- Born
- Died
- Erich Kettelhut was born on November 1, 1893 in Berlin, Germany. He was a production designer and art director, known for Metropolis (1927), Die Herrin der Welt, 7. Teil - Die Wohltäterin der Menschheit (1920) and Die Herrin der Welt 4. Teil - König Macombe (1919). He died on March 13, 1979 in Hamburg, West Germany.
- Distinguished German art director and production designer, a graduate of the Berlin Kunstgewerbeschule. He was first active as a stage-set painter. Following military service during World War I, Kettelhut joined the production team of Otto Hunte and Karl Vollbrecht, importantly translating Hunte's designs into tangible film architecture. His most famous collaboration was on Fritz Lang's spectacular Metropolis (1927). Kettelhut was a pioneering specialist in architectural models and visual trick effects.
- Shortly before his death, Kettelhut was persuaded to sell his original production drawings from Die Nibelungen to the Deutsche Kinemathek, and subsequently they have been shown as part of exhibitions in the museum of cinema in Berlin and the Centre Georges Pompidou in France.[.
- From 1910 until 1912 Kettelhut studied at the College of Applied Arts in Berlin. This was followed by time spent as an apprentice in local theaters around Germany including a period as a scene painter at the Metropolitan Opera in Berlin and a role as the head of the design department in Mühlhausen.
- Kettelhut is considered as one of the most important artists in the history of early German cinema, mainly for his set direction for Die Nibelungen (1924) and his design and visual effects for Metropolis (1927).
- His role in theatre was interrupted when Kettelhut was called to serve at the Front in 1914.
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