Biografia

German motion picture pioneer, associated with the industry from 1903. Cinematographer from 1906, later also turning to producing and directing. In conjunction with the actress Henny Porten, he set up his own production company, Froelich-Film GmbH, in 1920. Porten often featured in his output. Froelich was at his peak during the 1930's, turning out many commercially successful entertainments. He was feted by the Nazi regime after becoming a member of the NSDAP in 1933 and was appointed president of the Reichsfilmkammer. Froelich's studio facilities in Berlin were bombed out during the war and became unusable. Froelich himself, after 'denazification' in 1948, made only two more films before his death in 1953.

When the silent movie era drew to a close, Carl Froelich was one of the first persons who saw the upheaval and faced the sound movie with confidence.

His first "cinematic" contacts came about as a employee of the Oskar Messter company where he worked in the construction department for cinematographic apparatuses.

There exists the story that the directors Froelich, Ewald André Dupont and Georg Wilhelm Pabst made a bet during their stay in London, who of them will be able to shoot the first German sound movie. However the bet could never settled clearly because Dupont shot the first sound movie but it wasn't a German movie.

With his direction debut "Richard Wagner" he started a long-standing career which extended into the time of the National Socialists.