Helmut Lohner Movies
- 1984
Comedy from Germany is featured in six short pieces; Der Buerobote, Auf Fluegeln des Gesangs, Im Warenhaus, Mach der Poesie, Der Stoerenfried and Auf, auf zum Himmel. Setting include everything from a movie set to a voice lesson, and characters range from arguing sales ladies to a stubborn dauchshund. ~ Rovi
- 1980
The Vienna State Opera mounted this production of Johann Strauss II's 1874 operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat) in 1980, with a cast that includes Bernd Weikl as Gabriel von Eisenstein, Lucia Popp as Rosalinde, Erich Kunz as Frank and Brigitte Fassbaender as Prinz Orlofsky. The Chorus, Orchestra and Ballet of the Vienna State Opera provide accompaniment under the baton of Theodor Guschlbauer, with Norbert Balatsch serving as chorus master. Günther Schneider-Siemssen designed the sets, Milena Canonero did the costumes, Gerlinde Dill choreographs, and Otto Schenk directs for the stage. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bernd Weikl, Lucia Popp, (more)
- 1969
- PG13
Hannibal Brooks (Oliver Reed) is a British prisoner of war assigned to care for an elephant in a zoo in Munich. Along with an American (Michael J. Pollard) and an Austrian (Helmut Lohner), the trio escapes with the elephant and heads for the Swiss border. They use the elephant to tear down a sentry post and gain access to the border crossing. They are betrayed by a Polish girl who aligns herself with the Nazis as the trio of escapees and their pachyderm protector evade the enemy in their attempt to escape. Comical moments are provided by the animal and James Donald who plays a captured British Army chaplain in this World War II adventure feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Michael J. Pollard, (more)
- 1959
An unexceptional drama of the exceptional George Bernard Shaw's story of a conflict of morals, Frau Warren's Gewerbe stars Lilli Palmer in the role of Mrs. Kitty Warren and Johanna Matz as her daughter Vivie. The mathematically talented and well-educated Vivie owes her accomplishments to her absentee mother who has paid all the bills in her upbringing. When they meet at last in a country home, Vivie is shocked to discover that her mother not only gained her lucre through prostitution but is still a partner with Sir George Crofts (O.E. Hasse) in the management of several brothels around Europe. That shock is soon followed by another when Vivie finds out the truth about the parentage of her boyfriend Frank. This is all heavy going for the turn of the 20th century when certain topics were still taboo. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- 1958
Based on an operetta by Franz Schubert, the film is partially biographical. Franz (Karlheinz Boehm) is in love with Hannerl (Johanna Matz) but is too shy to reveal his feelings. After composing a love song, he engages a young baron to sing to her. Hannerl instead falls in love with the baron. The girl's parents lament over the problems of Hannerl and her two sisters, who are all young women living at home and eligible for marriage. Beethoven (Ewald Balser) and legendary music publisher Diabelli (Richard Romanowsky) are Schubert's famous contemporaries, giving historical perspective to the three music legends. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Karl Heinz Böhm, Gustav Knuth, (more)
- 1957
Set in the late 1700s, this grim Danish psychological drama chronicles the mental breakdown of Sweden's young monarch amidst the intrigue and treachery. The king ascended his throne at age 19. His stepmother, the queen, objects and schemes to have him replaced by her natural son. Her plan is to have the depressive king declared mentally incompetent to rule by a noted specialist. Unfortunately, the doctor offers an honest diagnosis and the king keeps his throne. The doctor begins treating him and soon the king's melancholia abates and he begins ruling properly. He rewards the physician by naming him Prime Minister and his closest confidant. Unfortunately, problems arise when the new minister finds himself unable to resist the charms of the king's British wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1957
This was the first of a trilogy of "Spessart" parodies by director Kurt Hoffmann, each starring Liselotte Pulver in the title role. This particular take-off is concerned with highway bandits and kidnapped nobility. Everything begins when Countess Franziska (Pulver) and her fiancée and entourage are accosted and brought to an inn where they are kept hostage. But the intrepid Countess escapes, reaches home, and then is refused any assistance from her father. He is not going to pay the ransom demand. So she goes back disguised as a man to save the hostages on her own. Circumstances eventually lead to their release, but by then, she and the ringleader have fallen in love. Songs and general enthusiastic hijinks enliven the story, clichéd or not. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liselotte Pulver, Carlos Thompson, (more)
