Wolfgang Preiss
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 27, 1910
- Died
- November 27, 2002
- Birthplace
- Nuremberg, Germany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wolfgang Preiss (27 February 1910 at Nuremberg - 27 November 2002 at Baden-Baden) was a German theatre, film and television actor. The son of a teacher, in the early 1930s Preiss studied philosophy, German and drama. He also took private acting classes with Hans Schlenck, making his stage début in Munich in 1932. He went to appear in various theatre productions in Heidelberg, Königsberg, Bonn, Bremen, Stuttgart and Berlin. In 1942 he made his film début - he was exempted from military service specifically - in the UFA production Die grosse Liebe with Zarah Leander. After the end of the Second World War Preiss returned to the theatre, and from 1949 worked extensively dubbing films into German. In 1954 he returned to film acting, appearing in Alfred Weidenmann's Canaris. The following year Preiss played the lead role of Claus von Stauffenberg in Falk Harnack's film Der 20. Juli, which dramatised the 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. This role brought Preiss to popular attention and also the 1956 Federal Film Award. From now on Preiss was largely typecast in the role of the upright and obligation-conscious German officer to the other A-list actor playing the Fanatic (I.E. Paul Scofeld in The Train) a part he played in many films, later reprising it in numerous international productions, predominantly in Italy and the USA, while occasionally playing a more typically cynical or brutal Nazi officer. Preiss appeared in such productions as The Longest Day (1962), Otto Preminger's The Cardinal (1963), and with Jean-Paul Belmondo in Is Paris Burning? (1966). He starred alongside Burt Lancaster in John Frankenheimer's The Train (1964), Frank Sinatra in Von Ryan's Express (1965), Robert Mitchum in Anzio (1968), with Richard Burton, in the title role of Erwin Rommel in Raid on Rommel (1971), and The Boys From Brazil (1978) with Gregory Peck. He also appeared in several Italian language films, credited as "Luppo Prezzo", and played Field Marshal Von Rundstedt in Richard Attenborough's all-star war epic A Bridge Too Far (1977). In addition, for the cinema-going public of West Germany he became the epitome of the evil genius in his role as Doctor Mabuse, a role he first played in 1960 (following Rudolf Klein-Rogge) in Fritz Lang's The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. He went on to play the role four more times. In the 1980s Preiss turned to television, notably playing General Walther von Brauchitsch in the American TV mini-series Winds of War and War and Remembrance, based on the books of Herman Wouk. In 1987 received a second Federal Film Award for his outstanding work in film. In film dubbing Preiss provided the voice for such actors as Lex Barker, Christopher Lee, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Richard Widmark, as well as that of Conrad Veidt as "Major Strasser" in the remastered version of Casablanca. Description above from the Wikipedia article Wolfgang Preiss, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
A Little Chat with Dr. Mabuse -- An Interview with Wolfgang Preiss 2025
as Himself, Thanks
Die 1000 Glotzböbbel vom Dr. Mabuse 2018
as Dieter Gekeler (archive footage)
Open Air 1996
Actor
Dr. M 1990
as Kessler
Land der Väter, Land der Söhne 1989
as Bernauer
Mrs. Harris fährt nach Monte Carlo 1989
as Earl of Wereford
Mrs. Harris fährt nach Moskau 1987
as Earl of Wereford
The Second Victory 1987
as Father Albertus
- Lang soll er leben
Lang soll er leben 1987
Actor
Mrs. Harris - Der geschmuggelte Henry 1987
as Earl of Wereford
Forget Mozart 1985
as Baron Gottfried van Swieten
Mrs. Harris - Freund mit Rolls Royce 1984
as Earl of Wereford
- Ein Mann namens Parvus
Ein Mann namens Parvus 1984
as Brockdorff-Rantzau
Die Dame und die Unterwelt 1984
as Berthold Kampe
Mrs. Harris - Ein Kleid von Dior 1982
as Earl of Wereford
Ghost of Love 1981
as Zighi
The Formula 1980
as Franz Tauber
Bloodline 1979
as Julius Prager
Ike 1979
as FM Alfred Jodl
- Die Anstalt
Die Anstalt 1978
as Dr. Reinecke
The Boys from Brazil 1978
as Lofquist
The Standard 1977
as Oberst
A Bridge Too Far 1977
as Field Marshal Karl R.G. Von Rundstedt
Die Insel der Krebse 1975
as General
The Big Delirium 1975
as Artmann
Die Kriegsbraut 1974
as von Bogendorf
Eine ungeliebte Frau 1974
Actor
Diamantenparty 1973
as Konsul Eduard van Düren
- Du stirbst nicht allein - Ein deutscher Kriegspfarrer in Paris
Du stirbst nicht allein - Ein deutscher Kriegspfarrer in Paris 1973
as General
The Master Touch 1972
as Miller
The Salzburg Connection 1972
as Felix Zauner
Die sexuellen Wünsche der Deutschen 1972
Actor
The Bloodstained Butterfly 1971
as The Prosecutor
The Fifth Cord 1971
as Police inspector
Raid on Rommel 1971
as Gen. Erwin Rommel
- Der Minister und die Ente
Der Minister und die Ente 1970
as Minister
- Sir Henri Deterding
Sir Henri Deterding 1970
as Sir Henri Deterding
- General Oster – Verräter oder Patriot?
