Erwin Hillier

Of mixed German and English family, Erwin studied briefly at an art in Berlin but was then forced to leave and find a job. A friend introduced him to the great genius of German silent films, F.W. Murnau who looked at Erwin's paintings and asked him to become a camera assistant on his next (and final) picture, Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931). Because Murnau was a promiscuous homosexual, Hillier's father forced Erwin to stop working with Murnau. Murnau took no offence and instead introduced Erwin to another director friend of his: Fritz Lang. So Erwin's first real job was as a camera assistant on Lang's first sound film, M (1931), starring Peter Lorre.