Alphons Fryland

Austrian film actor Alphons Fryland (1888-1953) appeared in 47 Austrian and German films between 1921 and 1933. The sound film finished his career.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 915/1, 1925-1926. Photo: Zelnik-Mara-Film / Distr. Phoebus. Alphons Fryland in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By order of De Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik a.k.a. Frederic Zelnik, 1924).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1071/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Karl Luther / Davidsohn-Film. Fryland acted in three of the four films produced by Paul Davidson's film company Davidsohn-Film: Ich liebe dich/I Love You (Paul L. Stein, 1925), Die Insel der Träume/Isle of Dreams (Paul L. Stein, 1925) and Liebesfeuer/Fires of Love (Paul L. Stein, 1925). This card shows him as the Duke of Arenheim in Liebesfeuer/Fires of Love (Paul L. Stein, 1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. L'Argentografica, Turin, no. 3055. Photo: Unione Cinematografia Italiana (UCI). Alphons Fryland as Vinicius and Lilian Hall-Davis as Licia/Lygia at Nero's banquet from Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924), based on the classic novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 1221/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Lambeck, Berlin.


German postcard by Verlag Ross, Berlin, no. 1380/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Nicola Perscheid. Caption: Verlernen, Umlernen, Zulernen! (Unlearning, Remodelling, Relearning!)

Comet-like career

Alphons (or Alfons) Fryland was born as Alphons Fritsch in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), in 1888.

He attended the Exportakademie Wien. From 1914 on he studied music in Graz, München and Paris. He then followed acting classes from Karl Peppler, but during World War I he had to serve in the army.

In 1919, he was engaged by director Fritz Freisler as the leading actor in the film Jagd nach dem Glück/Hunt For Happiness (Fritz Freisler, 1920), produced by Sascha-Film.

He then made a comet-like career in the Austrian and German cinema. In 1921 Fryland starred in four films opposite Hungarian star Lucy Doraine.

All four were directed by Doraine's husband Mihály Kertész later better known as Michael Curtiz: Labyrinth des Grauens/Labyrinth of Horror (1921) in which he played a serial killer, Frau Dorothys Bekenntnis/Mrs. Dane's Confession (1921), Herzogin Satanella/Good and Evil (1921) and Mrs. Tutti Frutti (1921).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 586/1, 1919-1924. Photo: Zelnik-Mara-Film / Distr. Phoebus. Lya Mara and Alphons Fryland in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By order of De Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik a.k.a. Frederic Zelnik, 1924).


Italian postcard by Ed. Romeo Biagi, Bologna, no. 666. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana. Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1925).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 699/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Alphons Fryland and Lilian Hall-Davis in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1925).


Yugoslavian Postcard by Ed. Caklovic, Zagreb, no. 103. Photo: Pan Film, Zagreb / Maxim-Film. Lee Parry and Alphons Fryland in Fedora (Jean Manoussi, 1926).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 1564/1, 1927-1928.

Super production

Alphons Fryland played leading and supporting roles in many German and Austrian films of the 1920s and he became quite popular. His co-star in these silent films was often Liane Haid in such films as the blockbuster Lucrezia Borgia/Lucretia Borgia (Richard Oswald, 1922), and Ich liebe dich/I Love You (Paul L. Stein, 1925). Among his other popular films were Kean (Rudolf Biebrach, 1921) starring Alexander Moissi, Zwischen Abend und Morgen/Between Evening and Morning (Arthur Robison, 1923) with Werner Krauss, and Arabella (Karl Grune, 1924) with Mae Marsh.

A super production was the German-Italian epic Quo Vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1925) based on the novel by Nobel prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz. Fryland played the rather fey hero Vinicius, and he was completely overwhelmed by the other star, the great Emil Jannings as the infamous emperor Nero.

