Karl Stepanek
Known for: Acting
Born: October 27, 1899
Died: December 25, 1980
Place of birth: 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).
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Filmography
70 movies · 4 TV shows, newest first
NR
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
2003
7.4
The Games
1970
5.7
The File of the Golden Goose
1969
6.0
Before Winter Comes
1969
8.8
Murderers Club of Brooklyn
1967
5.2
The Frozen Dead
1966
4.3
Sperrbezirk
1966
6.9
The Heroes of Telemark
1965
7.0
Licensed to Kill
1965
6.7
Operation Crossbow
1965
4.7
Devil Doll
1964NR
Aufstand der Gehorsamen
1963
8.0
Das Kriminalmuseum
1963
7.1
Brainwashed
1960
6.8
Sink the Bismarck!
1960
6.7
Our Man in Havana
1960
4.8
No Hiding Place
1959
6.1
Operation Amsterdam
19599.0
Overseas Press Club - Exclusive!
1957
9.0
West of Suez
1957
7.6
The Traitor
1957
6.8
Anastasia
1956
6.0
Armchair Theatre
1956
7.0
The Man in the Road
1956
6.6
Man of the Moment
1955
5.9
The Cockleshell Heroes
1955
6.5
Secret Venture
1955
5.7
A Prize of Gold
1955
6.4
Dangerous Cargo
1954
10.0
Tale of Three Women
1954
5.1
City Beneath the Sea
1953
6.7
Rough Shoot
1953
5.9
Never Let Me Go
1953
6.4
Affair in Trinidad
1952
5.3
Walk East on Beacon
1952
7.0
No Highway in the Sky
1951
6.2
The Third Visitor
1951
6.9
State Secret
1950
6.4
Cairo Road
1950
7.0
Golden Arrow
1949
5.7
Give Us This Day
1949
7.9
The Third Man
1949
5.8
Conspirator
1949
7.2
The Fallen Idol
1948
6.3
Counterblast
1948
6.1
Broken Journey
1948
6.4
The Captive Heart
1946
8.0
Escape to Danger
1943
6.3
They Met in the Dark
1943
6.6
Tomorrow We Live
1943
4.5
Secret Mission
1942
NR
Our Film
1942
7.0
Alles Schwindel
1940
6.0
Three Fathers for Anna
1939
7.5
The Leghorn Hat
1939
7.0
Hotel Sacher
1939
7.0
Another Experience
1939
9.0
War es der im 3. Stock?
1939
7.0
Narren im Schnee
19387.0
Klatovští dragouni
1938
4.3
The Bat
1937
7.5
The Unknown
1936
7.0
Stronger Than Paragraphs
1936
7.0
Der Außenseiter
1935
7.0
The Grey Pikes Wharf
1935
8.5
Pozdní láska
1935
7.0
Na růžích ustláno
19356.5
Hermine and the Seven Upright Men
1935
8.2
Waltz War
1933
8.0
A Song for You
1933
7.5
Spione im Savoy-Hotel
1932
7.5
Five from the Jazzband
1932
9.0
Here's Berlin
1932
6.0
Berlin-Alexanderplatz: The Story of Franz Biberkopf
1931