Max Schreck
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Max Schreck. |
Maximilian "Max" Schreck (
June 11,
1879–
February 19,
1936) was a
German actor. He is most often remembered today for his lead role in
Nosferatu. Along with
Béla Lugosi and
Christopher Lee, Schreck is considered among the classic portrayers of
Nosferatu.
Schreck received his training at the
Staatstheater in
Berlin. He made his stage debut in
Messeritz and
Speyer, and then toured Germany for two years appearing at theatres in
Zittau,
Erfurt,
Bremen,
Lucerne,
Gera, and
Frankfurt am Main. Schreck then joined
Max Reinhardt's celebrated company of performers back in Berlin. Many of Reinhardt's troupe made a huge contribution to the cinema.
For three years between
1919 and
1922, Schreck appeared at the
Kammerspiele in
Munich whilst working on his first film
Der Richter von Zalamea, adapted from a six act play, for
Decla Bioscop. In 1922 he was hired by
Prana Film for their first and only production,
Nosferatu. The company declared themselves
bankrupt after the film's release to avoid paying
copyright infringement costs to an irate
Florence Stoker, the widow of
Dracula author
Bram Stoker. Schreck's
Count Orlok, with its bald, rat shaped head and long spidery fingers remains a haunting character.
In
1923, Schreck appeared as a blind man in the acclaimed film
Die Straße.
Schreck did appear in a
comedy, albeit a rather poorly made one. Even the director,
F.W. Murnau, expressed his repugnance over
Die Finanzen des Grossherzogs (The Finances of the Grand Duke).
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Nosferatu. |
In
1926, Schreck returned to the Kammerspiele in Munich and continued to act in films right through the advent of sound until his death. He was married to actress
Fanny Normann, who appeared in a few films, often credited as Fanny Schreck.
Suggestions that Schreck was really actor
Alfred Abel can be seen to be wrong when the two actors are seen together. Their physiques do not match at all.
Curiously, the word
Schreck is also the German word for
fright, or
terror. It comes from the Middle High German word
schrecken;
to jump or
to frighten.
Schreck is portrayed by actor
Willem Dafoe in
E. Elias Merhige's
Shadow of the Vampire. In a sort of
secret history,
Shadow posits that Schreck gave such a terrifying performance as Orlok because he actually
was a vampire. This film was produced by actor
Nicolas Cage.
In the 1992 film
Batman Returns, the character
Max Shreck was named as an in-joke by director
Tim Burton. The part was played by
Christopher Walken.
