During the heyday of German silent cinema, Rudolf Klein-Rogge was the
prototype for the master criminal, the irredeemable arch villain or mad
scientist. Born in Cologne, he served as a cadet in a Prussian military
academy before finishing his matriculation. He then began to attend
acting classes and studying art history in Berlin and Bonn, making his
debut on the stage in 1909. After playing in theatres in towns and
cities along the Rhine and northern Germany for nearly ten years, he
started making films in 1919.
His villainous roots first came to the fore in
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920),
but he really established his reputation in a series of classic
expressionist films written by his then-wife
Thea von Harbou and directed by
Fritz Lang. Of these, the most
memorable were his forceful Moriarty-inspired portrayals of the titular
character in
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922),
and its later sequel,
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933).
The latter, which has an evil mastermind directing his empire from a
madhouse, was so obviously aimed at the Hitler regime, that it was
banned by
Joseph Goebbels. Klein-Rogge's
other noteworthy appearances include King Etzel in
Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924)
and
Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1924);
and his insane scientist C.A. Rothwang, creator of the robot creature
in Fritz Lang's masterpiece
Metropolis (1927). A powerful
personality possessed of an almost hypnotic stare and a strong,
resonant voice, Klein-Rogge continued on through the 1930's in
supporting roles. However, the period of expressionist cinema in
Germany had all but run its course and he died in relative obscurity in
Graz, Austria, in April 1955.
Sergeant Berry(1938)
Hexen(1949)
Hochzeit auf Bärenhof(1942)as Sanitätsrat
Kora Terry(1940)as Dunkler Ehrenmann, Komplize Vopescus
The Heart of a Queen(1940)as General Ruthven
Die unvollkommene Liebe(1940)as Konsul Henry Rasmus
Intermezzo(1936)
Compression(1995)as Self
From Caligari to Hitler: German Cinema in the Age of the Masses(2014)as Self
Caligari - Wie der Horror ins Kino kam(2014)as Dr. Mabuse
Special Collector's Edition(2010)as C.A. Rotwang - the Inventor
El toque Neville(2011)as Dr. Mabuse
