Walter Janssen Movies

Filmed in France, the German-language Das Konzert was based on the play of the same name by Hermann Bahr. The farcical plotline concerns a series of marital misunderstandings, all tied in with the arrival of a famous concertmaster. Olga Tschechowa, usually cast as a femme fatale, gives a sympathetic and understanding performance as a long-suffering wife. Oscar Karlweis also scores as a husband who nearly loses his spouse, only to win her back at the very last moment. According to reviewers in 1931, the subtleties in the original play were sacrificed in favor of bed-slat slapstick. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fritz Lang was a stickler for realism in his American films; not so his German silents, which were fanciful to the point of being fairy tales. Der Müde Tod, Lang's first big critical success, is an allegorical tale of love, fidelity and death. The heroine (Lil Dagover), who in her dreams is confronted by Mr. Death, argues for the life of her beloved, but is unable to make the personal sacrifices that Death insists upon. Originally presented in three parts, Der Müde Tod was often boiled down to a single film for its non-German showings. Its English-language titles range from The Weary Death to Between Two Worlds to Beyond the Wall to Destiny. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The "great yearning" of the title refers to the desire of heroine Camilla Horn to become a famous movie star. Fortunately, director Theodor Loos happens to be combing the countryside, searching for "something new" to put before the cameras. He discovers Horn, and the rest can be filled in by the audience blindfolded. The charm of this picture lies not in its corny plotline, but in its handling by young director Stefan Szekely, who refuses to sugar-coat his depiction of movie-studio life but instead offers something very close to the truth. Die Grosse Sehnsucht features cameo appearances by such German film faves as Lil Dagover, Liane Haid, Anny Ondra, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, Luis Trenker, Conrad Veidt, and many, many more. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The German Hansel and Gretel was originally produced in 1954, but was withheld from American release because of a competing animated version. In 1965, a limited-release concerns called Childhood Productions managed to find several "four waller" bookings for the 11-year-old film. The story is the same as ever: forest urchins Hansel and Gretel venture into the woods, get lost, come across a gingerbread house, and foil the plans of a voracious witch. Dubbed into English, Hansel and Gretel was fitted out with a new musical score by Milton and Anne DeLugg. Its narrator was Paul Tripp, whom baby-boomers will fondly remember as TV's "Mr. I. Magination." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Released in English-speaking regions as Italian Journey-Love Included, this modest German romantic drama was based on a novel by Barbara Noack. Paul Hubschmid plays a tour guide, shepherding a group of German vacationers through sunny Italy. All the ladies on the tour immediately fall in love with the handsome Hubschmid, but he has eyes only for the toothsome Susanne Cramer. Meanwhile, Cramer's jealous lover Walter Giller dogs Hubschmid's trail throughout the tour. Italienreise-Liebe Inbegriffen is reminiscent of the 1967 English-language comedy Three Bites of the Apple. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Considering how much Adolf Hitler relied upon his scientists during WWII, the anti-technology stance of Der Herr Der Welt (Ruler of the World) is amazing. After a long absence, Dr. Heller (Walter Janssen) returns to his laboratory, where he learns that his demented chief assistant (Arlbert Waeschler) has developed a robot. Dr. Heller approves of this, but he's less happy with the fact that the robot is equipped with a death ray. His objections don't carry too much weight, however, inasmuch as Heller is quickly dispatched by the homicidal robot. The story briefly goes off on another tangent as Heller's widow Vilma (Sybille Schmitz, of Vampyr fame) falls in love with handsome mining engineer Baumann (Sigfried Schuerenberg). Ultimately, both Vilma and Baumann must contend with thousands upon thousands of killer robots, who've been programmed to take over all jobs -- and, eventually, the world. Die Herr der Welt was the last of director Harry Piel's quartet of science fiction films, which began in 1915 with Die Gross Wette. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

German singing stars Charlotte Anders and Walter Janssen head the cast in Nur Du (Only You). Janssen plays a composer of musical comedies, most of them vehicles for his talented actress sweetheart Anders. Our hero's life ends up turned around when he decides to compose nothing but grand operas from now on. He deserts Anders in favor of a wealthy patroness of the arts, who produces his first "masterpiece." But when Janssen's opera lays an egg, he comes to his senses and returns to Anders, just as she knew he would. It all sounds a lot like the Samuel Nathaniel Behrman Broadway comedy No Time for Comedy, which in 1932 was still several years in the future. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi