Renate Müller

Renate Müller
photographed in 1935
Born	(1906-04-26)26 April 1906 Munich, Germany
Died	7 October 1937(1937-10-07) (aged 31) Berlin, Germany
Other names	Renate Muller
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1929–1937

Renate Müller (26 April 1906 – 7 October 1937) was a German singer and actress in both silent films and sound films, as well as on stage.

One of the most successful actresses in German films from the early 1930s, she was courted by the Nazi Party to appear in films that promoted their ideals, but refused. Her sudden death at the age of 31 was initially attributed to epilepsy, but after the end of World War II, witnesses suggested that she had been murdered by Gestapo officers, although another theory contends that she committed suicide. The true circumstances of her death remain unknown.

Life and career

Born in Munich, Germany, Müller entered films in the late 1920s in Berlin and quickly became popular. A blue-eyed blonde, she was considered to be one of the great beauties of her day and along with Marlene Dietrich was seen to embody fashionable Berlin society. She starred in more than twenty German films, including Viktor und Viktoria (1933), one of her biggest successes, which was remade decades later as Victor Victoria with Julie Andrews.

File:Mullervikt.jpg

Renate Müller in Viktor und Viktoria (1933)

With the rise of the Nazi Party, Müller came to be regarded as an ideal Aryan woman and particularly in light of Dietrich's move to Hollywood, was courted and promoted as Germany's leading film actress. A meeting with Adolf Hitler in the mid 1930s resulted in Müller being offered parts in films that promoted Nazi ideals.

When she died suddenly, the German press stated the cause as epilepsy. It was later revealed that she had died as a result of a fall from her hotel window. (According to Channel 4 documentary "Sex and the Swastika", February 2009, she jumped from a Berlin mental home window). Officially described as a suicide, it was theorised that she took her own life when her relationship with Nazi leaders deteriorated after she showed unwillingness to appear in propaganda films. She was also known to have been pressured to end a relationship with her Jewish lover, but had refused. Near the end of her life she became addicted to morphine. Witnesses also recalled seeing several Gestapo officers entering her building shortly before she died. It has been asserted she was either murdered by Gestapo officers who threw her from a window, or that she panicked when she saw them arrive and jumped. The true circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear.

Filmography

List of film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1929	Peter der Matrose	Victoria
1929	Drei machen ihr Glück	Gretchen Jürgen	Alternative title: Teure Heimat
1930	Revolte im Erziehungshaus	Hausvaters tochter
1930	Liebe im Ring	Hilde, the Fish Peddler's Daughter	Alternative titles: Love in the Ring, The Comeback
1930	Der Sohn der weißen Berge	Mary Dulac	Alternative title: The Son of the White Mountain
1930	Liebling der Götter	Agathe	Alternative titles: Darling of the Gods, Der Große Tenor
1930	Das Flötenkonzert von Sans-souci	Blanche von Lindeneck	Alternative title: The Flute Concert of Sans-Souci
1931	Die Privatsekretärin	Vilma Förster	Alternative titles: Private Secretary, The Office Girl
1931	Liebeslied	Maria Körner
1931	Die Blumenfrau von Lindenau	Victoria	Alternative titles: Storm in a Water Glass, Sturm im Wasserglas, The Flower Woman of Lindenau
1931	Der Kleine Seitensprung	Erika Heller	Alternative title: The Little Escapade
1931	Sunshine Susie	Susie Surster	Alternative title: The Office Girl
1932	Marry Me	Ann Linden
1932	Mädchen zum Heiraten	Gerda Arnhold
1932	Wie sag' ich's meinem Mann?	Charlotte Oltendorf	Alternative title: How Shall I Tell My Husband?
1932	Wenn die Liebe Mode macht	Nelly	Alternative title: When Love Sets the Fashion
1933	Saison in Kairo	Stefanie von Weidling-Weidling, Tochter	Alternative title: Cairo Season
1933	Idylle au Caire	Stéphy
1933	Walzerkrieg	Kati Lanner	Alternative titles: Waltz War, Waltz Time in Vienna, The Battle of the Walzes
1933	Viktor und Viktoria	Susanne Lohr	Alternative title: Viktor and Viktoria
1934	Die Englische Heirat	Gerte Winter
1935	Liselotte von der Pfalz	Liselotte von der Pfalz	Alternative titles: Liselotte of the Palatinate, The Private Life of Louis XIV
1935	Liebesleute	Dorothea Rainer	Alternative titles: Hermann und Dorothea von Heute, A Pair of Lovers
1936	Allotria	Viola
1936	Eskapade	Madame Hélène	Alternative titles: Geheimagentin Helene, His Official Wife, Spione in St. Petersburg
1937	Togger	Hanna Breitenbach

References

• Uwe Klöckner-Draga: Renate Müller, Ihr Leben ein Drahtseilakt - "Ein deutscher Filmstar, der keinen Juden lieben durfte". Kern, 2006, ISBN 978-3939478010

External links

• Renate Müller at IMDb
• Virtual History - Bibliography, Photographs and Tobacco cards
• Renate Müller at Find a Grave