Thursday, February 9, 2023

Siegfried Schürenberg (January 12, 1900 – August 31, 1993)

Siegfried Schürenberg

Siegfried Schürenberg was one of Germany's most distinct character actors. Also known as a very versatile stage actor, his cinematic career spanned four decades from the early 1930s until the 70s. When German stunt legend Harry Piel decided to hire him as the leading man for Der Herr der Welt [Master of the World] in 1934, the film flopped tremendously as the German public was not willing to see a film directed by, but not starring their most popular action hero at the time. Schürenberg had to wait until the very end of his career to get his only other lead role, this time in a German sex comedy directed by Alfred Vohrer and also starring Eddi Arent: Das gelbe Haus am Pinnasberg/The Yellow House in Pinnasburg

On top of a wide range of supporting parts Schürenberg was also a well known voice on German screens, having dubbed Clark Gable for the German release of Gone With the Wind and in a number of other productions. His distinct voice can be heard in the German version of hundreds of international productions including Hammer films such as The Curse of the Werewolf, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Captain Clegg/Night Creatures and Frankenstein Created Woman for which he not only provided Peter Cushing's voice but also that of Peter Madden.

Schürenberg is of course best remembered for his contributions to the Rialto series of Edgar Wallace Krimis. There he played Sir John, the series' most recognisable character, in 17 movies. On top of that he also played Sir Geoffrey Fielding in Der Zinker/The Squeaker and Sir Henry Hockbridge in Das indische Tuch/The Indian Scarf and appeared in two non-Rialto Wallace productions, Der Rächer/The Avenger and the two Jess Franco Krimis, Der Teufel kam aus Akasava/The Devil Came from Akasava and Der Todesrächer von Soho/The Corpse Packs His Bags. Schürenberg also appeared for Franco in X312 – Flight to Hell

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