übermut [Erik Ode] c |
1958 |
Der Czardas-König. Die Emmerich-Kalman-Story/The Csardas Princess [Harald Philipp] c |
1958 |
Wehe, wenn sie losgelassen [Géza von Cziffra] c; cph: Willi Sohm |
1958 |
Ohne Mutter geht es nicht [Erik Ode] b&w; uncred cph: Karl Löb (took over after the death of F.A. Wagner) |