Paul Leni

Directing

Paul Leni

Born July 8, 1885 · Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Died September 2, 1929 · aged 44

German filmmaker and set designer. He died of sepsis from an untreated tooth infection in 1929 at the age of 44.

Known For

The Man Who LaughsThe Man Who Laughs · 1928
The Man Who Laughs
★ 7.31928
MovieDramaRomance
When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.
WaxworksWaxworks · 1924
Waxworks
★ 6.41924
MovieFantasyHorror
A poet is hired by the owner of a wax museum in a circus to write tales about Harun al Raschid, Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper. While writing, the poet and the daughter of the owner, Eva, fantasize the fantastic stories and fall in love for each other.
The Cat and the CanaryThe Cat and the Canary · 1927
The Cat and the Canary
★ 6.91927
MovieComedyHorror
A group of potential heirs gather in a forbidding old house to learn which of them will inherit a fortune. Later, they learn that a flesh-rending maniac is loose.
The Last WarningThe Last Warning · 1928
The Last Warning
★ 6.71928
MovieHorrorMystery
A story about a haunted old theater where an old Broadway play is being brought back despite threats from the ghost of a dead actor.
Der BlusenkönigDer Blusenkönig · 1917
Der Blusenkönig
1917
MovieComedy
Sally Katz begins a new job as a supervisor in the workshop of a garment maker where the boss's nasty daughter makes him advances. But the girl's father forbids him to flirt back.
Lady HamiltonLady Hamilton · 1921
Lady Hamilton
★ 5.91921
MovieDramaHistory
The married Lady Emma Hamilton has an ill fated romance with Admiral Horatio Nelson.
The Chinese ParrotThe Chinese Parrot · 1927
The Chinese Parrot
★ 10.01927
MovieMysteryCrime
The plot is motivated by a pearl necklace, which has caused the death and/or ruination of all its owners. The second screen appearance of detective Charlie Chan.
The Countess of ParisThe Countess of Paris · 1923
The Countess of Paris
★ 7.01923
MovieComedy

Filmography

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Cab No. 13Cab No. 13 · 1926
Cab No. 13
★ 7.21926
MovieDrama
The film starts with a woman on the run from her millionaire husband giving birth to a daughter in the home of a washerwoman. The woman dies in childbirth, but the baby survives. The washerwoman leaves the baby in a horsedrawn Parisian taxicab (No. 13). The paperwork of the birth is lost in a huge tome. Sixteen years pass. The tome is bought by a poor student. One day his bookshelf collapses, and the tome opens at the page where the paperwork has been hidden. The student realises that the paperwork relates to a millionaire who has spent the last sixteen years looking for his pregnant wife. The student traces the washerwoman, and he tricks her into confessing what she has done with the baby. Meanwhile, the baby has been adopted by the cab driver and his wife, and has grown into Lili Damita.

Art Direction