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 coscripted Mother 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, including The Leper (Trędowata, 1936, Juliusz Gardan) and the classic musical comedy The Forgotten Melody (Zapomniana melodia, 1938), which he also codirected with Konrad Tom. During the war, Fethke worked as a director for German film studios. After 1945 he continued his career in Poland. He coscripted (credited as Jean Forge) Aleksander Ford's classic Holocaust drama Border Street (1949). Fethke also directed three films during the period of socialist realist cinema: The Crew (Załoga, 1951), A Matter to Be Settled (Sprawa do załatwienia, 1953, with Jan Rybkowski), and Irena, Go Home! (Irena do domu! 1955). In 1961 he migrated to West Berlin where, among other things, (as Jan Fethge) he produced the script for The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (Tausend Augen des. Dr. Mabuse, 1960), directed by Fritz Lang.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof