Viktor de Kowa Movies

In this western, a brave cowboy and his loyal partner Winnetou agree to help Mexican villagers defend their home from a vicious bandito gang. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This German language film is about a man who is sacrificed in an Aztec ceremony. ~ All Movie Guide

In this drama, an amiable architect assists a sad little orphan and helps her find happiness at last. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Devil's General (Des Teufels General) stars Curt Jurgens as a courageous Luftwaffe officer. Jurgens loves the service, even though he barely tolerates the Hitler regime. Sickened by wartime Nazi atrocities, Jurgens renounces his government, and is imprisoned and tortured as a result. Once released, the general takes pity on a downtrodden Jewish family. This isolated act of kindness is a point in his favor when Jurgens stands before Satan himself for his final judgment. The Devil's General was based on an immensely successful postwar play by German author Carl Zuckmeyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Die Wunderschoene Galathee restages the legend of Pygmalion in turn-of-the-century Vienna. Amorous sculptor Victor (Viktor de Kowa) selects shopgirl Leni (Hannelore Schroth) as his model. Once his masterpiece is completed, Victor abandons Leni--only to find himself romantically attached to the statue made in her likeness. Giving up such delectable romantic partners as a countess (Margarete Haagen) and actress Victoria (Gisela Schmidting), Victor seeks out and rediscovers Leni, whom he now realizes is the true love of his life. Slow going during the "serious" scenes, Die Wunderschoene Galathee truly comes to life during its musical highlights, especially those involving third-billed Willy Fritsch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as Promise Me Nothing, this labyrinthine drama was adapted from a long-running stage play by Thea von Harbou of Metropolis and Dr. Mabuse fame. Viktor de Kowa stars as impoverished artist Martin Pratt, who is so preoccupied by his work that he fails to notice that his wife Monika (Luise Ullrich) is literally starving to death. Making matters worse, Martin cares nothing for money, refusing to sell his paintings because he feels they aren't yet good enough for public consumption. In desperation, Monika pretends that Martin's painting were completed by her, thereby allowing her to peddle them on her own. Soon, of course, Monika is being hailed as the foremost artistic genius of the age -- while Martin, seething with jealousy but too proud to expose his wife as a fraud, retreats further and further into himself. Eventually, Monika's conscience gets the better of her, and she confesses that the paintings were the handiwork of her husband. Rather amazingly, this leads to a happy ending for both hero and heroine, indicating that anything's possible in the movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Madonna, Wo Bist Du? (Madonna, Where Are You?) is a vehicle for Liane Haid, and as such is virtually indistinguishable from her earlier films. Haid is cast as young opera diva Gilda Garden, engaged to marry her elderly mentor. While attending a masquerade ball, Gilda makes the acquaintance of a handsome young man, who of course has no idea who she is. After the ball, the lovestruck lad searches for Gilda by broadcasting a plaintive "Madonna, Where Are You?" over the radio. The question soon becomes a national catchphrase, and then a song, bringing overnight fame to the young man. But Gilda never suspects that she is the selfsame Madonna until she chances to meet her mystery suitor at a dinner party -- whereupon her aged fiancé, sizing up the situation, nobly steps out of her life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hans Fallada's poignant Depression-era novel Klein Mann, Was Nun? was faithfully filmed in Germany in 1933. Young provincial bookkeeper Hans (Herman Thiemig) must keep his marriage to the beautiful Lammechen (Hertha Thiele) a secret, lest he be fired by his boss, who'd hoped to marry off his own daughter to Hans. When the truth is revealed, Hans is immediately sacked, whereupon he and Lammechen move to the Berlin home of Han's lusty stepmother (Ida Wuest). The old lady's larcenous lover (Fritz Kampers) tries to help out the young couple financially, but soon he's carted off to prison. Eventually, it dawns on Hans that his stepmother is running a house of prostitution, and the young couple is obliged to move out again. This time they are given shelter by a kindly street peddler, who is on hand to help out when Lammechen gives birth to Hans's child. Though the young husband is out of work again, there is some hope that conditions will improve, and the film ends on an upbeat note. An English-language version of the Fallada novel, Little Man, What Now?, was filmed the following year, with Douglass Montgomery as Hans and Margaret Sullavan as Lammechen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide