Alwin Neuss

German actor and director Alwin Neuss (1879-1935) started his film career at the pioneering Nordisk studio in Denmark. He was known for playing Sherlock Holmes in a series of silent films during the 1910s.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K.1439. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K.1442. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K.1482. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K.1507. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K.1709. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Carl Alwin Heinrich Neuss was born in 1879 in Cologne, Germany. He was the son of a government official. Neuss made his stage debut in 1895 in Cologne at the Sommerbühne Flora, followed by engagements in Bremen, Magdeburg, Innsbruck, Breslau and Dresden. From 1903 he was a member of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, with whom he undertook tours in several European countries.

He began his film career in early Danish cinema. For the Nordisk studio, he played a spy in August Blom’s silent film Spionen fra Tokio/The Red Light (1910). He appeared in the double role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the horror film Den skæbnesvangre opfindelse/Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (August Blom, 1910), one of the first adaptations of the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. He also appeared as Sherlock Holmes in another Nordisk production, Den stjaalne millionobligation/The Stolen Legacy (1911). That year, he also featured in Hamlet (August Blom, 1911) based on the play by William Shakespeare.

He moved on to the new German film company Atlantic-Film Aarhus GmbH, for which he started to make films like Seine erste Liebe/His first Love (Alwin Neuss, 1911), and Alwin auf der Hochzeitsreise/Alwin on Honeymoon (Alwin Neuss, 1911), both with Dorrit Weixler.

He returned as Sherlock Holmes in Der Hund von Baskerville/Hound of the Baskervilles (Rudolf Meinert, 1914) with Hanni Weisse. It was the first film adaptation of the famed Arthur Conan Doyle novel.

Films based on mystery novels were very successful in German cinema at the time and Der Hund von Baskerville was so successful, it spawned five more films: Das einsame Haus/The Isolated House (Rudolf Meinert, 1914), Das unheimliche Zimmer/The eerie room (Richard Oswald, 1915), Die Sage vom Hund von Baskerville/The legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles (Richard Oswald, 1915), Dr. MacDonalds Sanatorium (Willy Zeyn, 1920), and Das Haus ohne Fenster/The house without windows (Willy Zeyn, 1920). Ness played Holmes in the first three sequels but was replaced in the last two by Erich Kaiser-Titz.


German postcard by NPG, no. 822. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin.


German postcard by NPG (Neue Photographische Gesellschaft), no. 823. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 502/3. Photo: Decla. Publicity still for Die Faust des Schicksals/Fist of Doom (Alwin Neuss, 1917) with Ressel Orla.


German postcard in the Film-Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 502/4. Photo: Decla. Alwin Neuss in Das Deficit aka Das Defizit (Alwin Neuss, 1917).


German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin, no. 3232.


German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 7126. Photo: Decla-Film. On the back a stamp of U.T.-Lichtspiele, Barmen [Wuppertal], Cleferstrasse.


German postcard by Verlag Hermann Wolff, Berlin, no. F 128. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.

Fritz Lang

Alwin Neuss moved on to the Decla studio, where he directed himself in many films. These included Dynamit/Dynamite (Alwin Neuss, 1916) with Bruno Kastner, Die Spinne/The Spider (Alwin Neuss, 1917), and Das Spiel vom Tode/The game of death (Alwin Neuss, 1917) with Käthe Haack. In several films, he played the detective Tom Shark like in Das Licht im Dunkeln/The light in the dark (Alwin Neuss, 1916).

After the war, Alwin Neuss directed the Leo Tolstoy adaptation Lebendig tot/Living dead (Alwin Neuss, 1918) starring Lil Dagover. With Dagover, he also appeared in Bettler GmbH/Beggars Ltd. (Alwin Neuss, 1919), which was written by Fritz Lang. Lang also wrote Die Rache ist mein/Vengeance is Mine (Alwin Neuss, 1919).

During the 1920s, his fame began to fade and Neuss only appeared in a few films, including Auf Befehl der Pompadour/On the command of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924) with Lya Mara.

His last films were two sound films. In Der Tanz ins Glück/Dance Into Happiness (Max Nosseck, 1930), he played a supporting part. In Das alte Lied/The Old Song (Erich Waschneck, 1930), starring Lil Dagover, he only had a small part.

His final film as a director had been the silent production Strassenbekanntschaften/Street acquaintances (Josef Medeotti-Bohác, Alwin Neuss, 1929). Then he returned to the theatre. Alwin Neuss died in 1935 in Berlin, Germany. He was 56. Alwin Neuss was married to Anna Klara Warczok.


German postcard in the Film Sterne Series by Rotophot, no. 83/1. Photo: Karl Schenker, Berlin / Decla-Film.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 83/2. Photo: Karl Schenker, Berlin.


German postcard in the Film-Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 83/3. Photo: Karl Schenker / Decla.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 83/4. Photo: Karl Schenker, Berlin.


German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 83/5. Photo: Ostermayr, München / Decla.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 916/4, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus-Film AG / Zelnik-Mara Film.

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Filmportal.de, Wikipedia and IMDb.

Der Cowboy (1918)

Der Cowboy/The Cowboy (1918) is one of the first German wild west films ever. Star and director was Alwin Neuss, who was known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He was influenced by such American Western stars as William S. Hart and Tom Mix. The silent film was produced by Erich Pommer for the Decla Studio and was made in the Eiko film studio in Berlin-Marienfelde.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K.1835. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin. Alwin Neuss on a publicity still for Der Cowboy (Alwin Neuss, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K 1439. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K.1440. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin. Alwin Neuss in Der Cowboy/The Cowboy (Alwin Neuss, 1918).

A cowboy at the castle

The script of Der Cowboy/The Cowboy (Alwin Neuss, 1918) was written by the Austrian actor and author Max Jungk. German Wikipedia offers the storyline: Fred Hagenow, a German gentleman, runs a large farm on Java. One day he travels to New York City to visit Gerd von Rauenstein (Alwin Neuss), the son of an old friend (Max Laurence). He learns from his friend that Gerd recently made an ominous acquaintance with a certain Baroness von Wartenberg, a fraudulent adventurer who has murdered men.

When Gerd, who had been rejected by his father because of this improper acquaintance, caught her 'in flagranti' with a rival, he drew a gun to shoot the competitor. Obviously, he then stopped himself from the murder and then fled to America to make a fresh start there as a cowboy. Fred invites Gerd to follow him to his farm, where he could be useful. That's what happens.

Fred connects behind Gerd's back with old Von Rauenstein's lawyer to find out whether a reconciliation between father and son would be possible. The lawyer asks Fred to send Gerd home as soon as possible since the old man is dying and Gerd von Rauenstein is the only heir. Gerd swings into the saddle and starts to ride to the next port. But a bad guy strikes him out of the ambush. His name is Hollmann (also Alwin Neuss), he is a cousin of Gerds and he wants to take advantage of the striking resemblance to his cousin in order to enjoy the inheritance himself. Hollmann steals from the wounded Gerd the documents that can prove his identity and leaves.

While Gerd, who has promptly lost his memory due to the grazing shot on the head, is being well cared for on the farm, Hollmann goes to Rauenstein Castle to deceive the old man as a false son and to take over the inheritance. Hollmann quickly swings himself up as the new gentleman on Rauenstein and has also cast an eye on the neighbouring landlord's daughter Eulalia, who had previously been adored by Gerd.

Gerd has a fragmentary memory, only suddenly he believes that he is Hollmann and should take over the small inheritance of the windy, villainous cousin, whose mother has passed away. It is only when he has all his senses back together that he realises that Cousin Hollmann has obviously pushed him away as the legitimate heir of Rauenstein Castle.

Gerd tries to confront the usurper. He comes across Eulalia, who admits that she, too, has long seen through the wrong Gerd alias Hollmann. Both make a plan to expose and get rid of the villain. At a lavish castle festival, Hollmann disguises himself as a cowboy to give truth to his past life. A second man appears in cowboy disguise and with a mask. He unmasks himself and reveals himself as a true Gerd von Rauenstein. Hollmann is unmasked, flees to an adjacent room and shoots himself.


German postcard in the Film-Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 545/1. Photo: Decla. Alwin Neuss in Der Cowboy/The Cowboy (Alwin Neuss, 1918).


German postcard in the Film-Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 545/2. Photo: Decla. Alwin Neuss in Der Cowboy/The Cowboy (Alwin Neuss, 1918).


German postcard in the Film-Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 545/3. Photo: Decla. Alwin Neuss in Der Cowboy/The Cowboy (Alwin Neuss, 1918).


German postcard in the Film-Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 545/4. Photo: Decla. Alwin Neuss in Der Cowboy/The Cowboy (Alwin Neuss, 1918).


German postcard in the Film-Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 545/5. Photo: Decla. Alwin Neuss in Der Cowboy/The Cowboy (Alwin Neuss, 1918).

Sources: Wikipedia (German) and The German Early Cinema Database.

This post was last updated on 24 March 2023.