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Hannes Messemer is a Actor Allemand born on 17 may 1924 at Dillingen an der Donau (German)

Hannes Messemer

Hannes Messemer
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Birth name Hans Edwin Messemer
Nationality German
Birth 17 may 1924 at Dillingen an der Donau (German)
Death 2 november 1991 (at 67 years) at Aachen (German)

Hannes Messemer (19 May 1924 – 2 November 1991) was a German actor. Born in Dillingen an der Donau, Bavaria, Messemer served on the Eastern Front of World War II and was eventually captured by Soviet soldiers. He managed to escape and make it back to Germany on foot. After the war, Messemer tried his hand at several jobs, before falling into acting in 1946. With only his natural talent and no training, he successfully secured roles with several major theatre companies in Tübingen, Hamburg, Munich and Berlin in the following ten years.

His big break in films came with a role in Rose Bernd in 1956. He was then cast in the major role of Colonel Rossdorf in the production of Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam the following year - a role which saw him awarded a Best Actor accolade. A series of successful roles followed, including The Doctor of Stalingrad, Der Transport (Destination Death), Die Brücke des Schicksals and the comedy Babette Goes to War with Brigitte Bardot. He achieved critical international acclaim for his role as Colonel Muller in the Roberto Rossellini production of General della Rovere (1959), with the film winning the Golden Lion at Venice that year.

Messemer is probably best known for his role as the commandant in The Great Escape (1963). The film had a star-studded cast, but it was Messemer, relatively unknown outside Europe, who uttered the film's most famous line (to Steve McQueen/Capt. Hilts): "It looks, after all, as if you will see Berlin before I do."

He continued to star in TV and theatre productions, becoming a familiar face to German television audiences for over 20 years. Some of his roles included major TV productions such as Union der festen Hand and Die Dämonen, as well as two years as Commissioner Deeds in the TV drama series "Sergeant Berry". He also lent his distinctive voice to radio and recorded works, including the writings of Mao, and a reading of the four books of the Gospels.

A heavy lifelong smoker, Messemer suffered throat cancer during the 1980s, and surgery left his voice at only a whisper. Forced to retire from acting, he appeared on German television for the last time in 1989, in a production with Agnes Fink.

Hannes Messemer died of a heart attack in Aachen. He was married four times, and was survived by two daughters.

Best films

Babette Goes to War (1959)
(Actor)

Usually with

Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Hannes Messemer (15 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

