Zarah Leander

Zarah Leander was the most popular singing movie star during the Nazi period. Born Zarah Hedberg in Sweden, she came up through the ranks of small-town Swedish vaudeville and operetta to establish herself on the Viennese stage by 1935, appearing in Ralph Benatsky's Axel an der Himmelstür. UFA studios in Berlin had lost Marlene Dietrich to Hollywood in 1930, and had since then been seeking a suitable replacement. Although not a strong actress, Zarah Leander's looks combined the sultry sensuality of Dietrich with the Nordic iciness of Greta Garbo. Zarah Leander's singing voice was suitable for Viennese operetta, and from the standpoint of sheer musical talent could certainly outpace what Dietrich had been able to offer in this respect. These aspects of Leander's talent proved enough to convince UFA to sign Leander as a contract player in 1936. She first hit it big with movie audiences in two films directed by Detlef Sierck (later known by his Hollywood name of Douglas Sirk) Zu neuen Ufern (1937) and La Habanera (1937). Sirk had the wisdom to engage composer Ralph Benatsky to write the music for the first of these films, and by the second, had established Leander's basic character of type- an exotic foreign entertainer who, after being duped through some unscrupulous means, manages to recapture her dignity and find fulfillment through a twist of fate. While Sirk fled Nazi Germany not long after La Habanera was completed, this formula was able to sustain Leander's unchallenged popularity in Germany for her next nine features, including huge hits such as Heimat (1938) and Es war eine Rauschende Ballnacht (1939). With Die Grosse Liebe (1942) Leander played against type, and as a result enjoyed her greatest success. She appeared as a music hall entertainer ensnared in a love...