---
name: "Theo Lingen"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/theo-lingen"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "9 June 1903"
died: "10 November 1978"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:20:00.594406+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Theo Lingen

Actor. Born 9 June 1903 in Hannover, Germany. Died 10 November 1978.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 9 June 1903, Hannover, Germany
- **Died:** 10 November 1978

## Biography

Theo Lingen (born Franz Theodor Schmitz) was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He was born on 10 June 1903 in Hanover and died on 10 November 1978 in Vienna. In 1928 he married the singer Marianne Zoff, previously married to Bertolt Brecht.

Lingen began his stage career in the 1920s and appeared in Brecht productions including *The Threepenny Opera*. He made his film debut in 1929 and is credited as Bauernfänger in Fritz Lang's *M* (1931) and as Karetzky in *The Testament of Dr. Mabuse* (1933). He later became known for comic roles, often alongside Hans Moser, and directed films from the mid-1930s onwards.

After the Second World War Lingen settled in Austria, acquiring citizenship there, and continued working in film, theatre and television until his death.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, dhm.de.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *M* (1931), Fi1m 94, as Bauernfänger — [page](https://film.one/film/m.md)

## Also known for

- *The Testament of Dr. Mabuse* (1933), Karetzky

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/theo-lingen