FRIEDRICH WILHELM MURNAU - PHOTOGRAPH UNSIGNED - HFSID 9019845

[FRIEDRICH WILHELM MURNAU]
Reproduction of a vintage photograph of the famed German director.
Photograph, unsigned. B/w with sepia hue, 8x10. Photograph by a Rio de Janeiro photographer (stamped on verso). Imprinted signature at lower margin. One of the most influential directors of the silent film era, German-born Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (1888-1931), born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe, directed his first film, Der Knabe in Blau (The Child in Blue) in 1919, after he had served as a combat pilot during WWI. Three years later, his most famous film, Nosferatu, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, resulted in Stoker's estate suing for copyright infringement. In 1925, Murnau directed another of his famous films, The Last Laugh, which starred Emil Jannings. Murnau emigrated to Hollywood in 1926, shortly after he made his last German film, Faust. After joining Fox Studios, he made a number of films, including the acclaimed Sunrise (1927). The film won the Academy Awrd for Unique and Artistic Production (the equivalent of today's Best Picture) at the first Oscar ceremony in 1928. Murnau died in an automobile accident in 1931, the year that his controversial film, Tabu, which included images of bare-breasted "Polynesian" women, was released. Surface creased, touching facial image. Chipped and worn at corners. ¼-inch tears at upper left and lower right edges. Defects from original negative have reproduced on print, including facial image. Ink notes (unknown hand) on verso (no show through). Overall, fair condition.