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Anton Walbrook: A Life of Masks and Mirrors
Viennese-born actor Adolf Wohlbr�ck enjoyed huge success on both stage and screen in Germany during the 1920s and 1930s, becoming one of the first truly international stars. After leaving Nazi Germany for Hollywood in 1936, he changed his name to Anton Walbrook and then settled in Britain, where he won filmgoers' hearts with his portrayal of Prince Albert in two lavish biopics of Queen Victoria. Further film success followed with Dangerous Moonlight and Gaslight, several collaborations with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger - including his striking performance as Lermontov in The Red Shoes - and later work with Max Ophuls and Otto Preminger.
Despite great popularity and a prolific career of some forty films, alongside theatre, radio and television work, Walbrook was an intensely private individual who kept much of his personal life hidden from view. His reticence created an aura of mystery and �otherness� about him, which coloured both his acting performances and the way he was perceived by the public - an image that was reinforced in Britain by his continental background.
Remarkably, this is the first full-length biography of Walbrook, drawing on over a decade of extensive archival research to document his life and acting career.
Despite great popularity and a prolific career of some forty films, alongside theatre, radio and television work, Walbrook was an intensely private individual who kept much of his personal life hidden from view. His reticence created an aura of mystery and �otherness� about him, which coloured both his acting performances and the way he was perceived by the public - an image that was reinforced in Britain by his continental background.
Remarkably, this is the first full-length biography of Walbrook, drawing on over a decade of extensive archival research to document his life and acting career.
- GenresBiography
450 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 14, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 9, 2025
‘Marvellous. Wonderful. Oh, I’m fantastic.’
– Anton Walbrook, watching the rushes for The Red Shoes.
I’ve had my eye on this biography for a couple of years, but was always put off by the cost. Six months ago, Amazon briefly reduced it to £8, so I snapped it up. First of all, I’m very glad it exists and that I could finally get my hands on it. However, I think that any publisher, let alone an academic press, which sets an RRP of £59.40 has a duty to have the text properly proofread. The standard here is rather slipshod, and there are certainly enough errors to make it feel like a distraction.
The book was obviously a labour of love for the author, and one to which he devoted years of research. On occasions though, he gets a bit lost in the thickets of this research. To take one example: in Chapter 8, which deals with Walbrook alternating work on 49th Parallel and Dangerous Moonlight, Downs describes the propaganda value of Moonlight and notes that it was renamed Suicide Squadron for the US. Then he quotes a letter from an exiled German friend of Walbrook’s in America: ‘Today I saw your picture which in this country is called The Invaders. What a picture!’ The correspondent goes on to praise the script and Walbrook’s acting (‘I am proud of you… this is one of the finest pieces of writing I have seen’). The trouble is The Invaders was the US title of 49th Parallel, but we are not told this, and the reader is likely to assume – wrongly – that the friend’s tribute is to Dangerous Moonlight (the subject of this paragraph and several before and after it).
There are also times when a person is referred to by surname alone without context, so we have no idea who he or she is; then a few pages later, we get their full name and a potted history – which of course is the wrong way round and leads to confusion! I’m not an editor, but I’d assume it was the editor’s job to flag up issues like this which pointlessly detract from the work as a whole.
Walbrook remains a somewhat elusive figure – we don’t get many ‘close-ups’ like the one at the top of this review – and that’s fine: some people are elusive, even to friends and family and trusted colleagues. I understand that there isn’t as much material on him as a biographer would like. No doubt his reticence was influenced by needing to keep quiet about his Jewish heritage (in Nazi Germany) and sexuality (in Germany, Britain and America).
Downs is very good on the nuances of his departure from his home country (the lateness of his renunciation led to problems with other Jewish refugees) and his varying post-war attitudes to those who chose to stay and acclimatize to the Nazi regime. He also makes the interesting observation that Walbrook’s German films were mostly sophisticated comedies, a genre he didn’t get the chance to explore in British or American cinema. I’ve enjoyed watching along as I read, and loved Viktor und Viktoria (so pleased to have discovered Renate Müller!) and Ich war Jack Mortimer, and have Allotria and a revisit of The Red Shoes to come.