Another big production was Das schicksal derer von Habsburg/The Destiny of the Habsburgs (1928) a dramatic account of the Austrian royal family at the turn of the 20th century. Fryland starred as Sissi's son, Crown Prince Rudolf who committed suicide together with his young - and pregnant - mistress, the beautiful baroness Marie Vetsera. He was surrounded by an all-star cast including Erna Morena as Empress Sissi, Maly Delschaft as Rudolph's wife, Belgium's Princess Stéphanie and Leni Riefenstahl as Vetsera.

Towards the end of the 1920s, his career slowly went into decline. The sound film revolution finished his career. He appeared only in a few sound films: the mountain drama Der Bergführer von Zakopane/The Mountain Guide of Zakopane (Domenico Gambino, Adolf Trotz, 1931), and Die Nacht der Entscheidung/The Night of the Decision (Dimitri Buchowetzki, 1931) with Conrad Veidt.

In 1932 he became a NSDAP party member, and he claimed to be discriminated for film parts by the Jewish producer Alfred Zeisler. It didn't help to further his career. He made one last film, Johannisnacht/Midsummer Night (Willy Reiber, 1933) starring Lil Dagover. After these uninteresting roles, he retired and returned to Graz. There he called himself Alphons Fritsch again. He worked as a consultant at the administrative district office. Forgotten, Alphons Fryland died in Graz, Austria in 1953, aged 65.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 751/1, 1925-1926. Photo: Pinto, Roma.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 751/2, 1925-1926. Photo by Pinto, Roma. These photo must have been taken during Fryland's stay in Rome for the shooting of Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1925).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 970/1, 1925-1926. Photo: Davidsohn Film. Fryland acted in three of the four films produced by Paul Davidson's film company Davidsohn-Film: Ich liebe dich/I Love You (Paul L. Stein, 1925), Die Insel der Träume/Isle of Dreams (Paul L. Stein, 1925) and Liebesfeuer/Fires of Love (Paul L. Stein, 1925).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1771/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Atelier Hanni Schwarz, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1771/3, 1927-1928. Photo: Atelier Hanni Schwarz, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4223/1, 1929-30. Photo: Atelier Hanni Schwarz.

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos - German), Philippe Pelletier (CinéArtistes - French), Nicole Gagne (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 616. Photo: Verleih B. Weil & Co.

This post was last updated on 21 April 2024.

Quo vadis? (1924-1925)

The third film adaptation of Henryk Sienkiewicz's famous novel 'Quo Vadis?' was the spectacular German-Italian co-production Quo vadis? (Georg Jacoby, Gabriellino D'Annunzio, 1924-1925). Emil Jannings, the famous star of the German silent cinema, was cast as the evil emperor Nero. He leads an international star cast including Alphons Fryland, Elena Sangro, Elga Brink, Lilian Hall-Davis, Rina De Liguoro, André Habay and strongman Bruto Castellani.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 699/1, 1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Georg Jacoby, Gabriellino D'Annunzio, 1924-1925). Here we see Nero (Emil Jannings) going out of his mind when his little son dies.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 699/2, 1927-1928. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Emil Jannings as Nero and Lilian Hall-Davis as Lygia in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924). Here we see Nero grabbing Licia, after pretending to save her from the clutches of Vinicius.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 699/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Georg Jacoby, Gabriellino D'Annunzio, 1924-1925). Here, Marcus Vinicius (Alphons Fryland) tries to seduce the chaste Lygia (Lilian Hall-Davis) during an orgy at Nero's palace.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 699/4, 1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1925). Marcus Vinicius (Alphons Fryland) leads the populace against Nero.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 699/5, 1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Georg Jacoby, Gabriellino D'Annunzio, 1924-1925). Here we see Ursus (Bruto Castellani) liberating Lygia (Lilian Hall-Davis) after he has conquered the raging bull. Castellani's face and hair are clearly drawn afterwards. In the film, the nudity is only visible for a fraction of a second.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 699/6, 1919-1924. Photo: Filmhaus Brückmann. Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924) with Rina De Liguoro as Eunice, secretly in love with her master Petronius (André Habay).

A huge spectacle

Ten years after the smashing success of director Enrico Guazzoni's colossal epic Quo vadis? (1913), the Unione Cinematografica Italiana (U.C.I.) decided to make a new silent film version.

