Wywerka, Albert

(1894-1945)

   One of the leading Polish cinematographers during the interwar period, Wywerka began his career in 1919 photographing Eugeniusz Modzelewski's film The Lackey (Lokaj) and Nina Niovilla's Tamara. Later he worked with the best-known prewar directors, among them Józef Lejtes, Michał Waszyński, Jan Nowina-Przybylski, Edward Puchalski, Leonard Buczkowski, Konrad Tom, and Juliusz Gardan. Among approximately sixty-five films that he photographed are several classic examples of early Polish cinema. They include comedies with Adolf Dymsza such as Antek, the Police Chief (1935) and Dodek at the Front (1936), both directed by Waszyński; musical comedies including Ada! Don't Do That! (1936, Tom) and Miss Minister Is Dancing (1937, Gardan); as well as patriotic pictures such as Daredevils (1928, Buczkowski), The Heroes of Siberia (1936, Waszyński), and Kościuszko at Racławice (1938, Lejtes). Wywerka's filmography also contains other examples of the prewar canon, for example Nowina-Przybylski's The Boor (1931) and The Vagabond (1933), Waszynski's The Dybbuk (1937) and The Quack (1937, photographed with Zbigniew Gniazdowski), as well as several other films.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof