Emil Jannings

Lore & Background

Jannings was born in Rorschach, Switzerland, to an American father and German mother. After his father's death, the family moved to Leipzig and then Görlitz. He ran away from school to go to sea, but later began a theatre traineeship in Görlitz. From 1901, he worked with theatre companies in several German cities before joining the Deutsches Theater ensemble under Max Reinhardt in Berlin. His breakthrough came in 1918 playing Judge Adam in Kleist's *Broken Jug* at the Schauspielhaus.

Jannings signed with UFA and starred in silent films such as *Die Augen der Mumie Ma* (1918) and *Madame Dubarry* (1919), both with Pola Negri. He performed in the 1922 film *Othello* and in F. W. Murnau's *The Last Laugh* (1924). His popularity led him to Hollywood, where he signed with Paramount Pictures. His first American film, *The Way of All Flesh* (1927), is now lost. In 1929, he won the first Best Actor Oscar for that film and *The Last Command*. His thick German accent ended his American career after *The Blue Angel* (1930).

After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Jannings stayed in Germany and made state films promoting Nazism, including *Der alte und der junge König* (1934) and *Ohm Krüger* (1941). Joseph Goebbels named him an 'Artist of the State.' After World War II, he was subject to denazification and never worked as an actor again. He retired to Strobl, Austria, became an Austrian citizen in 1947, and died of liver cancer in 1950.

Reader's Guide

Emil Jannings holds a unique place in film history as the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor, a milestone that underscores his prominence in the silent era. His collaborations with directors F. W. Murnau and Josef von Sternberg produced some of the most celebrated films of the 1920s, such as *The Last Laugh* and *The Last Command*. However, his legacy is deeply complicated by his decision to remain in Nazi Germany and star in propaganda films, which effectively ended his career after the war. The disputed claim that Rin Tin Tin actually won the first Oscar, though unverified, adds a layer of uncertainty to his most famous achievement. Jannings' career trajectory—from international stardom to association with a totalitarian regime—serves as a cautionary example of the intersection of art and politics. His Oscar statuette is now displayed at the Berlin Filmmuseum, a tangible reminder of both his artistic achievements and his controversial choices.

Did You Know?

• Jannings was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor and remains the only German ever to win in that category.
• According to Susan Orlean, Jannings may have been the runner-up for the first Best Actor Oscar, with the winner allegedly being the dog Rin Tin Tin, but this claim is unverified and labeled untrue by most sources.
• Jannings carried his Oscar statuette as proof of his ties to America when Allied troops entered Germany in 1945.
• His former co-star Marlene Dietrich, an anti-Nazi activist, termed Jannings a 'ham' for his Nazi ties.