Alex Benno

Biography

Alex Benno was originally a variety artist. He performed as a character comedian, and made his name as a singer. In the final years of the 19th century, he worked for Filmfabriek F.A. Nöggerath and directed a number of revues.

In 1913, he was taken on by Maurits H. Binger to work for his Filmfabriek Hollandia. There Benno became a kind of jack of all trades: he acted, dealt with the props, was in charge of shooting several short films, and ultimately directed a few films as well.

In the early 1920s, after the demise of Hollandia, Benno entered the film business. Together with actor Fred Penley, he ran the rental agency Actueel Film.

When Penley left the company, Benno became the sole manager. During the same period, he also produced a number of films in the former Hollandia studios: farces that had little artistic vale, but that were nonetheless rather well-received by audiences. The film business remained his main field of work, though Benno also played a part in the brief flourishing of Dutch feature films during the 1930s.

Together with the brothers Biedermann (the founders of Cinetone Studio's), he took the initiative to make the sound film De Jantjes. The financial risk turned out to be too great, and the film could only be finished after the intervention of landlord and producer Loet C. Barnstijn.