Renate Muller German film actress popular in the 30s Date of Birth: 26.04.1906 Country: Germany

1. Renata Muller - Biography
2. Early Life
3. Acting Career
4. Career Peak and Decline
5. Final Years and Mysterious Death

Renata Muller - Biography

Renata Muller was a popular German film actress in the 1930s. She began her career in the late era of silent cinema. Some of her most famous films include the comedies "Personal Secretary" (1931) and "Viktor and Viktoria" (1933).

Early Life

Renata Muller was born on April 26, 1906, in Munich, Germany. Her father, Karl Muller, was a historian and philologist who worked as the chief editor at the newspaper Münchener Neueste Nachrichten, while her mother had a passion for painting. In 1914, Renata's family moved to Danzig, and ten years later, they relocated to Berlin, where her father took a position at the newspaper Berliner Tageblatt.

Acting Career

Without completing her secondary education, Renata began attending an acting school, where one of her teachers was the renowned Austrian film director Georg Wilhelm Pabst. After passing her exams in March 1925, Renata joined the theater company at Harzer Bergtheater in Thale, where Pabst worked as a director. She made her stage debut as Helena in William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Renata enjoyed several successful years in the theater before catching the attention of director Reinhold Schünzel, who offered her a role in the comedy film "Peter the Sailor" in 1928.

In 1930, she starred in the social film "Revolt in the Reformatory" based on Peter Martin Lampel's play, which had sparked intense discussions when it was staged two years earlier. Renata smoothly transitioned to sound cinema and her first sound film was the 1930 melodrama "Love in the Ring," in which she portrayed the bride of boxer Max Schmeling (who played himself in the film). With her strong vocal abilities, Renata often appeared in musical films, and her song from the 1931 film "Personal Secretary" became a popular hit.

Career Peak and Decline

Renata's career peaked between 1931 and 1933 when she appeared in five to six films per year, mostly light-hearted and ironic comedies. She frequently collaborated with Reinhold Schünzel, and together they made eight films. The most popular of these was the 1933 comedy "Viktor and Viktoria," where Renata portrayed the singer Susanne Lohr, who is forced to perform under a male name and faces various comical situations.

Starting in 1934, Renata's career began to decline. Although she remained popular with the audience, she refused to collaborate with the Nazis and appear in propaganda films, which led to her disappearance from the screen. Additionally, her romantic relationship with a Jewish banker further worsened her situation. Due to increasing nationalist sentiments in Germany, he was forced to emigrate, and Renata struggled with their separation. She developed depression, became addicted to morphine and alcohol, and experienced epileptic seizures.

Final Years and Mysterious Death

In the end, Renata was admitted to a sanatorium in Berlin for treatment. On October 1, 1937, she passed away under unclear circumstances. Her early death, at the age of just thirty, gave rise to numerous rumors. The official version reported in newspapers stated that she died from an overdose of sleeping pills, but another speculation suggested that she took her own life by jumping out of a window. Regardless of the method she chose, it remains unknown what exactly drove Renata to such an act - whether it was depression, loneliness, or a conflict with the authorities.