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person_profile-Camilla Horn

Camilla Horn Died at age: 93

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Camilla Horn

Date of Birth:

Apr 25, 1903

Country of birth:

Germany

Died:

Aug 14, 1996

Biography of

Camilla Horn

    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.

Photos of

Camilla Horn

Photos ( 3 Photos

Filmography of

Camilla Horn

Found 35 Movies in total

Los 5 Faust de F. W. Murnau

Herself / Gretchen (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2002

Der Unsichtbare

Olga Benjamin ( Actor )

... 1987

Appointment in Beirut

Evelyn Brown ( Actor )

... 1968

Broken Love

Corinna Dellys, l'amante di Alberto ( Actor )

... 1942

Friedemann Bach

Mariella Fiorini ( Actor )

... 1941

Zentrale Rio

Diane Mercier ( Actor )

... 1939

Fahrendes Volk

Pepita, Kunstreiterin ( Actor )

... 1938

White Slaves

Manja - seine Tochter ( Actor )

... 1937

The Red Rider

Hasia Nowrowska ( Actor )

... 1935

Der letzte Walzer

Vera ( Actor )

... 1934

A Waltz for You

Fürstin Stefanie ( Actor )

... 1934

The Luck of a Sailor

Louise ( Actor )

... 1934

Die große Chance

Helga ( Actor )

... 1934

Der Doppelgänger

Jenny Miller ( Actor )

... 1934

... 1933

Matinee Idol

Sonia Vance ( Actor )

... 1933

The Love Nest

Fifi ( Actor )

... 1933

Moral und Liebe

Vera ( Actor )

... 1933

The Cheeky Devil

Alice Ménard ( Actor )

... 1932

... 1932

... 1931

... 1931

Sunday of Life

Ellen Hobart ( Actor )

... 1931

Hans in Every Street

Elisabeth, the Bride ( Actor )

... 1930

The Great Passion

Eva von Loe ( Actor )

... 1930

Morals at Midnight

Nelly Wendt ( Actor )

... 1930

Fundvogel

Andrea ( Actor )

... 1930

Eternal Love

Ciglia ( Actor )

... 1929

Tempest

Princess Tamara ( Actor )

... 1928

Eva and the Grasshopper

Camille de Saxe ( Actor )

... 1927

The Bordellos of Algiers

Adrienne Brisson ( Actor )

... 1927

... 1926

Faust

Gretchen Marguerite ( Actor )

... 1926

Tartuffe

(uncredited) ( Actor )

Stunt Double

... 1926

... 1925