Alexander Granach
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- April 18, 1890
- Died
- March 14, 1945
- Birthplace
- Werbowitz, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Verbivtsi, Kolomyia Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Alexander Granach (April 18, 1890 – March 14, 1945) was a popular German actor in the 1920s and 1930s who immigrated to the United States in 1938. Granach was born Jessaja Gronach in Werbowitz (Wierzbowce/Werbiwci) (Horodenka district, Austrian Galicia then, now Verbivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine), to Jewish parents and rose to theatrical prominence at the Volksbühne in Berlin. Granach entered films in 1922; among the most widely exhibited of his silent efforts was the vampire classic Nosferatu (1922), in which the actor was cast as Knock, the lunatic counterpart to Renfield, effectively a substitute name for Dracula. He co-starred in such major early German talkies as Kameradschaft (1931). The Jewish Granach fled to the Soviet Union when Hitler came to power. When the Soviet Union also proved inhospitable, he settled in Hollywood, where he made his first American film appearance as Kopalski in Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka (1939) for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Granach proved indispensable to film makers during the war years, effectively portraying both dedicated Nazis (he was Julius Streicher in The Hitler Gang, 1944) and loyal anti-fascists. Perhaps his best role was as Gestapo Inspector Alois Gruber in Fritz Lang's Hangmen Also Die! (1943). His last film appearance was in MGM's The Seventh Cross (1944), in which almost the entire supporting cast was prominent European refugees.
Filmography
Radiohead X Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror 2025
as Knock - ein Häusermakler
Nosferatu: The First Vampire 1998
as Knock
My Buddy 1944
as Tim Oberta
The Seventh Cross 1944
as Zillich
The Hitler Gang 1944
as Julius Streicher
Voice in the Wind 1944
as Angelo
Three Russian Girls 1943
as Major Braginski
For Whom the Bell Tolls 1943
as Paco
Mission to Moscow 1943
as Russian Air Force Officer (uncredited)
Hangmen Also Die! 1943
as Gestapo Insp. Alois Gruber
Wrecking Crew 1942
as Joe Poska
Northwest Rangers 1942
as Pierre - Man in Casino
Half Way to Shanghai 1942
as Mr. Nikolas
Joan of Paris 1942
as Gestapo Agent
A Man Betrayed 1941
as T. Amato
So Ends Our Night 1941
as The Pole
Foreign Correspondent 1940
as Hotel Valet (uncredited)
Ninotchka 1939
as Comrade Kopalski
The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939
as Soldier (uncredited)
The Struggle 1936
as Rovelli (uncredited)
Gypsies 1936
as Danilo, rich gypsy camp leader
A Man's a Man 1931
Actor
Comradeship 1931
as Kasper
The Theft of the Mona Lisa 1931
as Redner
Danton 1931
as Marat
1914: The Last Days Before the War 1931
as Jaurès' Friend
The Twelfth Hour 1930
as Karsten (Archive footage)
Das letzte Fort 1929
as Gestino
- Flucht in die Fremdenlegion
Flucht in die Fremdenlegion 1929
as Beppo, Legionär
Pavement Butterfly 1929
as Coco
The Adjutant of the Czar 1929
as Stranger
- Freie Fahrt
Freie Fahrt 1928
Actor
Accident 1928
Actor
- Ich hatte einst ein schönes Vaterland
Ich hatte einst ein schönes Vaterland 1928
as Pollaczek
Die berühmte Frau 1927
as Diener bei Alfredo
Svengali 1927
as Geiger Gecko
- Qualen der Nacht
Qualen der Nacht 1926
as Murphy
- Die Radio Heirat
Die Radio Heirat 1924
Actor
I.N.R.I. – A Film of Humanity 1923
as Judas Ischariot
- Ein Weib, ein Tier, ein Diamant
Ein Weib, ein Tier, ein Diamant 1923
as Archivar Lindhorst
Warning Shadows 1923
as Shadowplayer
Man by the Roadside 1923
as Shoemaker
Navarro the Dancer 1923
as Clegg
Paganini 1923
as Ferucchio
Earth Spirit 1923
as Schigolch
Lucrezia Borgia 1922
as ein Gefangener
Nosferatu 1922
as Knock
Danton 1921
as Minor Role (rumored)
Camera obscura 1921
Actor
Credits from TMDB.