Richard Ryen

Richard Ryen (1885 - 1965) was an Hungarian born actor who was expelled from Germany by the Nazis prior to World War II.

's expelled him. Felix emigrated to Hollywood and changed his name to Ryen. Ironically in Hollywood, as was the fate for so many German actors and actresses of that time, like Conrad Veidt, he was mainly cast in Nazi roles, which kept him working during the war years. Working for Warner Bros., his first movie was as an uncredited role as a Nazi radio station manager in the anti-Nazi movie "Berlin Corespondent" in 1942 which starred Dana Andrews. Right after that movie, he received another small role as a German policeman in "Desperate Journey" starring Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn and Raymond Massey. He appeared on screen for 15 seconds while he is checking a license plate. Within weeks, at age 56, Ryen obtained the role which resulted in his most renowned performance, that of Colonel Heinze in Casablanca, where he constantly had to tail his superior Major Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt). His scenes took four week to shoot and, at $400 a week, he earned $1,600. After Casablanca, Ryen appeared in 16 more films. His first credited film in America was in 1943, The "Constant Nymph" with Charles Boyer and Joan Fontaine. It was one of eight movies he appeared in 1943. Later in the year, Ryen played a Nazi officer in the war drama "The Cross of Lorraine" with Peter Lorre and Hans Twardowski. In 1944, he appeared with John Qualen in "An American Romance" and "The Hitler Gang" showing the rise of Adolf Hitler. With the end of the World War II, German actors playing Nazis were not in demand and Ryen's role started to decrease. He received small roles in three movies in 1945; "This Love of Ours" starring Claude Rains, "Salome", "Where She Danced" with Yvonne De Carlo and "Paris Underground". Ryen appeared in one movie in 1946, playing a butler in "Crack-Up" with Pat O'Brien. His last film, yet another small role, was the 1948 "A Foreign Affair" with Marlene Dietrich. In 10 of the 19 films he made in America, including Casablanca, he did not appear in the credits (unlike today, they did not put everyone who appeared in a movie in the credits). He also appeared on stage in America and after 1946 took guest roles at a theater in Basel, Switzerland, before becoming a freelance writer. Ryen died in Los Angeles on December 22, 1965 at the age of 80.