---
name: "Werner R. Heymann"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/werner-r-heymann"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "14 February 1896"
died: "30 May 1961"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T12:03:24.548484+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."
---

# Werner R. Heymann

Composer. Born 14 February 1896 in Königsberg, East-Prussia, Germany [now Kaliningrad, Russia]. Died 30 May 1961.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 14 February 1896, Königsberg, East-Prussia, Germany [now Kaliningrad, Russia]
- **Died:** 30 May 1961
- **Also known as:** Werner Richard Heymann, ヴェルナー・リヒャルト・ハイマン

## Biography

Werner R. Heymann (also credited as Werner Richard Heymann) was a German-Jewish composer. Born in Königsberg in 1896, he began as a classical musician and child prodigy in Berlin, later working in cabaret and serving as musical director for Max Reinhardt. From 1923 he composed for UFA, scoring silent films including *Faust* (1926) and *Spies* (1928), and early sound operettas such as *The Congress Dances* (1931).

After emigrating in 1933, he settled in Hollywood in the mid-1930s. There he scored several Ernst Lubitsch comedies, among them *Ninotchka* (1939), *The Shop Around the Corner* (1940), *That Uncertain Feeling* (1941) and *To Be or Not to Be* (1942). He also worked with Preston Sturges on *Hail the Conquering Hero* (1944). Heymann received four Academy Award nominations for his film scores in the early 1940s.

He returned to Germany in 1951 and continued composing for film and theatre until his death in Munich in 1961.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, heymann-musik.de.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *To Be or Not to Be* (1942), Fi1m 87, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/to-be-or-not-to-be.md)

## Also known for

- *The Wind Rises* (2013), Music
- *The Shop Around the Corner* (1940), Original Music Composer
- *Ninotchka* (1939), Original Music Composer
- *Faust* (1926), Original Music Composer
- *Bluebeard's 8th Wife* (1938), Original Music Composer
- *Spies* (1928), Original Music Composer
- *Hail the Conquering Hero* (1944), Original Music Composer
- *Topper Returns* (1941), Original Music Composer

---
© 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/werner-r-heymann