전기
Géza von Cziffra (19 December 1900 – 28 April 1989) was a Hungarian-Austrian film director and screenwriter.
Of Banat German descent, Cziffra was born in 1900 in Arad, located in the Banat region, which was then part of the Kingdom of Hungary and is now in Romania.
He began making films in the 1930s, initially in Hungary, and from 1936 also in Germany, where he was primarily active as a screenwriter.
In 1945, while in German-occupied Prague, he directed the film Leuchtende Schatten ("Glowing Shadows"). Assigned an adviser from the criminal police, SS-Sturmbannführer Eweler—a member of the SD and brother of actress Ruth Eweler—Cziffra eventually barred him from the studios due to excessive and obstructive criticism. Shortly after, Cziffra was arrested and taken to the Prague Gestapo Headquarters in the Pecec Palace, accused of dining multiple times at the Czech restaurant "Neumann" without ration stamps. He was then sent to Pankrác Prison, Prague's remand and interrogation facility, and sentenced to six months in prison starting 12 February. He was released on 19 April, just before the war's end.
Later in 1945, in Vienna, Cziffra established Cziffra-Film, the first Austrian film production company after the war.
He primarily focused on light entertainment and musical films, featuring well-known German and Austrian actors such as Peter Alexander, Rudolf Platte, Senta Berger, and Hubert von Meyerinck. With contributions from musicians like Bill Ramsey and Bully Buhlan, his films often evolved into musical revues with a distinct Austrian Heimatfilme style. Cziffra also acted in films and published several books later in life.
He was married to actress Ursula Justin, who appeared in six of his films during the 1950s.
Cziffra passed away on 28 April 1989 in Diessen am Ammersee, Bavaria. His ashes are interred at the crematorium in Munich's Ostfriedhof.
