While Germany has a reputation as a site of great innovation in film history, many Germans made their most significant contributions to the art of cinema as emigre's in Hollywood. In fact, one of the most indelible images in American film... [more]

While Germany has a reputation as a site of great innovation in film history, many Germans made their most significant contributions to the art of cinema as emigre's in Hollywood. In fact, one of the most indelible images in American film -- the fantasy city at the end of the yellow brick road in 'The Wizard of Oz' -- was based on a futuristic German drawing from 1910. Though Germany's film industry was strong in the early twentieth century, the majority of films were being made and distributed from Hollywood; thus many Germans sought to take advantage of opportunities on American shores. Some made careers on-screen -- Marlene Dietrich is the most famous example. Others found their place off-screen, including William Fox, who founded the Fox Film Corporation, which later became Twentieth Century Fox. F.W. Murnau, director of the first Dracula movie, "Nosferatu," was invited to Hollywood in 1927 by Fox. He made the acclaimed silent film "Sunrise" and another entitled "Tabu" before his life was abruptly ended in an auto accident. Ernst Lubitsch, who came to America at the behest of Mary Pickford in 1922, made Hollywood his permanent headquarters and enjoyed astounding success with American audiences, becoming an inspiration for Orson Welles and Billy Wilder, among others. He directed the original version of 'Heaven Can Wait' (1943) as well as 'The Shop Around the Corner' (1940), which was remade recently as 'You've Got Mail.' Perhaps his most enduring film is the political-sexual comedy "Ninotchka," which features Garbo as a dour Soviet opperative. Like many of his cinematic contemporaries, William Dieterle began his film career in Germany but moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. After producing a few films in his native tongue, he began making films in English, including the 'Story of Louis Pasteur,' 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,''Kismet' (which featured Dietrich), and 'Elephant Walk' (starring Elizabeth Taylor). To this day Germans continue to export talent to Hollywood. One of the all-time biggest American films in recent memory, 'Independence Day,' was written and directed by German expatriate Roland Emmerich, who followed up that success with a remake of the Japanese classic "Godzilla." With their extraordinary sense of visual style, the dynamics of storytelling, and glamour, Germans have indeed exerted an important influence over the look and substance of American film throughout its long history. [show less]