Liselotte Pulver

Swiss actress

Liselotte Pulver (born 11 October 1929), sometimes credited as Lilo Pulver, is a Swiss actress. Pulver was one of the biggest stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, where she often was cast as a tomboy. She is well known for her hearty and joyful laughter. Her films outside of German cinema include A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958), One, Two, Three (1961) and The Nun (1966).

Pulver was born in Bern to civil engineer Fritz Eugen Pulver and his wife Germaine. From 1945 on Pulver attended commercial school. After graduating in 1948, she worked as a model and took acting classes at the Bern conservatory, now part of the Bern University of Applied Sciences. Following small parts at the Bern Theatre (Stadttheater Bern), she appeared at the Schauspielhaus Zürich.

Pulver's first film role was in the 1949 American Swiss co production Swiss Tour. Her breakthrough movie role was "Vreneli", the wife of the lead in Uli, der Knecht (1954), made after the novel of Swiss author Jeremias Gotthelf. Pulver became one of the biggest stars of German language cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, often nicknamed "Lilo" Pulver. She was very often seen in comedies, most notably I Often Think of Piroschka (1955), The Zürich Engagement (1957), The Spessart Inn (1958) and Kohlhiesel's Daughters (1962). One of her more serious film roles was as Tony Buddenbrook in The Buddenbrooks (1959), a movie adaptation of Thomas Mann's novel of the same name. She also appeared in another Thomas Mann adaptation, Confessions of Felix Krull (1957) with Horst Buchholz in the title role of a charming and narcissistic conman. In the late 1950s and 1960s, Pulver was involved in a number of American and French film productions. Her first Hollywood film was Douglas Sirk's war melodrama A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958), in which she and John Gavin played a young German couple whose happiness is doomed at the end of the Second World War. She was James Cagney's attractive secretary "Fräulein Ingeborg" in Billy Wilder's comedy One, Two, Three (1961). In 1963, for her role as a Russian woman in A Global Affair, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as best supporting actress. In France, she appeared alongside Anna Karina in Jacques Rivette's film The Nun (1966). In the 1970s, she increasingly turned towards television roles. From 1978 until 1983 she worked for the German edition of Sesame Street, Sesamstraße. Her last film credit was in 2007, when she played a cameo role in Die Zürcher Verlobung, a remake of The Zürich Engagement. She made a public appearance at the 2018 Bambi Awards, where she accepted a prize for Honorary Achievement.

In 1960, she met German actor Helmut Schmid on the set of Gustav Adolf's Page: they married on 9 September 1961 and had two children. Her daughter committed suicide in 1989. Her husband died in 1992 of a heart attack. As of 2008, Pulver lives secluded in Perroy, Canton Vaud on the shores of Lake Geneva; she also has an apartment at the de, a retirement home near Bern.