The Unione Cinematografica Italiana was a Ufa-like or Universal-like merger of many Italian pre-war film companies. Grand old man Arturo Ambrosio was the producer of the third film version, Quo vadis? (1924-1925).

Directors were the German Georg Jacoby and the Italian Gabriellino D' Annunzio, son of Gabriele D'Annunzio, the famous Italian writer and adventurer.

They turned Sienkiewicz's story of Emperor Nero's politically motivated persecution of the early Christians to hush up his own burning of Rome, and of the 'conversion' of an agnostic Roman warrior via the love of a virtuous Christian girl, into a huge spectacle.

Highlights are the 'burning of Rome' scenes and the climactic fights and carnage in the gladiatorial arena. Cinematography was by Giovanni Vitrotti, Alfredo Donelli, and Curt Courant.


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 633. Photo: Pinto, Roma. Rina de Liguoro as Eunica in Quo Vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 651. Photo: Lilian Hall-Davis as Licia/Lygia in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 662. Photo: Elga Brink as Domitilla in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 663. Photo: Elena Sangro as the Empress Poppaea in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Rina De Liguoro as Eunice in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).

A stellar cast

The historical epic was shot in Rome with a stellar cast of international silent stars. One of the brightest stars of the British silent cinema, Lilian Hall-Davis, and Austrian actor Alphons Fryland played the two young lovers Lygia (Licia in Italian) and Marcus Vinicius.

The German actress Elga Brink appeared as Domitilla. She has a spectacular scene, when, as a Christian martyr, she is first dragged by a chariot through the circus but then manages to climb up the chariot, take the reins and finish the race, to the great joy of the audience. Italian actor André Habay portrayed Marcus' uncle Petronius, Nero's 'arbiter elegantiae', who uses his wit to flatter and mock him at the same time. Italian diva Rina De Liguoro played Petronius' slave Eunice, who later on becomes his mistress and dies with him.

And then there was the famous star of the German silent cinema, Emil Jannings, who was cast as the emperor Nero. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "Jannings tackles the role of Nero with lusty abandon, making this already larger-than-life historical personality even more so." While in the 1913 version Carlo Cattaneo gave a more naive version of Nero, more the victim of his surroundings, Jannings' Nero is clearly a perverse and sadistic man, who enjoys other people's misery, frightens and plays with his courtiers, and hypocritically offers Licia's his help after Vinicius has been too rough to her, only to reveal later on his own real, lustful intentions. It is also clear that the filmmakers gave Jannings a much bigger part in the film than his predecessor or than in the novel. The publicity highlighted his presence as the star of the film, too.


Italian Postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 665. Photo: Bruto Castellani as Ursus in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. Romeo Biagi, Bologna, no. 666. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiana. Alphons Fryland as Vinicius in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 667. Photo: André Habay as Petronius in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 668. Photo: Unione Cinematografica Italiano. Publicity still of Emil Jannings as Nero in Quo vadis? (Georg Jacoby, Gabriellino D'Annunzio, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 669. Photo: Gino Viotti as the lecherous and treacherous Greek Chilo Chilonides in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by Ed. A. Traldi, Milano, no. 670. Photo: Raimondo Van Riel as Nero's evil general Tigellinus in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).

Streaks of sadism and nudity

Quo vadis? had its Roman premiere on 16 March 1925. The producer had tried to equal the earlier version of 1913, adding enormous sets, designed by sculptor and architect Armando Brasini, and streaks of sadism & nudity, some already present in the novel, such as the human torches, others added to attract audiences, e.g. a female fed to Nero's lampreys.

The 1925 version didn't have the worldwide success of Enrico Guazzoni's earlier film. For various reasons, people were a bit bored with epic films and the censor had ordered cuts, such as the too-explicit scenes of orgy, violence and blood gulping. The producer almost went bankrupt over the copyright claims he had to pay.

It didn't help that the lion tamer Alfred Schneider was convicted because one of his circus lions had bitten and killed an extra.

