Background
Karl Freund was born on 16 January 1890 in Koniginhof, Czech Republic.
Karl Freund was born on 16 January 1890 in Koniginhof, Czech Republic.
He entered the German industry in 1906 as a newsreel cameraman and became one of the greatest lighting cameramen, a master of shadow and movement, and the favorite photographer of F. W. Murnau, for whom he shot Setanas (19), Der Bucklige und die Tanzerin (20), Der Januskopf (20) , Marizza. genannt die Schmugglermadonna (21) , Der Brennende Acker (22), The Last Laugh (24), and Tartuff (25). In addition, Freund worked on Venetianische Nacht (14, Max Reinhardt); Der Golem (20, Paul Wegener/Carl Boese); Die Spinnen, paH 2 (20, Fritz Lang); Der Verlorene Sehatten (21, Rochus GlieseAVegener); Lukrezia Borgia (22, Richard Oswald); Mikael (24, Carl Dreyer); Variété (25. E. A. Dupont); Metropolis (27, Lang). Freund also helped to write the script of Ruttmann’s Berlin, die Symphonie der Grosstadt (27).
In 1930 he went to America, thus forming one of the most interesting links between German expressionism and the American horror film. For he photographed two of the best early sound horror films at Universal: Dracula (31, Tod Browning) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (32, Robert Florey) as well as the womens picture harrowed soft focus of Back Street (32, John M. Stahl). The studio even promoted him to director and he made The Mummy (32), Moonlight urnl Pretzels (33), Madame Spy (33), The Countess of Monte Cristo (34), Uncertain Lady (34), Gift of Gab (34), I Give My Love (34), and Mad Love (35). The first is a subtle picture of the occult, while the last is one of the enigmas of film history: starring Peter Lorre, and with Gregg Toland as one of its photographers, it clearly influenced Welles in some details of Kane.
Freund then went back to photography, and his output included Camille (36, George Cukor); The Good Ealilt (37, Sidney Franklin et al.); Manproof (37, Richard Thorpe); Parnell (37, Stahl); Concpiest (38, Clarence Brown); Letter of Introduction (38, Stahl); Rose of Washington Scpiare (39, Gregory Ratoff); Golden Boy (39, Rouben Mamoulian); Pride and Prejudice (40. Robert Z. Leonard); A Yank at Eton (42, Norman Taurog); Du Barry Was a Lady (43, Roy del Ruth); The Seventh Cross (44, Fred Zinnemann); Key Largo (48, John Huston); and South of St. Louis (49, Ray Enright). Notice the range here: from the dark opulence of Camille, to MGM's Jane Austen lightness, to the fog-bound images of Key Largo; from the ingenious tricks of The Good Eaiili, to the heartfelt romance of the Stahl films. His last years were spent working in TV, especially for Lucille Ball.