William Dieterle was born in 1893 in Ludwigshafen. Theater actor, he turns to cinema in 1913 acting in films of the league of Faust (1926) by Murnau. In 1923 he becomes a director. His best films are Hollywood productions (Notre Dame, 1939). In 1948 he directs a small masterpiece Il ritratto diJ ennie. He returned to Europe in the 50s and died in 1972 in Berlin.
