Film Stills & Press Photos

The two most common B&W film stills issued by German film studios prior to 1945 were 21.75 cm X 27.50 cm (or approximately 8 1/2  inches x 11 inches) or the smaller press photos, which were 12 cm X 17 cm (or approximately 5 inches X 7 inches) in size. All photos were approved for public distribution by the Berlin Reichsfilmprüfstelle, or the Reich Film Censorship Board. Approved photos for distribution within Greater Germany were  marked with the censor's stamp (a printed eagle and swastika and censor's approval) or embossed with the censor stamp by crimping the photo itself; or the photos had no censor stamp but had the film's cast sheet and remarks glued to the reverse side of the photo, which were the copies meant for the media and therefore not in general circulation. Press photo sets often included behind–the–scene shots of the film in productiuon, the Director at work, and casual shots; as well as film scenes.

Just like the film posters, film studio stills and press photos were not sold to the public, nor were they sold to the cinemas. They were rented to the cinemas and had to be returned to the studio after the film's screen run, or a fine applied.  That is why the majority of film posters and stills have pinholes and are in less than excellent condition, and why most of them are so scarce.

We also have two interesting Tobis Filmkunst publications from 1940/41 called "Maternfahne" which are brochures which fold out horizontally (A4) and the pages present "Interessante Photos  aus kommenden Filme;" such as Bismarck, Kopf hoch, Johannes!, DIII88, Kampfgeschwader Lützow, Mein Leben für Irland, Robert Koch, Trenck der Pandur, and Leinen aus Irland; amongst others. The photos are all dot matrix –– so ready for placement in newspapers –– and have captions printed under each of them. These photos also eventually appeared in the actual pressbooks of each individual film, but in this type of forthcoming films brochure, provided cinema owners with a preview of coming attractions which they could publicise in their city

The Gillespie Collection has over 800 original stills and press photos from over 100 films, too numerous to list here in detail .  Amongst the most notable films with at least 10 original photos   are:

• Alcazar (Genina) – 18 lobby cards and press photos

• Annelie – 20 lobby cards and three press photos.

• Besatzung Dora (1943, banned) – 14 lobby cards (AHFs) and eight press photographs, ten behind–the–scene private snapshots taken in October 1942 in the Soviet Union during filming at Gostkino Fliegerhorst and the Russian village Ropti.

• Bismarck – 30 press photos and 5 lobby cards

• Capriccio  – 1 lobby card and 11 press photos

• Carl Peters – 56 stills and press photos ( including two rare  Agfacolor diapositives - one is seen above, right)

• DIII88  – 9 lobby cards and 11 press photos

• Das unsterbliche Herz – 48 stills

• Der ewige Jude – 8 lobby cards, 2 press photos

• Der 5. Juni – 24 stills (the film was forbidden and never released)

• Der Fuchs von Glenarvon – 24 stills

• Der Große König – 18 stills and 6 press photos

• Der junge und große König – 42 stills

• Der Störenfried – 25 stills (NS cartoon-see here.)

• Der verlorene Sohn – 31 stills

• Der verzauberte Tag – 33 stills + 12 press photos  ( the film forbidden and not shown in the Third Reich)

• Der zerbrochene Krug – 21 stills

• Die Degenhardts – 38 stills and 5 press photos

• Die goldene Spinne – 25  stills

• Die goldene Stadt (12 colour lobby cards)

• Die große Liebe – 15 stills

• Die Reiter von Deutsche–Ostafrika – 43 stills

• Die Rothschilds– 12 stills + 2 press photos

• Diesel – 20 stills + one lightbox colourised lobby card

• Ein Robinson – 23 lobby cards and 32 private Fanck family photos taken during the Chilean expedition

• Ewiger Wald – 22 stills 

• Frauen für Golden Hill – 19 stills and press photos

• Fronttheater – 19 stills and press photos (also behind-the-scenes photos from a Luftwaffe technician assigned to the film in Athens.)

