Harry Baur
Born: 1880-04-12 in Montrouge, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], Île-de-France, France
Died: 1943-04-08
Known For: Acting
Biography
Harry Baur (12 April 1880 – 8 April 1943) was a French actor. Initially a stage actor, Baur appeared in about 80 films between 1909 and 1942. He gave an acclaimed performance as the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the biopic Beethoven's Great Love (Un grand amour de Beethoven, 1936), directed by Abel Gance, and as Jean Valjean in Raymond Bernard's version of Les Misérables (1934). He also acted in Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset's silent film, Beethoven (1909), and in La voyante (1923), Sarah Bernhardt's last film. In 1942, while in Berlin, to star in his last film Symphone eines Lebens, Baur's wife was arrested by the Gestapo and charged with espionage. His effort to secure her release led to his own arrest and torture. He was being falsely labelled as a Jew but confirmed freemason. He was released in April 1943, but died in Paris shortly after in mysterious circumstances. Academy Award-winning American actor Rod Steiger cited Baur as one of his favorite actors who had exerted a major influence on his craft and career.
Filmography
1978
- Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma as Self (archive footage)
1957
- Stars Never Die as Self (archive footage)
1943
- Symphonie eines Lebens as Stefan Melchior, Dorfkantor
1941
- Who Killed Santa Claus? as Gaspard Cornusse
- Sins of Youth as Monsieur Lacalade
- Volpone as Volpone
1940
- African Diary as Docteur Bourdet
- President Haudecoeur as President Haudecoeur
1938
- Le Patriote as Tsar Paul 1st
- The Postmaster's Daughter as Virine, le maitre de poste
- Hatred as le capitaine Mollenard
- Rasputin as Rasputin
- The Rebel Son as Taras Bulba
1937
- Paris
- The Life and Loves of Beethoven as Ludwig van Beethoven
- Life Dances On as Alain Regnault
- The Secrets of the Red Sea
- Sarati the Terrible as Cesar Sarati
1936
- Taras Bulba as Tarass Boulba
- Nitchevo
- Samson as Jacques Brachart
- The Golem as L'empereur Rodolphe II, roi de Bohème
- The New Men as Bourron
1935
- Behold the Man as Hérode
- Dark Eyes as Ivan Ivanovitch Petroff
- Crime and Punishment as Porphyre
1934
- Moscow Nights as Peter Brioukow
- Les Misérables as Jean Valjean / Champmathieu
- Rothchild as Rothchild
- Moscow Nights as Piotr Brioukow
- A Man and His Woman
1933
- Criminal as Warden Brady
- A Man's Neck as Commissaire Jules Maigret
- The Old Devil as Guillaume Vautier
1932
- The Three Musketeers as M. de Tréville
- The Red Head as Mr. Lepic
1931
- David Golder as David Golder
- Moon over Morocco as M. de Marouvelle
- The Lost Course as Le Capitaine Kell
- Polish Jew as Mathias
1924
- The Clairvoyant as Monsieur Detaille
1916
- The Gold Chignon
- Flower of Paris as Harry Podge
1914
1910
- L'Évasion de Vidocq as Vidocq