General Oster – Verräter oder Patriot? 1970
as Generalmajor Oster
- Peenemünde
Peenemünde 1970
as Oberst Dornberger
- Das Haus Lunjowo
Das Haus Lunjowo 1970
as Generalmajor Lattmann
Playgirl 70 1969
Actor
Battle of the Commandos 1969
as Colonel Ackerman
- Liebe, Love, l'Amour
Liebe, Love, l'Amour 1969
Actor
- Hürdenlauf
Hürdenlauf 1969
as Exzellenz Lohmüller
Hannibal Brooks 1969
as Col. von Haller
Anzio 1968
as Field Marshal Albert Kesselring
- Meinungsverschiedenheiten
Meinungsverschiedenheiten 1968
as Anthony Wilcox
- Der Fall Petkov
Der Fall Petkov 1968
as Dr. Georgi Dimitrov
Tamara 1968
as Father Bricks
- Flachsmann als Erzieher
Flachsmann als Erzieher 1968
as Flachsmann
Jack of Diamonds 1967
as Wilhelm Von Schenk
Death on a Rainy Day 1967
as Dr. Angus Cromwell
Spy Today, Die Tomorrow 1967
as Sebastian (BND chief)
Dead Run 1967
as Noland
- Wo liegt Jena?
Wo liegt Jena? 1967
as Robert
Jungfrau aus zweiter Hand 1967
as Leiter der Mordkommission
Is Paris Burning? 1966
as Capitaine Ebernach
To Skin a Spy 1966
as Chalieff
- Das Leben in meiner Hand
Das Leben in meiner Hand 1966
as Minister
- Samba
Samba 1966
as Parisius
- Der Fall Kapitän Behrens. Fremdenlegionäre an Bord
Der Fall Kapitän Behrens. Fremdenlegionäre an Bord 1966
as Kapitän Behrens
The Spy Who Went Into Hell 1965
as Captain Parker
Von Ryan's Express 1965
as Maj. Von Klemment
X-Ray of a Killer 1965
Actor
100 Horsemen 1964
as Sheik Abengalbon
The Train 1964
as Maj. Herren
The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse 1964
as Dr. Mabuse
Backfire 1964
as Grenner
- Die erste Legion
Die erste Legion 1964
as Dr. Peter Morell
Frühstück mit dem Tod 1964
as Staatsanwalt Ted Talbot
Cave of the Living Dead 1964
as Prof. von Adelsberg
The Cardinal 1963
Actor
The Mad Executioners 1963
as Morel Smith
Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse 1963
as Geist von Dr. Mabuse
Das tödliche Patent 1963
as Charles Reese
The Black Cobra 1963
as Stanislas Raskin
- Leb wohl, mein Traum
Leb wohl, mein Traum 1963
as James Merrill
The Longest Day 1962
as Maj. Gen. Max Pemsel
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 1962
as Dr. Mabuse
The Counterfeit Traitor 1962
as Colonel Nordoff
The Invisible Dr. Mabuse 1962
as Dr. Krone / Dr. Mabuse
Das Mädchen und der Staatsanwalt 1962
as Staatsanwalt Soldan
Lafayette 1962
as Baron Kalb
Riviera-Story 1961
as Arthur Dahlberg
The Return of Dr. Mabuse 1961
as Dr. Mabuse
Confessions of a Sixteen-Year-Old 1961
as Günther Brandt
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse 1960
as Prof. Jordan / Peter Cornelius / Dr. Mabuse
Mill of the Stone Women 1960
as Doctor Loren Bolem
Mistress of the World - Part II 1960
as Brandes
Mistress of the World - Part I 1960
as Dr. Henrik Brandes
Darkness Fell on Gotenhafen 1960
as Dr. Beck
Roses for the Prosecutor 1959
as Generalstaatsanwalt
Doctor Without Scruples 1959
as Dr. Westorp
Konto ausgeglichen 1959
as Robert Jacobi
Gorilla's Waltz 1959
as Otto Lohn
Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever? 1959
as Major Linkmann
Prisoner of the Volga 1959
as General Gorew
- Straße der Gerechten
Straße der Gerechten 1959
as Joseph Blake
The Girl with the Cat Eyes 1958
as Carlo Gormann
Grabenplatz 17 1958
as Kriminalkommissar Dr. Jäger
The Green Devils of Monte Cassino 1958
as Oberstabsarzt Munkler
The Italians They Are Crazy 1958
as Hans
Ich war ihm hörig 1958
as Dr. Leipold
- Eurydice
Eurydice 1957
as Dulac
- Der Banditendoktor
Der Banditendoktor 1957
as Amerikaner
Sharks and Little Fish 1957
as U-Bootkommandant Lüttke
- Schinderhannes
Schinderhannes 1957
as Gendarm Adam
- Stresemann
Stresemann 1957
as Heinz Becker
Von der Liebe besiegt 1956
as Mario Clar
Johannisnacht 1956
as Mac Fadden
Anastasia: the Czar's Last Daughter 1956
as Ein Journalist
Like Once Lili Marleen 1956
as Alfred Linder
Before Sundown 1956
as Dr. Hahnefeld, Syndikus der Clausen-Werke
Der Cornet 1955
as Freiherr von Pirovano
The Plot to Assassinate Hitler 1955
as Oberst Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Oberarzt Dr. Solm 1955
as Dr. Hartung
Canaris 1954
as Oberst Holl
Falschmünzer am Werk 1951
Actor
- Frischer Wind in alten Gassen
Frischer Wind in alten Gassen 1951
Actor
The Crew of the Dora 1943
as Staffelarzt Dr. Wagner
The Great Love 1942
as Oberleutnant von Etzdorf
Credits from TMDB.