• GPU – 22 stills and press photos

• Gepheu (GPU, Italy) – 23 lobby cards

• GPU ( a/k/a The Red Terror, USA-UK post-war release)  – 14 lobby cards  - film title printed in English.

• Hans Westmar  – 6 German + 4 Italian lobby cards

• Heimkehr (Ucicky) – 35 stills and press photos

• Henker – Frauen – Soldaten  – 14 stills + 5 Dreharbeit snapshots

• Ich klage an  – 30 stills

• In der roten Hölle / Carmen fra i Rossi / Frente de Madrid – 13 stills

• Jakko – 50  stills and press photos

• Jud Süß – 41 stills and press photos and the two rare colour film sheets (Dia) shown below.

• Junge Adler – 32 stills and 5 press photos

• Junge Herzen – 14 lobby cards

• Kadetten – 30 stills, 41 press photos and 10 behind-the-scenes photos

• Kampfgeschwader Lützow – 16 lobby cards & 31 press photos

• Kolberg – 5 original Ufa press photos and 23 private snapshots taken by an extra  – Heinz Reickehr  –  between 6 and 16 June 1944 on the set.

• Kopf hoch, Johannes! – 21 stills and press photos, 1 behind-the-scenes photo

• Leinen aus Irland – 26 stills

• Michelangelo (Carl Oertel documentary) – 15 stills

• Morgenrot –25 stills and 11 press photos

• Ohm Krüger – 73 stills and press photos

• Olympia – 78 stills and 5 press photos

• Paracelsus – 29 stills

• Patrioten  – 15 lobby cards and 67 press photos

• Pour le Mérite – 69 stills and press photos

• ...reitet für Deutschland   14 stills and press photos

• Rembrandt – 25 stills and one press photo.

• Serenade – 70 stills

• Sieg im Westen – 26 lobby cards, 2 press photos

• Sommernächte (Ritter, 1944) –7 lobby cards,  10 press photos, 2 behind–the–scenes photos of Karl Ritter directing.
  
  

• SOS Eisberg – 13 lobbycards and press photos; 10 behind-the-scenes photos

• Stoßtrupp 1917 – 37 stills

• Stradivari – 24 stills

• Stukas – 85 stills and press photos

• Titanic – 13  stills

• U–Boote–westwärts! – 78 stills and press phoptos

• Über alles in der Welt – 64 stills and press photos

• Unternehmen Michael – 20 stills + 1 Dreharbeit still.

• Urlaub auf Ehrenwort – 59 stills and press photos and the two rare colour film sheets (Dia).

• Venus vor Gericht – 68 stills and press photos.

• Verräter – 33 stills and press photos

• Via Mala – 13 stills  

• Vision am See (Hungarian) – 13 stills

• Weiße Sklaven – 39  stills and two press photos

• Wunschkonzert – 31 stills

• Zwei Welten (Gründgens) – 17 stills and 2 colour film sheets (Dia)

Deulig TonWoche stills:

• Nr. 390/39

• Nr. 391/39

• Nr. 392/39

Tobis Wochenschau:

• Nr.46

Ufaton–Woche

• Ufaton–Woche #156

• Ufaton–Woche #228

• Ufaton–Woche #254

• Ufaton-Woche #460/39

• Ufaton-Woche #461/39

• Ufaton-Woche #467

• Ufaton-Woche #471

Deustche Wochenschau stills:

• DW-#47 

• DW - B27(1941)

• DW -#D459/U528

• DW -#D464/U533

• DW -#D468/U537

• DW -#D469/U538

• DW -#D470/U539

• DW -#D471/U540

• DW -#D472/U541

• DW -#D473/U542

• DW -#D476/U545

• DW-#U567

• DW-#U569

• DW-#U570

• NOTE: In April 2019 we acquired 232 Ufa-Tonwoche and Deutsche Wochenschau stills. Rather than list them one by one on this page, we reproduce here the Index sheet for those newsreel stills: