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Manfred Noa

Manfred Noa was a German film director. Noa was described by Vilma Bánky, who he directed twice, as her "favourite director". Noa's 1924 film Helena has been called his "masterpiece" although it was so expensive that it seriously damaged the finances of its production company Bavaria Film.

Last revised
Jul 21, 2026
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≈ 2 min
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Manfred Noa
Born22 March 1893
Died5 December 1930(1930-12-05) (aged 37)
OccupationFilm director
Years active1916 - 1930
RelativesLoo Hardy (sister)

Manfred Noa (22 March 1893 – 5 December 1930) was a German film director. Noa was described by Vilma Bánky, who he directed twice, as her "favourite director".1 Noa's 1924 film Helena has been called his "masterpiece" although it was so expensive that it seriously damaged the finances of its production company Bavaria Film.2

A film and art director later specialised in historical films,3 Noa is perhaps best known today for his 1922 film Nathan the Wise, an adaptation of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's 1779 play of the same title, which made a plea for religious tolerance.4 He was the third husband of the actress Eva May, who was the daughter of his fellow director Joe May and actress Mia May.5 Noa died 5 December 1930 in Berlin of peritonitis.

Selected filmography

References

References

  1. Schildgen p.42
  2. Schildgen p.42
  3. Santini, Daria (2019-09-05). The Exiles: Actors, Artists and Writers Who Fled the Nazis for London. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78673-628-4.
  4. Hoberman, J. (2010). Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds. UPNE. ISBN 978-1-58465-870-2.
  5. Barton, Ruth (2010-08-13). Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Woman in Film. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-3991-3.
Bibliography

Bibliography

  • Eisner, Lotte H. The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt. University of California Press, 2008.
  • Kester, Bernadette. Film Front Weimar: Representations of the First World War in German films of the Weimar Period (1919-1933). Amsterdam University Press, 2003.
  • Prawer, S.S. Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933. Berghahn Books, 2007.
  • Schildgen, Rachel A. More Than A Dream: Rediscovering the Life and Films of Vilma Banky. 1921 PVG Publishing, 2010.
External links