Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-18 of 18
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Erwin C. Dietrich was the most successful and influential movie "entrepreneur" in Switzerland for decades. Already in his teenage years he was interested in movies and observed all happenings in Hollywood from his home in St. Gallen. He quit his dream of becoming an actor rather early on and instead started focusing on his sense for artistic trends appealing to audiences. Starting in 1955 he began producing movies, first with his company "Urania": The movies THE MAN IN THE BLACK DERBY and MODEL HUSBAND starring popular Swiss comedian Walter Roderer turned into big successes that still haven't lost their popularity. At around the time where the "Edgar Wallace" thrillers became popular in Germany, Erwin brought NYLON NOOSE and STRANGLER OF THE TOWER starring German movie stars, such as Dietmar Schönherr, to the cinemas. Movies in the mid-60s increasingly included more sexually open themes, a trend Erwin could not and did not want to miss out on. An early example is ST. PAULI BETWEEN NIGHT AND MORNING he produced, which is characterized by an almost artistic arc between common thriller story and the newly discovered erotic appearance. It is exactly those examples that are highly respected by movie buffs around the world and are being rediscovered in his early productions. Later, Erwin achieved significant commercial success with his directorial debut in 1968, the movie adaptation of Guy De Maupassant's novel THE COLONEL'S NIECES with the same title. With this movie he hit the nerve of movie-goers and despite the massively censored scenes the audience showed up in droves. Over 45 more movies followed until 1980. Movies that he either directed or produced, often using pseudonyms such "Michael Thomas" or "Manfred Gregor" under the umbrella of newly "Elite-Film" (later: "Ascot Film GmbH"). Most of these movies came to life in a very informal environment, with a small crew in his studios in Rümlang, where the set pieces were rearranged on the fly. Some highlights can be found, in particular those starring Ingrid Steeger or French erotic star number one, Brigitte Lahaie. These movies have meanwhile advanced to cult status and are long running favorites at movie festivals and in home cinemas worldwide. Erwin often mentioned his favorite movie to be his remake of THE COLONEL'S NIECES, starring Brigitte Lahaie. Jess Franco, who for years has been ridiculed as a cheap grunge director and yet in the end received the "Goya" award, the Spanish Oscar, made 17 movies in this work period with Erwin C. Dietrich and called it the most productive and pleasant period of his career. Movies such as LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN or JACK THE RIPPER with divine performances by Klaus Kinski are now highly praised by movie buffs worldwide, incl. industry friends and fans such as Joe Dante and Quentin Tarantino (who once called Erwin the "Swiss Roger Corman"). On top of that Erwin's movie distribution business "Avis" which brought over 400 movies to local cinemas, flourished. He jumped on the "exploitation movie" bandwagon alone, yet this was not enough for movie buff Erwin. He was looking to get recognized at festivals and by the elite of film critics. And he got it. THE STORY OF PIERA produced by him and directed by Marco Ferreri, starring Isabelle Huppert and Marcello Mastroianni, may not have been a commercially comparable success to Erwin's other productions but it turned into a huge hit at the festivals, and Hanna Schygulla received the "Golden Palm" in Cannes for her performance. Even on an international level things looked up: the action spectacle THE WILD GEESE which he co-produced with Euan Lloyd from Britain, catapulted Erwin into an A-league that was unknown at that time, and garnered him international recognition. In addition, the star-studded cast that included Richard Harris, Roger Moore, Richard Burton, and Hardy Krüger did its share; the movie was seen by 4 million movie-goers in Germany alone and advanced to become a huge blockbuster in 1978, ultimately winning the "Goldene Leinwand" award. Following this success Erwin launched similar additional big productions on the big screen, including ESCAPE TO ATHENA and THE SEA WOLVES. Convinced by their success Erwin began production along with business partner Peter Baumgartner (and Peter's dubbing studios in Berlin, "Cinephon") three action spectacles to be shot in the Philippines. Emphasized by a gigantic marketing campaign (including an ecstatic Klaus Kinski dominating the promo tour) he released in the mid-80s the "mercenary trilogy" consisting of CODENAME WILDGEESE, COMMANDO LEOPARD and THE COMMANDER on the big screen. The Hollywood cast including Klaus Kinski, Ernest Borgnine, and Lee Van Cleef impressed everyone. During that time he also opened up the first cinema-multiplex in Switzerland called "Capitol". Later he expanded it with the "Cinemax". In the beginning of the 90s, after the dance movie DANCE ACADEMY 2 - DANCE TO WIN, the two Swiss comedies EIN SCHWEIZER NAMENS NÖTZLI and DER DOPPELTE NÖTZLI, as well as over 100 other productions, Erwin retired from the active movie production business and committed himself to his movie distribution company "Ascot-Elite" which was taken over by his children a few years ago and still today this largest independent movie distributor in Switzerland is managed by them. At last, Erwin C. Dietrich led the supervisory board and every morning he reviewed the box office results of the previous day. He passionately committed himself to the digital restoration of his cinematic legacy to preserve it for all future generations.- Herbert Leiser was born on 17 June 1941 in Näfels, Glarus, Switzerland. He is an actor, known for Der Teufel von Mailand (2012), Tatort (1970) and Sonntagsvierer (2010).
- Patrick Küng was born on 11 January 1984 in Mühlehorn, Glarus, Switzerland.
- Roger Rhyner was born on 18 May 1971 in Glarus, Switzerland.
- Ruedi Noser was born on 14 April 1961 in Glarus, Kanton Glarus, Switzerland.
- Ladina Jenny was born on 10 June 1993 in Glarus, Switzerland.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Friedrich Schröder was born on 6 August 1910 in Näfels, Glarus, Switzerland. He was a composer, known for Black Book (2006), Immer nur Du (1941) and Seven Slaps (1937). He was married to Lieselotte Wiedenhaupt. He died on 25 September 1972 in West Berlin, West Germany.- Vreni Schneider was born on 26 November 1964 in Elm, Kanton Glarus, Switzerland.
- Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber was born in 1947 in Glarus, Kanton Glarus, Switzerland.
- This Jenny was born on 4 May 1952 in Glarus, Kanton Glarus, Switzerland. He died on 15 November 2014 in Glarus, Kanton Glarus, Switzerland.
- Fritz Künzli was born on 8 January 1946 in Glarus, Switzerland. He died on 22 December 2019 in Zürich, Switzerland.
- Eveline Hasler was born on 22 March 1933 in Glarus, Glarus, Switzerland. She is a writer, known for Sabbath (1989), Der Club (1985) and NeXt (1994). She has been married to Paul Hasler since 1958.
- Franziska Tschudi Sauber was born on 25 March 1959 in Glarus, Switzerland.
- Ernst Thoma was born on 2 January 1953 in Mühlehorn, Kanton Glarus, Switzerland. He was a composer, known for Witschi geht (1991) and Da & dort (1995). He died on 10 November 2020 in Zürich, Kanton Zürich, Switzerland.
- Andreas Glarner was born on 9 October 1962 in Glarus, Kanton Glarus, Switzerland.
- Writer
- Art Director
Walter Haug was born on 23 November 1927 in Glarus, Glarus, Switzerland. He was a writer and art director, known for The Grand Duke's Finances (1934), Nemo taucht auf (1965) and Professor Blaise (1970). He died on 11 January 2008 in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.- Martin Landolt was born on 30 June 1968 in Näfels, Kanton Glarus, Switzerland.
- Peter Fischli was born on 1 January 1947 in Näfels, Glarus, Switzerland. He is an actor, known for Tatort (1970), Kassettenliebe (1981) and The Black Spider (1983).