Helmut Weiss Movies
- 1964
Russ Meyer's sex films of the 1960s invariably promised more than they delivered. To be sure, there were bosoms and bottoms aplenty, but seldom if ever any full nudity or orgasmic activity (simulated or otherwise). Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, based on a dull, overwritten 18th century "bawdy" novel, was filmed in West Germany by exploitation producer Albert Zugsmith. Miriam Hopkins, old enough to know better, is the one "name" star of this messy romp, playing the mentor of the titular (in every sense of the word) Fanny Hill (Laetitia Roman), who after being cast aside by the world at large is given shelter in a brothel. His acute self-promotional skills aside, Russ Meyer never really learned how to direct; his "style" consisted of seconds-lasting closeups wedged into badly composed long shots, substituting speed and energy for skill. But he certainly knew his audience, as proven by the enormous worldwide box office take for Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miriam Hopkins, Leticia Roman, (more)
In this sci-fi murder mystery, a scientist uses himself as a subject in an experiment with cryogenic suspended animation and ends up accused of murdering his ex-wife. Fortunately, his girl friend is around to prove that he was on ice when the murder occurred. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1958
Man ist Nur Zweimai Jung (Youth Comes Only Twice) is based on the popular stage play by Otto F. Beer and Peter Preses. The story concerns two old codgers who believe that they've outgrown romance. But when the two men magically become young again, they find that their interest in the opposite sex has increased considerably. They also hope to rectify a few errors in judgement made during their first flush of youth. Many of the cast members from the original stage production of Man ist Nur Zweimai Jung repeat their roles on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Winnie Markus
- 1957
Felicity Douglas' British stage play It's Never too Late was the source for the Austrian comedy Die Liebe Familie (Dear Family). Luise Ulrich stars as middle-aged wife and mother Betty Lang. Feeling trapped by her bourgeois existence, Betty decides to try her hand at writing. Her novel not only becomes a best-seller, but is also optioned by Hollywood. Leaving her nonplused family behind, Betty flies off to Tinseltown, only to return home when she grows weary of show-biz phoniness. A similar British film, The Passionate Stranger, hit the screen around the same time as Die Liebe Familie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hans Nielsen, Karl Schoenboeck, (more)
- 1952
Originally released in Europe as simply Tromba, this German melodrama was distributed in the U.S. by Lippert Studios. The title character, played by Rene Deltgren, is a circus tiger trainer. To keep his beasts in line, Tromba utilizes hypnotism. This works so well on the job that Tromba begins mesmerizing women to do his bidding. To do this, he employs a special drug, a fact that proves to be his undoing when one of his castoff mistresses wreaks a terrible revenge. Most of Tromba was filmed through the auspices of the Krone Circus of Germany. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rene Deltgen, Angelika Hauff, (more)
- 1944
This fictional video tells of a famous writer who realizes that he missed out on the school experience because he was educated at home. So, pretending to be 18 again, he enrolls in a small-town school. In German only. ~ Rovi
- 1936
This operetta provides a vision of how the Nazis of Germany envisioned the Italian Renaissance. The residents of the town of Ferrara are swept up in a tide of emotion and physical passion by the writings of a Renaissance author. Before long, the town is in chaos and it becomes difficult to keep track of which characters have been involved with one another. In German with English subtitles. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Albrecht Schoenhals, Willy Fritsch, (more)
- 1936
It hardly takes a linguistics expert to figure out that the title of this German comedy translates as Family On Parade. Curt Juergens heads the cast as Erik, a young Swedish count who gets a big surprise on his 21st birthday. Erik discovers that he's not a nobleman at all, but the bastard son of a family servant. The revelation of this long-closeted skeleton threatens to disrupt his impending marriage to Alice (Ellen Franck), the daughter of a pompous and hypocritical baron. The laughs just keep on coming in Familienparade, as director Fritz Wendhausen takes great delight in puncturing the pretensions of Scandinavian aristocracy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernst Dumcke
- 1936
Diener Lassen Bitten (Dinner is Served) was adapted from a stage comedy by Toni Empekoven. When low-born British whiskey manufacturer James Potter (Joe Stoeckel) purchases stately Castle Bluehill, he sends his snootily aristocratic neighbors into an uproar. It is especially galling when the bluebloods are forced to treat Potter's new wife Henriette (Fita Benkhoff), formerly the Castle Bluehill's housemaid, as an equal. The subsequent romance between Potter's daughter Mary (Rose Stradner) and Lord Spiller (Josef Eichheim) seems doomed thanks to the snobbery of the bluebloods, but the Potters' faithful servants -- most of them old pals of Henriette -- come to the rescue. The "democratic" aspects of the storyline are rather surprising, considering that the film was produced during the Hitler regime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Herbert Hübner, Gertrud de Lalsky, (more)
