Post a Comment. German film director and producer Richard Eichberg directed 87 films between and and produced 77 films between and In the s he made a string of popular comedies with such stars as Lee Parry and Lilian Harvey. Eichberg traversed a consistent middle road between artistry and more prosaic mainstream fare. He had a special fondness for setting his films in exotic locales.
German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. Photo: Willinger, Berlin. German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. Collection: Didier Hanson. Anna May Wong. Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute. Frivolous and light film comedies Richard Albert Eichberg was born in in Berlin. After grammar school, he turned to acting. In , he got his first engagement in Schaffhausen.
In followed an engagement at the Residenz-Theater in Berlin. From to , he travelled to South America with a touring company. After the beginning of the First World War, he switched to film direction and production. From on, he directed and co-produced several short silent films. He produced mostly crime melodramas. According to Hans Michael Bock at Filmportal , Eichberg offered "well thought-out action cinema based on technical solidity, turbulence, exoticism and sensations.
His productions were the work of well-rehearsed teams, which initially included Ellen Richter as the female star. Eichberg directed Parry in her biggest box-office hit, Monna Vanna , one of his more lavish projects.
The film is also notable for Lilian Harvey as a stunt double for Parry during the mountaineering scenes shot in Switzerland. Harvey quickly graduated to become the top star of Richard Eichberg's production company.