The Odessa File, 2h3
Directed by Ronald Neame
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Spy
Themes Films about writers, Spy films, Films about journalists, Political films
Actors Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell, Maria Schell, Derek Jacobi, Peter Jeffrey, Mary Tamm
Roles General Glücks
Rating69% 3.496553.496553.496553.496553.49655
On 22 November 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Peter Miller, a young freelance reporter, pulls over to the curb to listen to a radio report of the event in a district in Hamburg, West Germany. As a result he happens to be stopped at a traffic signal as an ambulance passes by on a highway. He chases the ambulance and discovers it is en route to pick up the body of an elderly Jewish Holocaust survivor who had committed suicide, leaving behind no family. The reporter obtains the diary of the man, which contains information on his life in the Second World War Riga Ghetto, and the name of the SS officer who ran the camp, Eduard Roschmann.
Congress of Love, 1h40
Directed by Géza von Radványi
Origin German
Genres Comedy
Actors Curd Jürgens, Lilli Palmer, Paul Meurisse, Walter Slezak, Françoise Arnoul, Hannes Messemer
Roles Fürst Metternich
Rating54% 2.734282.734282.734282.734282.73428
Au début du XIX siècle, le congrès de Vienne doit notamment décider du sort de l’empereur Napoléon exilé sur l’île d'Elbe depuis 1814 et redéfinir les frontières européennes. Sur fond de valses viennoises, les têtes couronnées vont surtout être accaparées par leurs intrigues amoureuses.
The Defector, 1h46
Directed by Raoul Lévy
Origin France
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Spy
Themes Spy films, Political films
Actors Montgomery Clift, Hardy Krüger, Roddy McDowall, Macha Méril, Christine Delaroche, David Opatoshu
Roles Dr. Saltzer
Rating57% 2.852812.852812.852812.852812.85281
Professor Bower, an American physicist, is effectively blackmailed by a shady CIA agent named Adams to help the CIA obtain secret microfilm from a defecting Russian scientist. The reluctant Bower travels to East Germany undercover as an antiques collector where he encounters Heinzmann, an East German fellow physicist, who is also a secret agent. Heinzmann is aware of Bower's meeting with Adams and his intention to steal the microfilm, but their mutual respect for one another's tactics complicate the proceedings.
Is Paris Burning?, 2h53
Directed by René Clément
Origin France
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes French war films, Political films, Histoire de France, L'Occupation allemande en France
Actors Kirk Douglas, Charles Boyer, Glenn Ford, Gert Fröbe, Leslie Caron, Yves Montand
Roles General Jodl
Rating68% 3.4059553.4059553.4059553.4059553.405955
Shortly after the failed 1944 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler (Billy Frick), he appoints General Dietrich von Choltitz (Gert Fröbe) as military governor of occupied Paris. Hitler believes von Choltitz will obey his order to not let the Allies capture Paris without the Germans destroying it completely, similar to the planned destruction of Warsaw.
Mission to Venice, 1h40
Directed by André Versini
Origin France
Genres Thriller, Crime
Actors Sean Flynn, Madeleine Robinson, Pierre Mondy, Jacques Dufilho, Hannes Messemer, Karin Baal
Roles Carl Natzka
Rating60% 3.0080853.0080853.0080853.0080853.008085
Un homme à la recherche d'une personne disparue à Venise se retrouve impliqué dans un réseau d'espionnage.
The Great Escape, 2h45
Directed by John Sturges, John Flynn
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Prison films, Transport films, Aviation films, Motocyclette, Political films, Évasion, Disaster films, Films about aviation accidents or incidents, United States Armed Forces in films
Actors Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence
Roles Von Luger 'The Kommandant'
Rating81% 4.0987454.0987454.0987454.0987454.098745
In 1943, having expended enormous resources on recapturing escaped Allied prisoners of war (POWs), the Germans move the most determined to a new, high-security prisoner of war camp. The commandant, Luftwaffe Colonel von Luger (Hannes Messemer), tells the senior British officer, Group Captain Ramsey (James Donald), "There will be no escapes from this camp." Von Luger points out the various features of the new camp designed to prevent escape, as well as the perks the prisoners will receive as an incentive not to try. After several failed escape attempts on the first day, the POWs settle into life at the prison camp.
The High Life, 1h40
Directed by Julien Duvivier
Origin German
Genres Drama
Actors Giulietta Masina, Gustav Knuth, Gert Fröbe, Joachim Hansen, Hannes Messemer, Ralf Wolter
Roles Ernst Moos
Rating62% 3.1299353.1299353.1299353.1299353.129935
Doris Putzke (Giulietta Masina) is fond of dating men in her quest for finding the perfect one. In her brief relationships, she goes from one disillusionment to another, constantly deluding herself about the intentions of her lovers.
Escape by Night, 2h22
Directed by Ruggero Deodato, Roberto Rossellini, Renzo Rossellini
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes Political films
Actors Giovanna Ralli, Paolo Stoppa, Renato Salvatori, Serge Bondartchouk, Leo Genn, Peter Baldwin
Roles Baron Von Kliest
Rating71% 3.5851553.5851553.5851553.5851553.585155
1943, dans Rome occupée par les Allemands, trois prisonniers évadés, un Américain, un Russe et un Anglais se cachent, aidés par une jeune femme et son fiancé, un militant communiste. Ils tentent d'échapper au piège qui les menace.
Twelve Hours by the Clock, 1h45
Directed by Géza von Radványi
Origin France
Genres Drama, Thriller
Themes La provence
Actors Lino Ventura, Laurent Terzieff, Hannes Messemer, Eva Bartok, Lucien Raimbourg, Gert Fröbe
Roles Serge
Rating60% 3.0227053.0227053.0227053.0227053.022705
Trois évadés de prison ont douze heures devant eux, dans un port méridional en fête, pour trouver l'argent et les papiers nécessaires à leur embarquement.
Babette Goes to War, 1h40
Directed by Christian-Jaque
Origin France
Genres War, Comedy
Themes Histoire de France, L'Occupation allemande en France
Actors Brigitte Bardot, Ronald Howard, Jacques Charrier, Francis Blanche, Hannes Messemer, Yves Vincent
Roles General von Arenberg
Rating61% 3.0801353.0801353.0801353.0801353.080135
En 1940, Babette, une jeune provinciale française, se retrouve à Londres où le lieutenant Gérard de Crécy la fait engager comme femme de ménage au Quartier Général de la France libre. Le major Fitzpatrick, officier de renseignement britannique, remarque son étrange ressemblance avec Hilda, l'ex-maîtresse du responsable allemand du débarquement en Angleterre, le général von Arenberg. Après un entraînement intensif, elle est parachutée en France avec Gérard afin d'enlever le général. Mais après le parachutage, incapable de retrouver son beau lieutenant, elle prend seule le train pour Paris.
General Della Rovere, 2h12
Directed by Roberto Rossellini
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War
Themes Political films
Actors Vittorio De Sica, Hannes Messemer, Vittorio Caprioli, Giovanna Ralli, Sandra Milo, Anne Vernon
Roles S.S. Colonel Mueller
Rating76% 3.84163.84163.84163.84163.8416
The film tells the story of a petty thief (played by Vittorio De Sica) who is hired by the Nazis to impersonate an Italian resistance leader, General della Rovere, and infiltrate a group of resistance prisoners in a Milan prison.
The Doctor of Stalingrad, 1h50
Directed by Géza von Radványi
Origin German
Genres Drama, War, Romance
Themes Prison films, Political films
Actors O. E. Hasse, Eva Bartok, Hannes Messemer, Mario Adorf, Vera Tschechowa, Michael Ande
Roles Oberleutnant Pjotr Markow
Rating62% 3.1433953.1433953.1433953.1433953.143395
Revenu en Allemagne, après les années douloureuses d'internement dans un camp russe, le docteur Böhler, au moment où il remplit la fiche d'identité que lui tendent ses hôteliers, revit pendant un long moment les souvenirs marquants de sa captivité. Les prisonniers allemands sont soumis à des travaux épuisants en forêt, bien que sous-alimentés et très sommairement logés. Les malades et les épuisés se font trop nombreux, le règlement russe n'admettant pas plus de trois pour cent de malades, et le docteur Böhler doit lutter quotidiennement avec les autorités russes pour conserver à l'infirmerie des hommes incapables du moindre travail…
The Devil Strikes at Night, 1h45
Directed by Robert Siodmak
Origin German
Genres Drama, Thriller, Historical, Crime
Themes Serial killer films, Political films
Actors Mario Adorf, Claus Holm, Hannes Messemer, Werner Peters, Peter Carsten, Carl Lange
Roles SS-Gruppenführer Rossdorf
Rating71% 3.591943.591943.591943.591943.59194
À Hambourg, en 1944, la serveuse d'une auberge est sauvagement assassinée. Les soupçons se portent rapidement sur le soldat Keun. L'inspecteur Kerstein ne le croit pas cependant coupable et tente de découvrir le meurtrier.