Still a fascinating film, especially for the performances of Emil Jannings as the evil emperor Nero, Elena Sangro as the empress Poppaea and Bruto Castellani as the strong man Ursus. Castellani had performed the role before in the 1913 version of Quo vadis?

Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "Although not as much of a cinematic landmark as the 1913 version of Quo Vadis?, this 1924 Italian adaptation of the Henryk Sienkiewicz best-seller was a splendidly lavish production, not to mention a worldwide box-office success."


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 698/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Emil Jannings as Nero in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 698/3, 1927-1928. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckman. Lillian Hall-Davis as Lygia in Quo Vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 698/4, 1927-1928. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Alphons Fryland as Vinicius in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 698/5, 1927-1928. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckmann. Elga Brink as Domitilla in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 698/7, 1927-1928. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckman. Raimondo van Riel as Tigellinus in Quo Vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 698/8, 1927-1928. Photo: Filmhaus Bruckman. Rina De Liguoro as Eunice in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).

Magnificently restored

Hal Erickson mentions at AllMovie that the subsequent Hollywood popularity of Emil Jannings prompted a reissue of Quo vadis? in 1929. Reportedly, a newly recorded musical score was added.

In 1951, Hollywood made a new version with sound and colour, Quo Vadis (Mervyn LeRoy, 1951). The film starred Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, and Peter Ustinov. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards.

Fifty years later, a Polish adaptation by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Quo Vadis (2001), followed. There was also a 1985 mini-series starring Klaus Maria Brandauer as Nero.

Also in 2001, the Dutch Filmmuseum (now Eye Filmmuseum) in Amsterdam restored the silent 1924 version of Quo vadis?, based on various existing copies. This magnificently restored version had its 're-premiere' at the Bologna film festival Cinema Ritrovato in 2002.



Italian postcard. Photo: UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana). Publicity still of the scene of the kidnapping of Lygia in Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924-1925).


Italian postcard by G.G. Falci, Milano / La Fotominio. Photo: UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana). Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924). Caption: The Christians awaited their martyrdom in ecstasy.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 38. Lilian Hall-Davis as Lygia and Emil Jannings as Nero in Quo Vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


Italian postcard by G.G. Falci, Milano / La Fotominio, no. 156. Photo: UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana). Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924). Caption: Nero offered the spectacle of the human torches.


Italian postcard by G.G. Falci, Milano / La Fotominio, no. 159. Photo: UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana). Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924). Caption: They heard the menacing shouts of the revolting mob. Shown are Emil Jannings as Nero and Raimondo Van Riel as Tigellinus. Actually, the scene refers to Nero's nightmare.


Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano in the Fotominio series, no. 159. Gildo Bocci as Vitellius at Nero's orgy in Quo Vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924).


Italian postcard by G.G. Falci, Milano / La Fotominio, no. 163. Photo: UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana). Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924). Caption: While the Christians were awaiting their turn. In the foreground, Ursus (Bruto Castellani) is guarding Licia (Lilian Hall-Davis). In the background, the light falls on the family of Plautus, Domitilla (Elga Brink) and their son (Marcella Sabatini).


Italian postcard by G.G. Falci, Milano / La Fotominio, no. 165. Photo: UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana). Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924). Caption: Acte and Licia meet again in the catacombs. (But actually, the caption is wrong. Here, Lygia (Lilian Hall-Davis) meets Domitilla (Elga Brink), her husband Plautus (name unknown) and their son. On the right, Ursus (Bruto Castellani).


Italian postcard by G.G. Falci, Milano / La Fotominio, no. 168. Photo: UCI (Unione Cinematografica Italiana). Publicity still for Quo vadis? (Gabriellino D'Annunzio, Georg Jacoby, 1924). Caption: The Christians gathered in the catacombs.

Sources: Vittorio Martinelli, Il cinema muto italiano. I film degli anni venti, 1923-1931, Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Marcin Kukuczka (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

This post at EFSP on Quo vadis? (1924) contains a postcard series published by the Turinese Ed. L'Argentografica.