Helmo Kinderman Movies
John Frankenheimer directs Burt Lancaster in the tense spy thriller The Train. Lancaster plays Labiche, a French railway inspector. Allied forces are threatening to liberate Paris, so Col. Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) is ordered to move the priceless works of art from the Jeu de Paume Museum to the fatherland. The head of the museum (Suzanne Flon) attempts to convince Labiche that he should sabotage the train on which they are transporting the art. Labiche is more focused on destroying a trainload of German weapons. After his friend is killed trying to stop the train with the art, and after a consciousness-raising conversation with a hotel owner (Jeanne Moreau), Labiche resolves to save the antiquities. Lancaster and Frankenheimer had worked together previously on both Birdman of Alcatraz and Seven Days in May. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, (more)
Producer/director Roger Corman briefly abandoned Edgar Allan Poe for The Secret Invasion, a commendable attempt to make a war epic on a "B" budget. The story is a scaled-down precursor to The Dirty Dozen: Five criminals are given a chance at a pardon by agreeing to participate in a suicide mission for British Intelligence. They are smuggled into Yugoslavia (where this film was made) to conduct several commando raids against the Nazi invaders. The quintet is comprised of veterans of internationally-produced war films: Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes and Henry Silva (observe the cast and guess who gets killed first). Corman's skill at generating excitement through quick cutting and careful camera composition is given an exhilarating workout in The Secret Invasion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Mickey Rooney, (more)
- 1963
In this war drama set during the 1936 Spanish Civil War, a Ukrainian idealist enlists in the International Brigade and soon after meets and falls instantly in love with a youthful American war correspondent. When the young soldier gets to the front, he sees his comrade tortured and disfigured by his captor; he is so frightened and appalled that he deserts and runs off with the reporter before his company is to do the same to the enemy prisoners. They are just about to flee over the French border when they are captured by anarchists and as the woman hears the soldier's execution, she screams and screams. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1961
Christian de Bresson plays the son of East German minister Michael Gwynn. The Communist regime has decreed that all children of "dissidents" will be denied entry in a prestigious music conservatory. Anxious to be accepted, young de Bresson prepares to answer the seven questions required by the conservatory, the seventh of which will require him to deny his religious convictions. Before this can happen, the boy is invited by the Communist Party to perform at the Berlin Youth Festival. The boy's father protests, knowing that the Communists intend to use his son as a political pawn, to "prove" to the world that East Germany affords equal rights to persons of the cloth. It is de Bresson himself who decides to quit the Festival and defect to the West. Financed by Lutheran Film Associates, Question 7 was given an honored showcase by the Berlin Film Festival--held, of course, in the western sector. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Gwynn, Margaret Jahnen, (more)
- 1961
This is a slightly uneven presentation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale about two evil princes, their pure-hearted brother, and a dying king. As the three siblings stand vigil by their father's bedside, they agree that they must go and look for the Magic Fountain, the fountain of life that will restore their father to good health. Their separate quests are filled with adventures involving captivating characters like a sorcerer-dwarf and beautiful maidens and most of all, a charming princess who lives in the castle that harbors the Magic Fountain. The good-hearted brother is betrayed as being villainous by his nasty siblings but even their treachery cannot overcome the forces of good and in the end, all is resolved to the benefit of everyone concerned, even the king. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Nestler, Helmo Kinderman, (more)
- 1959
The career of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (Curt Jurgens) is the focus of this film. Supposedly bullied by the Nazis into working for the Third Reich, the end of the war leaves the rocket man with a decision to take his talents to either Russia or the United States. He chooses the U. S., but controversy follows the gifted scientist wherever he goes. Some resent his collaborations with the Nazis, while others in the government are more than willing to turn their heads in deference to his genius. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Victoria Shaw, (more)
