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Hans Billian | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1918-04-15)15 April 1918 |
| Died | 18 December 2007(2007-12-18) (aged 89) Gräfelfing, Bavaria, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Film producer, Film director, writer |
Hans Billian (born Hans Joachim Hubert Backe,[1] 15 April 1918 inBreslau (today,Wrocław,Poland) – 18 December 2007 inGräfelfing, Bavaria) was a German film director, screenwriter, and actor noted for the "sex comedies" he directed in the 1970s. He was also credited asHans Billan,Phillip Halliday, andChristian Kessler.
Billian originally wanted to become an opera singer but due to the deterioration of his voice during his nine years inmilitary service he had to abandon this plan. AfterWorld War II, he settled inWest Germany and started to work as an actor at theatres inHamburg andWolfenbüttel. He later began to work also as a director's assistant.
In 1950, he started to work for various German film producers. Especially, his work forConstantin-Film proved to be successful until 1961 when he left this company to work as a freelance screenwriter and director. Until the late 1960s, he wrote films or directed films that fell under the categoryHeimatfilm, such asIch kauf' mir lieber einen Tirolerhut in 1965. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he directedsoftcore sex comedies, likePudelnackt in Oberbayern (1969) (aBavarian sex comedy pioneer),Die Jungfrauen von Bumshausen (Run, Virgin, Run) (1970), andDas Mädchen mit der heißen Masche (Loves of a French Pussycat) (1972) (starringSybil Danning).
In 1973, Billian directedhardcore short-lengthloops for the Swedish companyVenus Film. When the ban on hardcore pornography was lifted in Germany, he started to direct numerous short-length hardcore films there. In 1975, he directed the first German full-length hardcore feature film,Bienenstich im Liebesnest (soft version known asIm Gasthaus zum scharfen Hirschen, also known asZimmermädchen machen es gern). In 1976, he directedJosefine Mutzenbacher...wie sie wirklich war? 1. Teil (Sensational Janine) about the early life ofViennesecourtesanJosephine Mutzenbacher. The film that had the title role played byPatricia Rhomberg who also had an intimate relationship with Billian was his greatest success. During this period, Billian continued to shoot loops, a number of which attracted particular attention such asMassagesalon Elvira that featured Anne Magle, the Danish porn sensation of the '70s.
Josefine Mutzenbacher...wie sie wirklich war? 1. Teil was conceived by Billian as the first part of a Josefine Mutzenbacher series but when the producer Gunter Otto ofHerzog refused to finance a second part, Billian took the money from the production companyStarlight and directedDie Beichte der Josefine Mutzenbacher (Josephine) in 1979. However, Otto who held the rights for the title releasedJosefine Mutzenbacher...wie sie wirklich war? 2. Teil (Professional Janine) in 1980. Both films were unable to reach the success of the 1976 film, particularly due to absence of Rhomberg and lack of continuity with the first film. In 1981 (Aus dem Tagebuch der Josefine Mutzenbacher), 1987 (Die Liebesschule der Josefine Mutzenbacher) & 1991 Billian directed three further Josefine Mutzenbacher titles. Gunter Otto made consecutive Josefine movies (Josefine Mutzenbacher – Wie sie wirklich war: 3,4,5,6. Teil) from 1982 to 1984.
In the 1990s, he directed porn videos, especially for the producerTabu ofBochum, but these videos fell far from the quality of his work in the 1970s.
