Franziska Gaal Movies

Cecil B. DeMille's The Buccaneer stars Fredric March, complete with curly hair, pencil moustache and florid "Sacre Bleu!" French accent, as 18th century pirate Jean Lafitte. Operating out of a "buccaneer's haven" of the coast of New Orleans, Lafitte plunders all passing ships for their wealth, but refuses to attack any vessel flying the American flag. During one seafaring skirmish, he rescues Dutch maiden Gretchen (Franziska Gaal) from a sunken ship. Gretchen falls madly in love with the dashing Lafitte, but he has eyes only for aristocratic Louisana belle Annette (Margot Grahame). During the War of 1812, Lafitte is offered a pardon by Andrew Jackson (Hugh Sothern) if he and his pirates will fight on the American side. As good as his word, Lafitte stands shoulder to shoulder with Jackson as they ward off the British at the Battle of New Orleans. During a Victory Ball in his honor, Lafitte is confronted with evidence that he unknowingly caused the death of Annette's younger sister Marie (Louise Campbell) during a previous act of piracy. The assembled guests are all for hanging Lafitte on the spot, but General Jackson offers the pirate an hour's head start out of New Orleans, provided he never set foot on American soil again. This naturally costs Lafitte the love of Annette; fortunately, Gretchen is awaiting him on board his ship with open arms. From the opening scene in which Dolly Madison (Spring Byington) rescues the Declaration of Independence during the burning of Washington to the closing clinch between Lafitte and Gretchen, The Buccaneer is one of DeMille's most exhilarating films. It was remade less successfully in 1958 under the direction of Cecil B's son-in-law Anthony Quinn, who played the supporting role of Beluche in the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Franciska "Francy" Gall was still delightfully in her "gamine" mode when she starred in Kleine Mutti (Little Mommy). The star plays a schoolgirl who runs into nothing but trouble when she finds an abandoned baby on the steps of an orphanage. Almost immediately, Gaal is presumed to be the mother of the child, which earns her instant dismissal from her school. Penniless, she takes a room in a fancy hotel, intending to beat the bill at the end of the week, giving her enough time to find a proper home for the baby. The hotel doctor, assuming Gaal is rich, chastises the girl for her "selfishness" in failing to care for the infant herself and forces her to leave with the kid in tow. Forced to take a job selling vacuum cleaners, our heroine runs into more problems at the home of a rich banker, who huffily assumes that she is his son's mistress?and on it goes until the happy ending, which comes as much of a relief to Gaal as to the audience. Kleine Mutti was directed by Herman Kosterlitz, who as "Henry Koster" directed several Deanna Durbin pictures in the late 1930s-early 1940s (many of which owed a great deal to Kosterlitz' earlier Francy Gaal vehicles). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pesti Szerelem (aka Scandal in Budapest and Romance in Budapest) serves as a vehicle for Hungarian stage favorite Franciska Gaal. Though billed third, Gaal dominates the proceedings as Eve, the little disturber who nearly breaks up the romance between Mr. and Mrs. Balogh (Julius Gozon, Lilina Berky). Among the supporting players is Szoke Szakall, who later gained Hollywood fame as S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall. Reportedly, it was on the strength of Pesti Szerelem that Cecil B. DeMille cast Franciska Gaal in his 1938 historical epic The Buccaneer. The film was the first Hungarian effort in several years for its director Geza Von Bolvary, who'd recently been chased out of his adopted country of Germany by the Hitler regime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Love and Kisses, Veronika is the English-language title for this farcical Hungarian romance. Franziska Gaal stars as Veronika, a pretty flower-store clerk who's in love with her boss Paul Rainer (Paul Hoerbiger). Trouble brews when married insurance agent Max Becker (Otto Wallburg) orders a bouquet of roses for his wife. The flowers arrive with an accompanying card, reading "Love and Kisses, Veronika." It's all a mistake, of course, but try telling that to Becker's wife (Hilde Hildebrandt) -- or to Paul. Everything is straightened out to everyone's satisfaction just in time for the "End" title to appear. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi