author
Thea von Harbou
1888–1954
Best known for helping shape early German cinema, this novelist and screenwriter wrote the story behind Metropolis and worked on some of the most memorable films of the silent and early sound eras. Her career moved between literature, acting, directing, and screenwriting, leaving a lasting mark on film history.
2 Audiobooks
Metropolis
by Thea von Harbou
Die Flucht der Beate Hoyermann : Roman
by Thea von Harbou
About the author
Born in Bavaria on December 27, 1888, Thea von Harbou became a German novelist, screenwriter, film director, and actress whose work reached a huge audience in the 1920s and 1930s. She is most often remembered for Metropolis—both the 1925 novel and the screenplay for the landmark 1927 film.
She began as a writer and performer, then became deeply involved in the German film industry. Her creative partnership with director Fritz Lang produced several major films, including Metropolis, Woman in the Moon, and M. That body of work helped define the look and ambition of Weimar-era cinema and the transition from silent film to sound.
Von Harbou died in Berlin on July 1, 1954. Today she remains an important, sometimes debated figure in film history: admired for her storytelling imagination and remembered as one of the key writers behind some of Germany’s most influential early movies.