Alex Benno

Date of birth
07-11-1873
Date deceased
02-04-1952

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.

photos

filmography

  1. 1913
    Actor
    Janus Blanus
  2. 1913
    Actor
    Police officer
  3. 1913
    Actor, Props
    Circus spieler / Dr. Abels
  4. 1913
    Actor
    Police officer
  5. 1914
    Actor, Director
  6. 1914
    Actor
    Police officer
  7. 1914
    Actor
    Police officer
  8. 1914
    Actor
  9. 1914
    Actor
    Captain
  10. 1914
    Actor
    Rabbi
  11. 1915
    Actor
  12. 1915
    Actor
    Smuggler
  13. 1915
    Actor
    Impresario
  14. 1915
    Actor
  15. 1915
    Actor
    Drunken incendiary
  16. 1916
    Actor
  17. 1917
    Actor
  18. 1919
    Director
  19. 1919
    Director
  20. 1919
    Actor
    Sally, a merchant
  21. 1920
    Director, Producer
  22. 1920
    Director
  23. 1920
    Actor
    a theatre-goer
  24. 1921
    Director, Producer
  25. 1922
    Director, Producer, Script writer
  26. 1923
    Director, Producer, Script writer
  27. 1923
    Director, Script writer
  28. 1924
    Director, Producer, Script writer
  29. 1924
    Director, Producer, Script writer
  30. 1925
    Director, Producer, Script writer
  31. 1926
    Director, Producer, Script writer
  32. 1926
    Director, Producer, Script writer
  33. 1927
    Director
  34. 1930
    Director
  35. 1934
    Director's assistent, Script writer
  36. 1934
    Script writer
  37. 1934
    Director, Script writer
  38. 1936
    Director, Script writer
  39. 1936
    Script writer

more information

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