Ivan Petrovich Movies
- 1962
The trilogy on Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria and his queen Empress Elizabeth by director Ernest Marischka has been cut and spliced to make this interesting though slow-paced, two and a half-hour compilation costume drama. The tale starts out with the courtship of the future queen, known as "Sissi" (Romy Schneider, who made her screen debut in the first of the three dramas), an attractive and lively young woman. After Franz Josef (Karl Boehm) falls in loves and captures Sissi's heart, they plan their wedding and head into the topic of the second feature in the series, the coronation of Franz Josef in Budapest. Finally, Sissi is shown as being instrumental in helping to keep the peace -- or obtain it -- among the belligerent nations of Europe. The original titles of each of the three separate dramas were Sissi, Sissi, die Junge Kaiserin, and Sissi, Schicksalsjahre Einer Kaiserin. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Romy Schneider, Carl Boehm, (more)
- 1959
The two romantic leads in this standard but well-acted political drama renew a famous pairing that began with The King and I in 1956. Deborah Kerr is Lady Diana Ashmore, caught at the wrong side of the Hungarian-Austrian border in 1956, and Yul Brynner is Major Surov, a Russian commander who works at the border crossing. With the outbreak of the 1956 rebellion, the Budapest airport is shut down and Diana, along with other international travellers, are forced to reach Vienna by bus. Along for the ride is one of the Hungarian dissenters hunted by the police, Paul (Jason Robards, Jr. in his screen debut). Diana and Paul are in love and she is determined to protect his secret. Major Surov suspects a rebel is hidden on the bus, but he does not know which passenger is the guilty one. As interaction continues at the border, Diana is attracted to the Major and his complex character, even against her will. Their developing relationship and strong personalities carry the story from start to finish. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, (more)
The feature-film debut of famed director Louis Malle is an interesting, modern film noir with the classic theme of lovers plotting to kill the husband and make it look like suicide (reminiscent of The Postman Always Rings Twice). Jeanne Moreau, as Florence Carala, gives an astonishing performance, perverse but naive as she leads her young lover down a path that can only lead to doom for both of them. Malle and his cinematographer Henri Decae make extensive use of Paris at night, giving the film the feel of claustrophobia and desperation reminiscent of the classic noir films. The excellent score by Miles Davis adds to the entire effect of this mystery thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, (more)
- 1956
Trouble rears its ugly head when the young emperor and empress of Austria arrive in Budapest for their coronation. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Romy Schneider
- 1952
Gene Kelly tackles a rare non-singing or dancing role in this post-war drama. Kelly plays Capt. Jeff Eliot, whose life was saved during World War II when a German family rescued him after his plane was shot down over Munich. In 1948, Eliot travels to Germany to thank the Lehrt Family for their kindness, only to discover that they were killed during an air raid by U.S. forces near the end of the war. The only survivor was the family's oldest daughter, Wilhelmina (Pier Angeli), who works as a barmaid in a sleazy nightclub and has developed a bitter hatred of Americans. Eliot develops an infatuation for this tragic woman and spends enough time at the club to become familiar with Heisemann (Claus Clausen), a comic at the club who has a dark secret life. Heisemann is also a gold smuggler who is part of an underground Nazi movement that hopes to overthrow the post-war government and re-launch the Third Reich. When Eliot tells his superiors what he's discovered, he's ordered to continue his romance with Wilhelmina as a cover while he learns more about Heisemann's smuggling operations. The Devil Makes Three was one of several films MGM made in Europe to take advantage of frozen funds that the main office in Hollywood could not transport in cash but could use to finance production; another film produced under this scheme was one of Kelly's pet projects, the performance film Invitation to the Dance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
- 1948
Though the title of this German historical drama translates as The Trial, it bears no relation to the Franz Kafka novel of the same name. Instead, the film is based on a true story which took place in 19th century Hungary. When a young peasant girl commits suicide, the superstitious villagers, stirred up by the odiously anti-Semitic Baron Onody (Heinz Moog), immediately assume that she was the victim of a Jewish sacrificial ritual. Despite an utter lack of evidence (or common sense), all the Jews in town are rounded up and subjected to a mass trial. Risking his reputation and possibly his life, idealistic lawyer Dr. Eövötes (Ewald Balser) defends the Jews, forcing all of Hungary to come face to face with its blind and stupid prejudices. The first postwar effort by director G.W. Pabst, Der Prozess has been interpreted by some as Pabst's act of attrition after his reluctant professional association with the Nazis during WWII. Whatever the case, the film, which earned Pabst a Best Director award at the 1948 Venice Film Festival, remains one of the director's finest works. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewald Balser, Ernst Deutsch, (more)
- 1936
Girls in White is the English-language title of this German semi-musical. The title characters are students in an exclusive St. Petersburg girl's academy. The principal character is Daniella, the daughter of a now-deceased opera diva. Since Daniella is played by famed soprano Maria Cebotari, be assured that the character has inherited her mother's musical talents. Alas, Daniella's aristocratic fiance (Ivan Petrovich) refuses to allow her to pursue an operatic career, leading to a harmless but compromising situation involving opera fan Grand Duke Sergei (Georg Alexander). There's more to the story than this, but people went to see Maedchen in Weiss to see the girls, not concentrate on the plot convolutions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Cebotari, Ivan Petrovich, (more)
- 1936
Based on the stage favorite Lilac Time, Drei Maederl um Schubert re-creates incidents in the life of composer Franz Schubert (Paul Hoerbiger). The story concerns his romantic entanglements with three sisters: Hederl (Greti Theimer), Heiderl (Maria Andergast), Hannerl (Else Elster). All three girls have a profound effect on Schubert's work, though none of them is able to land him as a husband. The music has been adapted from Schubert's best-known compositions, with emphasis on his Unfinished Symphony. The direction of Drei Maederl um Schubert was evenly divided by E. W. Emo (from UFA studios) and Hans Sassman (from the original stage production). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Hoerbiger, Gustav Waldau, (more)
- 1936
The "Women's Paradise" of the title is the ironic nickname of a heavily-in-debt Vienna fashion salon. The business is taken over by Gary Field (Ivan Petrovich), a handsome young aviator. The shopgirls all swoon over Gary, especially starry-eyed little Eva (Hortense Raby), who offers to moonlight in order to pay the store's ever-mounting debts. In desperation, Eva tries to flatter the necessary funds out of a rich boor named Muehldoerfer (George Alexander) whose attentions she had once spurned. Touched by her devotion to Gary, Muheldoerfer gives her the money with no strings attached, but Gary suspects the worst and thereby hangs the rest of the tale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ivan Petrovich, Leo Slezak, (more)
- 1933
When jewel thief and womanizer Petrovich is caught and imprisoned he manages to escape to the Riviera where he takes up his craft until he is caught again. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hilde Hildebrand
- 1932
Though expensively mounted, Secrets of the Orient ends up looking like a daydream, and a fragmentary one at that. Nikolai Kolin plays the lead character, a humble Arabian cobbler who yearns to be a man of great wealth. Falling asleep, Kolin imagines he's a powerful prince, with slaves and harem girls at his beck and call. The fantasy framework allows for some amusing satire on the whole Arabian-nights genre, but on the whole it isn't amusing enough to sustain its 80-minute running time. Filmed during the silent era, Secrets of the Orient was released in the U.S. with a new musical soundtrack in 1931. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
