Karl Stepanek
Born Oct 27, 1899 · Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]
Though born in Czechoslovakia, actor Karel Stepanek was generally regarded as a German actor due to his extensive film work in Germany (as Karl Stepanek) in the years before World War II. Stepanek fled to England in 1940, where, like many European refugee actors, he specialized in portraying Teutonic villains. He tried to stay away from out-and-out Nazi roles, but his predilection for wearing black uniforms and barking out guttural commands left little doubt as to the political preferences of Stepanek's screen characters. One of his most typical characterizations could be found in the 1946 POW drama, The Captive Heart; Stepanek also registered well as a friendlier foreigner in The Fallen Idol (1949). Commuting between London and Hollywood, Karel Stepanek continued to fight World War II, usually on the wrong side, into such '60s films as Sink the Bismarck! (1960), I Aim at the Stars (1960) and Operation Crossbow (1965).
Known for
The Games
1970
The File of the Golden Goose
1969
Before Winter Comes
1969
Murderers Club of Brooklyn
1967
The Frozen Dead
1966
Sperrbezirk
1966
Operation Crossbow
1965
The Heroes of Telemark
1965
Licensed to Kill
1965
Devil Doll
1964
Das Kriminalmuseum
1963
Sink the Bismarck!
1960
Our Man in Havana
1960
Brainwashed
1960
No Hiding Place
1959
Operation Amsterdam
1959
West of Suez
1957
Armchair Theatre
1956
Anastasia
1956
The Man in the Road
1956
A Prize of Gold
1955
Man of the Moment
1955
Secret Venture
1955
Tale of Three Women
1954
Dangerous Cargo
1954
City Beneath the Sea
1953
Never Let Me Go
1953
Rough Shoot
1953
Affair in Trinidad
1952
Walk East on Beacon
1952
No Highway in the Sky
1951
The Third Visitor
1951
State Secret
1950
Cairo Road
1950
The Third Man
1949
Conspirator
1949
Golden Arrow
1949
Give Us This Day
1949
The Fallen Idol
1948
Counterblast
1948
Broken Journey
1948
The Captive Heart
1946
They Met in the Dark
1943
Escape to Danger
1943
Tomorrow We Live
1943
Secret Mission
1942
Our Film
1942
Alles Schwindel
1940
Three Fathers for Anna
1939
War es der im 3. Stock?
1939
Another Experience
1939
Hotel Sacher
1939
The Leghorn Hat
1939
Narren im Schnee
1938
The Bat
1937
Stronger Than Paragraphs
1936
The Unknown
1936
Na růžích ustláno
1935
Pozdní láska
1935
Der Außenseiter
1935
The Grey Pikes Wharf
1935
Waltz War
1933
A Song for You
1933
Five from the Jazzband
1932
Spione im Savoy-Hotel
1932
Here's Berlin
1932
Berlin-Alexanderplatz: The Story of Franz Biberkopf
1931