Year Title Role Director Cast Notes1949Swiss TourLeopold LindtbergCornel Wilde, Simone Signoret1950The White Hell of Pitz PaluMariaRolf HansenHans Albers, Adrian Hoven1951A Heidelberg RomanceSusanne EdwardsPaul VerhoevenO. W. Fischer1952KlettermaxeCorry BellKurt HoffmannAlbert LievenFritz and FriederikeFriederikeGéza von BolváryAlbert Lieven1953Have Sunshine in Your HeartMiss HelmErich WaschneckCarl WeryWe'll Talk About Love LaterBianca MerzKarl AntonGustav Fröhlich, Willy Fritsch, Paul HörbigerThe BogeymanTrixieCarl BoeseHans ReiserI and YouBrigitteAlfred WeidenmannHardy Krüger1954Men at a Dangerous AgeAnnaCarl Heinz SchrothHans SöhnkerSchool for MarriageMarianneRainer Geis, Anton SchelkopfPaul Hubschmid, Cornell Borchers, Wolf Albach RettyUli the FarmhandVreneliFranz SchnyderHannes SchmidhauserThe Last SummerJessika TolemainenHarald BraunHardy Krüger1955Reaching for the StarsChristineCarl Heinz SchrothErik Schumann, Gustav KnuthHanussenHilde GrafO. W. FischerO. W. Fischer, Klaus KinskiUli the TenantVreneliFranz SchnyderHannes SchmidhauserI Often Think of PiroschkaPiroschka RáczKurt HoffmannGustav Knuth, Gunnar Möller1956My Husband's Getting Married TodayThesi PetersenKurt HoffmannJohannes Heesters, Paul Hubschmid1957The Adventures of Arsène LupinMina von KraftJacques BeckerRobert Lamoureux, O. E. HasseFrench filmThe Zürich EngagementJuliane ThomasHelmut KäutnerPaul Hubschmid, Bernhard WickiConfessions of Felix KrullZazaKurt HoffmannHorst Buchholz1958The Spessart InnFranziska von SandauKurt HoffmannCarlos Thompson, Günther Lüders, Wolfgang NeussA Time to Love and a Time to DieElisabeth KruseDouglas SirkJohn Gavin, Erich Maria RemarqueAmerican filmArms and the ManRaina PetkoffFranz Peter WirthO. W. FischerThe GamblerPolinaClaude Autant LaraGérard PhilipeFrench film1959The Beautiful AdventureDorothée DurandKurt HoffmannRobert Graf The BuddenbrooksAntonie BuddenbrookAlfred WeidenmannHansjörg Felmy, Nadja Tiller, Hanns Lothar, Lil Dagover1960A Glass of WaterQueen AnneHelmut KäutnerGustaf GründgensThe Haunted CastleCharlotte von SandauKurt HoffmannGeorg Thomalla Gustav Adolf's PageGustl LeubelfingRolf HansenCurd Jürgens1961La FayetteMarie AntoinetteJean DrévilleMichel Le Royer, Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins, Vittorio De SicaFrench filmOne, Two, ThreeFräulein IngeborgBilly WilderJames Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Hanns LotharAmerican film1962Where the Truth LiesCatherineHenri DecoinJuliette GrécoFrench filmKohlhiesel's DaughtersLiesel Kohlhiesel / Susi KohlhieselAxel von AmbesserDietmar Schönherr1963Breakfast in BedLiane ClausenAxel von AmbesserO. W. Fischer, Lex BarkerA Nearly Decent GirlLili SteinerLadislao VajdaMartin Held, Alberto de Mendoza1964A Global AffairSonyaJack ArnoldBob Hope, Michèle MercierAmerican filmMonsieurElizabeth BernadacJean Paul Le ChanoisJean Gabin, Philippe Noiret, Mireille DarcFrench film1965PraetoriusVioletta HöllriegelKurt HoffmannHeinz RühmannMan from CocodyBabyChristian JaqueJean MaraisFrench film1966HocuspocusAgda KjerulfKurt HoffmannHeinz RühmannThe NunMother de ChellesJacques RivetteAnna KarinaFrench filmThe RainmakerLizzie CurryFranz Peter WirthTV filmThe Gardener of ArgenteuilHildaJean Paul Le ChanoisJean Gabin, Curd JürgensFrench film1967Glorious Times at the Spessart InnAnneliese von SandauKurt HoffmannHarald Leipnitz, Vivi Bach, Hannelore Elsner1969Pistolen JennyJennyAlfred WeidenmannTV filmThe Wedding TripHannelore SchmidtdeDieter Hallervorden1970The Cotton PickersMrs. PrattJürgen GoslarTV miniseries1971TimoErika GerberRolf HädrichTV series, 13 episodes1972Jenny RichardsonHorst TappertTV filmFive Leaf CloverDaisyfrPhilippe NoiretFrench film1975 Monika and the Sixteen Year OldsMrs. AnnelieCharly SteinbergerMaria Zürer, Oliver Collignon, Klausjürgen Wussow, Teri Tordai1979 Bread and StonesMrs. BodenbauerdeSigfrit Steiner, Walo Lüönd, de1986Le Tiroir secretMaryseMichèle Morgan, Jeanne Moreau, Michael LonsdaleFrench TV miniseries1996The SuperwifeAlma WinkelSönke WortmannVeronica Ferres, Heiner Lauterbach, Til Schweiger2004René Deltgen – Der sanfte RebellMichael WenkGötz George, Nadja Tiller, Artur Brauner, Michael VerhoevenLuxembourgian documentary2007herselflt=Stephan MeyerLisa Martinek, Christoph Waltz, Tim Bergmann, Hannelore Hoger, Jan Fedder, Sonja KirchbergerTV film