John Wengraf

John Wengraf

Birthday: 1897-04-22

Deathday: 1974-05-04

Place of birth: Vienna, Austria-Hungary, now Austria

Also known as:

imdb_id: nm0920987

Biography:

Emigrating to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power, Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films there, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television shows ever presented but his career began to languish. In late 1941, however, he had the good fortune of appearing on Broadway with Helen Hayes in "Candle in the Wind" and decided to stay. The following year he headed west and settled permanently in the Los Angeles area. A dark, cold-eyed, thin-lipped player with a precise, meticulous air about him, he found himself invariably playing the very characters he detested. Some of his more nefarious nasties surfaced in such films as the Humphrey Bogart classic Sahara (1943/I), as well as The Boy from Stalingrad (1943), U-Boat Prisoner (1944) and Till We Meet Again (1944). In postwar years, he was often spotted portraying ethnic professionals (scientists, doctors, professors, foreign royalty). Some of the more quality pictures he enhanced were Tomorrow Is Forever (1946); Count Von Papen in 5 Fingers (1952); and Ronchin in the Ethel Merman musical Call Me Madam (1953). Although Wengraf never made it to the very top of the Hollywood character ranks, he remained a throughly strong and reliable player. In the 1950s and 1960s he transferred his talents to TV, appearing on a number of dramatic showcases and on such popular programs as "The Untouchables" (1959), "Hawaiian Eye" (1959), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) and "The Time Tunnel" (1966). His last few films included minor roles in the war-themed Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Hitler (1962) and Ship of Fools (1965). He retired in 1966, and died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 77, on May 4, 1974.

Played in movies:

Judgment at Nuremberg

Score: 8.0

All Hands

Score: 8.0

5 Fingers

Score: 7.6

Night Train to Munich

Score: 7.2

Sailors Three

Score: 7.2

Sahara

Score: 7.2

The Razor's Edge

Score: 6.9

T-Men

Score: 6.8

The Gambler from Natchez

Score: 6.8

The Prize

Score: 6.8

The Seventh Cross

Score: 6.7

Ship of Fools

Score: 6.5

Never Say Goodbye

Score: 6.5

The Desert Rats

Score: 6.3

Strange Affair

Score: 6.2

Hell and High Water

Score: 6.1

Tomorrow Is Forever

Score: 6.1

Till We Meet Again

Score: 6.0

The Racers

Score: 6.0

U-Boat Prisoner

Score: 6.0

Lucky Jordan

Score: 6.0

Week-End at the Waldorf

Score: 6.0

The Pride and the Passion

Score: 6.0

Oh, Men! Oh, Women!

Score: 5.8

Sofia

Score: 5.7

Hitler

Score: 5.7

Portrait in Black

Score: 5.7

Gog

Score: 5.7

Wake of the Red Witch

Score: 5.6

Sealed Verdict

Score: 5.5

The Return of Dracula

Score: 5.5

Convoy

Score: 5.4

Mission to Moscow

Score: 5.3

The Disembodied

Score: 4.4

The French Line

Score: 4.2

Valerie

Score: 4.1

Paris Playboys

Score: 4.0

The Lovable Cheat

Score: 4.0

Tropic Zone

Score: 3.7

12 to the Moon

Score: 2.5

Bretter, die die Welt bedeuten

Score: 0.0

Dangerous Comment

Score: 0.0

The Moon in the Yellow River

Score: 0.0

The Boy from Stalingrad

Score: 0.0

Played in tv shows:

The Time Tunnel

Score: 7.6

The Rogues

Score: 7.2

The Third Man

Score: 7.1

77 Sunset Strip

Score: 6.7

Jericho

Score: 6.5

Lux Video Theatre

Score: 6.3

Lux Video Theatre

Score: 6.3

Four Star Playhouse

Score: 6.3

Telephone Time

Score: 6.3

General Electric Theater

Score: 6.3

Bat Masterson

Score: 6.1

One Step Beyond

Score: 5.6

The Detectives

Score: 5.6

One Step Beyond

Score: 5.6

Hawaiian Eye

Score: 5.2

The Walter Winchell File

Score: 5.0

Matinee Theater

Score: 5.0

The Millionaire

Score: 5.0

Bourbon Street Beat

Score: 5.0

Cavalcade of America

Score: 3.5

Cavalcade of America

Score: 3.5

Dangerous Assignment

Score: 3.5

Cavalcade of America

Score: 3.5

Behind Closed Doors

Score: 0.0

Panic!

Score: 0.0