Winnie Markus Movies

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

Lilli Palmer stars in the German Teufel in Seide (Devil in Silk). Lilli plays Melanie, the new wife of famed concert pianist Thomas Ritter (Curd Juergens--later known as Curt Jurgens). It isn't long before Ritter discovers that his wife is jealous to the point of insanity. When Melanie finds Ritter in the arms of another, she kills herself, carefully arranging the evidence to make it seem as though her husband killed her. Based on a novel by Gina Kaus, Teufel in Seide was released in the US with English subtitles, though Lilli Palmer certainly could have dubbed her dialogue into English had she been asked to do so. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Swiss actress Signe Hasso, who'd previously toted up several respectable Hollywood credits, improved the international marketability of Die Sonne von St. Moritz (The Sun of St. Moritz). Hasso plays Gertie Selle, the wife of a seriously ill older man. Tending to the husband's needs is Dr. Robert Frank (Karlheinz Boehm, later billed as Karl Boehm), who falls in love with Gertie. When the wife administers a fatal overdose of medicine to her husband, Dr. Frank -- correctly suspecting that she has committed murder -- elects not to report the particulars of the death. This turns out to be a big mistake later on, when Gertie attempts to blackmail the doctor. The crisis seems to end with the death of one of the principals, but in fact it's only the beginning. Die Sonne von St. Moritz is based on a novel by P. O. Hoecker. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This German melodrama is set in the Paris of some hundred years ago. It is a tale of two brothers: Robert (Paul Dahlke), a gentleman thief, and Pierre (Richard Haueseler), a less gentlemanly prefect of police. It is understood that neither brother will intrude upon the province of the other. But rules are made to be broken, especially when women are involved. Kaethe Dorsch delivers the film's best performance as Robert and Pierre's mother. There are subplots aplenty during the film's 100-minute running time, but things never get too confusing, not even in the English-dubbed version. Der Bagnostraefling was written and directed by Gustav Froelich, a well-known German actor whose previous credits included Fritz Lang's Metropolis, ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In a sense, The Mozart Story can qualify as an international production. The balance of the film was lensed in Austria by director Karl Hartl, with Hans Holt as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the songs sung in German. When the American rights to the film were purchased by Screen Guild, director Frank Wisbar supervised the English dubbing, and even lensed a few new scenes, with Wilton Graff as Mozart's great rival Antonio Salieri (later the "protagonist" of the Oscar-winning Amadeus). Also appearing in the newly shot scenes were Carol Forman as Catherine Cavalleria and Anthony Barr as Ruffini. Despite its patchwork construction, The Mozart Story weaves a cogent and credible (if not altogether accurate) version of Mozart's life and work. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally In Jenen Tagen, In Those Days was the first postwar directorial contribution by Germany's Helmut Kautner. The film is an episodic recollection of life under the Third Reich, told from the viewpoint of an automobile. Kautner introduces the audience to the car's various owners, each of whom is in one way or another a victim of Nazism. The most poignant vignette concerns a businessman whose life and career are destroyed by the Nazi persecutors of his Jewish wife. Because of a shortage of studio space, most of In Jenen Tagen was lensed out-of-doors, adding a realistic, documentary-like veneer to the proceedings. Though held in low esteem by American film critics, In Jenen Tagen was deemed worthy enough to be entered into the 2nd International Film Festival at Locarno; the film was later released in the U.S. as Seven Journeys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi