FETHKE, JAN

(1903-1980)

A Polish-German scriptwriter and director born in Upper Silesia, Fethke worked for UFA (Universum Film AG) in the 1920s and published novels in Esperanto under the pseudonym Jean Forge. He coscriptedMother Krause's Journey to Happiness(Mutter Krauses Fahrt ins Gluck, 1929), a proletarian melodrama directed by Piel Jutzi. In the mid-1930s, he moved to Warsaw where he worked as a scriptwriter and, later, as a film director. He wrote scripts for several classic prewar films, includingThe Leper(Trędowata, 1936,Juliusz Gardan) and the classic musicalcomedyThe Forgotten Melody(Zapomniana melodia, 1938), which he also codirected withKonrad Tom. During the war, Fethke worked as a director for Germanfilm studios. After 1945 he continued his career in Poland. He coscripted (credited as Jean Forge)Aleksander Ford's classicHolocaustdramaBorder Street(1949). Fethke also directed three films during the period ofsocialist realist cinema:The Crew(Załoga, 1951),A Matter to Be Settled(Sprawa do załatwienia, 1953, withJan Rybkowski), andIrena, Go Home! (Irena do domu! 1955). In 1961 he migrated to West Berlin where, among other things, (as Jan Fethge) he produced the script forThe Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse(Tausend Augen des. Dr. Mabuse, 1960), directed by Fritz Lang.