Urban Gad

Directing

Urban Gad

Born February 12, 1879 · Korsør, Denmark

Died December 26, 1947 · aged 68

Peter Urban Gad was a Danish director who worked mostly in Germany, directing 40 films between 1910 and 1927. From 1912 to 1918 he was married to his leading lady Asta Nielsen, who starred in 30 of his productions. Gad directed both the first feature-length Danish film (Den sorte drøm 1911) and the first feature-length German film (Die Verräterin 1911).

Known For

The SuffragetteThe Suffragette · 1913
The Suffragette
5.21913
MovieDrama
Nelly's mother is a suffragette and persuades her daughter to join the good cause. Placing a bomb under Lord William's chair love develops between the two.
A Romany SpyA Romany Spy · 1912
A Romany Spy
6.31912
MovieDrama
Gypsy girl Zidra falls in love with the lieutenant she is supposed to spy on.
The Strange BirdThe Strange Bird · 1911
The Strange Bird
4.71911
MovieDramaRomance
The English landowner Wolton has gone on a fishing trip in the Spreewald with his daughter May. They meet fellow Englishman Bruce, who falls head over heels in love with the beautiful May and plans to make her his wife before their holiday is over. However, there is just one problem: May has only eyes for the young boatman Max. Bruce finds an ally in Max’s girlfriend, Grete, and together they do everything in their power to stop the budding love affair. A war of love with a fatal outcome.
The AbyssThe Abyss · 1910
The Abyss
6.31910
MovieDrama
Magda, a piano teacher, meets Knud, a parson’s son, who invites her to spend the summer at his parents’ parsonage. When a travelling circus stops in the village, Magda leaves the meek Knud for the dashing circus rider Rudolf. But circus life with Rudolf quickly turns out to be anything but happy, and Magda comes to a tragic end.
Gypsy BloodGypsy Blood · 1911
Gypsy Blood
9.01911
MovieDrama
Jonna cheats on her husband with a chauffeur and is discovered by her husband. After the divorce, she falls into a life of theft and poverty until her daughter helps her reconcile with her ex.
Christian Wahnschaffe I: WeltbrandChristian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand · 1920
Christian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand
10.01920
MovieDrama
Weltbrand is the first part of the two-part silent movie Christian Wahnschaffe.
The TraitressThe Traitress · 1911
The Traitress
4.51911
MovieWarDrama
A woman betrays the regiment location in which the officer she is interested in is assigned because he despises her, only to regret it when he is caught and try to free him.
Der TotentanzDer Totentanz · 1912
Der Totentanz
5.01912
MovieDrama
Bella is married to engineer Burk who meets with an accident. To provide an income she starts as a performer, but happen to meet an infatuated, intriguing composer. On the brink of marital ruin, she kills the composer.

Filmography

Sort
Little AngelLittle Angel · 1914
Little Angel
6.11914
Movie
Engelein is a comedy of deliberately mistaken identity. If Jesta, a 17-year-old, can play the part of a 12-year-old, her family will gain a large inheritance from a rich uncle from Chicago. Her unruly “play-acting” for the uncle is preceded by an earlier incident in the film that results in Jesta being evicted from her girl’s school. Wearing a long, woman’s skirt, she climbs up a ladder and onto a thatched roof. She reaches over the top of the wall to kiss her boyfriend, who appears from the other side. However, Jesta is caught by the headmistress, and her forced descent is precipitous. Pulled downward, she reveals a great deal of a black-stockinged leg. She looks distinctly sexual as she falls into the matrimonly arms of the law, whose duty is to enforce the rules of female decorum.

Director