Oscar Blumenthal
Oscar Blumenthal in 1905
Born	13 March 1852 Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia
Died	24 April 1917(1917-04-24) (aged 65) Berlin, German Empire
Occupation	Playwright, drama critic
Language	German
Alma mater	Leipzig University
Genre	Theatre, theatre criticism

Oscar Blumenthal or Oskar Blumenthal (13 March 1852 Berlin – 24 April 1917, Berlin) was a German playwright and drama critic.

Biography

Blumenthal was educated at the gymnasium and the university of his native town, and at Leipzig University, where he received the degree of doctor of philosophy in 1872. After having been editor of the Deutsche Dichterhalle in Leipzig, he founded in 1873 the Neue Monatshefte für Dichtkunst und Kritik. In 1875 Blumenthal moved to Berlin, where he became theatrical critic of the Berliner Tageblatt, holding this position until 1887, when he opened the Lessing Theater, of which he was director till 1898. From 1894 to 1895 he was also director of the Berliner Theater. From 1898 he was engaged exclusively in literary work.

Blumenthal was well known as a critic and playwright. His critiques in the feuilletons of the newspapers sparkle with humour, at the same time doing justice to authors and actors. Because of their sharpness he was sometimes called "bloody Oscar". His plays have had merited success, and many of them were well received at the leading German theaters. Together with Gustav Kadelburg he wrote several comedies like the famous The White Horse Inn. As a researcher in literature he became famous for his edition of the works of Christian Dietrich Grabbe. He also was successful a theatrical manager.

Blumenthal is also known for his humorous short poems, for example:

Literary works

Blumenthal is the author of many plays and novels, among which may be mentioned:

• Allerhand Ungezogenheiten, Leipzig, 1874, 5th ed., 1877;
• Für alle Wagen- und Menschenklassen, ib. 1875;
• Bummelbriefe, Danzig, 1880;
• Merkzettel, 1898;
• Verbotene Stücke, 1900;
• Gesammelte Epigramme, 1890
• He also edited Grabbes Werke und handschriftlicher Nachlass, ib. 1878.

Filmography

• Is Matrimony a Failure?, directed by James Cruze (1922, based on the play Die Tür ins Freie)
• The White Horse Inn, directed by Richard Oswald (1926, based on the play The White Horse Inn)
• When I Came Back, directed by Richard Oswald (1926, based on the play Als ich wiederkam)
• The Long Intermission, directed by Carl Froelich (1927, based on the play Die große Pause)
• The White Horse Inn, directed by Karel Lamač (1935, based on the operetta The White Horse Inn)
• White Horse Inn, directed by Benito Perojo (Argentina, 1948, based on the operetta The White Horse Inn)
• The White Horse Inn, directed by Willi Forst (1952, based on the operetta The White Horse Inn)
• The White Horse Inn, directed by Werner Jacobs (1960, based on the operetta The White Horse Inn)
• Summer in Tyrol, directed by Erik Balling (Denmark, 1964, based on the operetta The White Horse Inn)
• The White Horse Inn, directed by Christian Theede (2013, based on the operetta The White Horse Inn)

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Isidore Singer & Frederick T. Haneman (1901–1906). "Blumenthal, Oskar". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
• Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Blumenthal, Oskar" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.

External links

• Oscar Blumenthal at the Internet Broadway Database
• Oscar Blumenthal in the German National Library catalogue

  (see image) Oskar Blumenthal

• "Blumenthal, Oskar" . Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.