– Anton Walbrook, watching the rushes for The Red Shoes.
I’ve had my eye on this biography for a couple of years, but was always put off by the cost. Six months ago, Amazon briefly reduced it to £8, so I snapped it up. First of all, I’m very glad it exists and that I could finally get my hands on it. However, I think that any publisher, let alone an academic press, which sets an RRP of £59.40 has a duty to have the text properly proofread. The standard here is rather slipshod, and there are certainly enough errors to make it feel like a distraction.
The book was obviously a labour of love for the author, and one to which he devoted years of research. On occasions though, he gets a bit lost in the thickets of this research. To take one example: in Chapter 8, which deals with Walbrook alternating work on 49th Parallel and Dangerous Moonlight, Downs describes the propaganda value of Moonlight and notes that it was renamed Suicide Squadron for the US. Then he quotes a letter from an exiled German friend of Walbrook’s in America: ‘Today I saw your picture which in this country is called The Invaders. What a picture!’ The correspondent goes on to praise the script and Walbrook’s acting (‘I am proud of you… this is one of the finest pieces of writing I have seen’). The trouble is The Invaders was the US title of 49th Parallel, but we are not told this, and the reader is likely to assume – wrongly – that the friend’s tribute is to Dangerous Moonlight (the subject of this paragraph and several before and after it).
There are also times when a person is referred to by surname alone without context, so we have no idea who he or she is; then a few pages later, we get their full name and a potted history – which of course is the wrong way round and leads to confusion! I’m not an editor, but I’d assume it was the editor’s job to flag up issues like this which pointlessly detract from the work as a whole.
Walbrook remains a somewhat elusive figure – we don’t get many ‘close-ups’ like the one at the top of this review – and that’s fine: some people are elusive, even to friends and family and trusted colleagues. I understand that there isn’t as much material on him as a biographer would like. No doubt his reticence was influenced by needing to keep quiet about his Jewish heritage (in Nazi Germany) and sexuality (in Germany, Britain and America).
Downs is very good on the nuances of his departure from his home country (the lateness of his renunciation led to problems with other Jewish refugees) and his varying post-war attitudes to those who chose to stay and acclimatize to the Nazi regime. He also makes the interesting observation that Walbrook’s German films were mostly sophisticated comedies, a genre he didn’t get the chance to explore in British or American cinema. I’ve enjoyed watching along as I read, and loved Viktor und Viktoria (so pleased to have discovered Renate Müller!) and Ich war Jack Mortimer, and have Allotria and a revisit of The Red Shoes to come.
June 24, 2023
You could say I had a nodding acquaintance with the actor.Years ago I worked in Hampstead and would park in Church Row.I would always the graveyard and see Walbrooks grave.
I think the reason for continued interest in him is that he started in 4 very famous Archers films.There is though far less interest in him in Germany.
I find the subject of German emitted in the British Film industry to be fascinating.So I was interested in that part of the book that dealt with his career in the UK,less so his career in post war Germany.
Living on the borders of Hampstead Garden Suburb i can say that 36 Holne Chase is in HGS,and not Hampstead or Finchley
I think the reason for continued interest in him is that he started in 4 very famous Archers films.There is though far less interest in him in Germany.
I find the subject of German emitted in the British Film industry to be fascinating.So I was interested in that part of the book that dealt with his career in the UK,less so his career in post war Germany.
Living on the borders of Hampstead Garden Suburb i can say that 36 Holne Chase is in HGS,and not Hampstead or Finchley
April 30, 2024
Portrait of a great actor: from Germany Ideal husband to refugee because of jewish ancestry. The history of a man forced to leave his life behind and of his efforts to have it back. Meanwhile, "time rushes by, love rushes by, life rushes by", as his best character ever, Boris Lermontov says in Powell and Pressburger' famous movie "the Red Shoes".
So Moving.
So Moving.
August 17, 2024
A fascinating actor who brought to me much enjoyment.
I still have questions about this man's life but realize there is little source material out there. I appreciate James Downs efforts and excellent book at bringing Anton Wolbrooks story to light.
I still have questions about this man's life but realize there is little source material out there. I appreciate James Downs efforts and excellent book at bringing Anton Wolbrooks story to light.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews