Herbert Selpin, born May 29, 1902, started to study medicine in Berlin and worked as an antiquary, bookseller, and as a stock broker for a Berlin bank. He became the featherweight boxing champion in Brandenburg, won the German dancing championship in Baden-Baden three times, and worked as a professional dancer in music hall shows.

From the mid-1920s on, Selpin worked for Ufa and participated in the filming of "Faust" by F. W. Murnau and other movies as an intern. Then, Selpin worked in different jobs at Fox-Europa for four years. In 1931, Selpin directed his first movie, the comedy "Chauffeur Antoinette", a film that Selpin remade in London and in Paris in the following year. In 1933, he was responsible for the German-language version of the fascist semi-documenary movie "Camicia Nera" ("Black Shirts").

Selpin proved himself to be a versatile movie director in different genres. He made several euphemistic films about German colonial history ("Die Reiter von Deutsch-Ostafrika" - "The Riders of German East Africa"); "Carl Peters"), but also filmed adventure movies in a Western décor with Hans Albers ("Sergeant Berry"; "Wasser für Canitoga"). Furthermore, Selpin did not conceal his knack for paradoxical outsiders such as the manufacturer who is tired of his work in "Ein Mann auf Abwegen", or the charming criminal in "Heiratsschwindler".

On the set of "Titanic", Selpin made several critical remarks about the German military, thus "committing a serious offence against the morale" according to the Reichsfilmintendanz. Denounced by the screenwriter Walter Zerlett-Olfenius, Selpin failed to retract his remarks in a meeting with Goebbels. He was arrested and barred from the Reichskulturkammer. In the night from July 31 to August 1, 1942, Selpin was found hanged in his cell. He might have committed suicide, but the circumstances of his death have never been fully solved.