Willi Forst

Twice caused controversy: the first time by arousing the ire of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels through his refusal to appear in the stridently anti-Semitic film Le juif Suss (1940), the second time by angering conservative civic groups with a nude long shot of Hildegard Knef in Die Sünderin (1951).
Son of a porcelain painter. Started acting in regional theatres, then in Vienna and at the Berlin Metropoltheater in operettas and revues. Joined Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater in 1928. In films from 1920, often in villainous roles. Had a good voice, which contributed to him graduating to leading actor by the time sound arrived. Made his directing debut in 1933. Often contributed screenplays and acted in his own films. Had a reputation for visual style and detail in production design.
Uncle of Barbara Langbein.
With Atlantic (1929), his first sound film, he attracted much attention because of a scene where he sat at the piano and sang a song while the doomed ship was sinking.
He had comparatively little success after the war, with the exception of Die Sünderin (1951) (aka "The Sinner") starring Hildegard Knef, which caused a scandal because of the protests of the Roman Catholic church regarding the nudity in the film, the first in German-speaking cinema. The film eventually went on to attract an audience of seven million.

[on his involvement during WW II in making films under the control of the Nazi regime] I never wasted much thought on the kind of films I was making. They came about by themselves, born of my relief at no longer having to "reproduce," and of the growing pressure exerted by the Nazis. My native country [Austria] was occupied by the National Socialists, and my work became a silent protest. Grotesque though it may sound, it is true that I made my most Austrian films at a time when Austria had ceased to exist.

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