Bruno Frank facts for kids
Bruno Frank (born June 13, 1887 – died June 20, 1945) was a talented German writer. He wrote many things, including novels, poems, plays, and movie scripts. He was also known as a humanist, which means he believed strongly in human values and kindness.
Life and Work
Frank was born in Stuttgart, a city in Germany. He studied law and philosophy in Munich, where he later worked as a writer.
In 1933, after the Reichstag fire and the rise of the Nazi government, Bruno Frank had to leave Germany. This was because of the difficult political situation and his Jewish background. He and his wife, Liesl, first lived in Austria and England for four years. Then, in 1937, they moved to the United States. There, he met up with his friends, the famous writers Heinrich Mann and Thomas Mann.
Bruno Frank was part of a group of writers known as German Exilliteratur. These were writers who had to leave Germany because they were against the Nazi government. Even while living outside Germany, Frank continued to write. He wrote two more novels and worked in the film industry for the rest of his life.
He helped write the movie script for the popular film The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1939. This movie was directed by William Dieterle and starred Charles Laughton. It was based on a famous novel by Victor Hugo. One of Frank's plays, Sturm im Wasserglas, was also made into a movie in Great Britain in 1937, called Storm in a Teacup. It was later made into another movie in 1960.
Bruno Frank passed away from a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California. He is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Books and Plays
Bruno Frank wrote many different kinds of stories and plays:
- The Days of the King (1924) – a novel
- Trenck (1924) – a novel
- Twelve Thousand (1927) – a play
- Storm Over Patsy (1930) – a funny play
- A Man Called Cervantes (1934) – a historical novel about the famous writer Cervantes
- "The Magician and Other Stories" (1947) – a collection of short stories
- "One Fair Daughter" (1943) – a novel, originally titled Die Tochter in German
Movies Based on His Work
Many of Bruno Frank's stories and plays were turned into movies:
- Different Morals (1931) – based on his play Perlenkomödie
- Storm in a Water Glass (1931) – based on his play Sturm im Wasserglas
- Trenck (1932) – based on his novel Trenck
- Sutter's Gold (1936) – based on one of his plays and a novel by Blaise Cendrars
- Storm in a Teacup (1937) – based on his play Sturm im Wasserglas
- Storm in a Water Glass (1960) – another movie based on his play Sturm im Wasserglas
- Cervantes (1967) – based on his novel Cervantes
Screenwriter
Bruno Frank also helped write the scripts for these movies:
- Peter Voss, Thief of Millions (1932)
- Heart's Desire (1935)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
- Northwest Passage (1940) – he was not officially credited for this one
- A Royal Scandal (1945)
See also
- Exilliteratur
