Brigitte Helm Movies
Brigitte Helm is one of a unique group of iconic actresses; like Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and Louise Brooks, her face and image are recognized across generations, and in most corners of the world, and all for one movie, and two roles: Maria, the Madonna-like (as in biblical Madonna, not the singer/actress) teacher, and her robot counterpart, in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927). Helm was born Brigitte Eva Gisela Schittenhelm in Berlin, in 1908, the daughter of a Prussian army officer, who left his wife a widow not long after. Although she was never entirely comfortable as an actress, or as a performer, Helm was a striking beauty from an early age, and her mother sent photos of the girl to director Fritz Lang and his wife, screenwriter Thea von Harbou, in the early '20s. Helm was invited to the set of Die Nibelungen, and was given a screen test, which led to her being cast in the dual role of Maria and her evil robot double in Lang's Metropolis (1927). The 17-year-old Helm put up with more than her share of aches and pains during shooting, and even risked some serious burns in the scene in which the evil Maria twin is burned at the stake -- all of that in addition to hours of difficult and painful makeup sequences involving the creation of the robot. Her efforts and patience paid off, however, as her image became one of the most striking out of German cinema of the 1920s, and one of the most enduring in screen history, familiar to audiences 80 years later.Though Metropolis wasn't a commercial success, Helm got a career coming out of the movie, and she starred in more than three dozen subsequent movies between 1928 and 1935. She did turn down the lead role in The Blue Angel, however, which opened the way for Marlene Dietrich to take the part and shoot to stardom; and Helm's refusal to travel to Hollywood reportedly cost her the role of the monster's bride in The Bride of Frankenstein.
In the mid-'30s, Helm married Hugo Von Kunheim, a German industrialist of Jewish descent; in addition to no longer needing to pursue her acting, with which she was never 100-percent comfortable, she was repelled by the takeover of the German movie industry by the Hitler government. Her marital status, coupled with her anti-Nazi political views, made it impossible for Helm to continue working in movies or living in Germany. From 1935 onward, the couple lived in Switzerland. After the war, they divided their time between Germany and Switzerland, but Helm chose to live quietly and remain anonymous, never actively recalling her movie work and refusing all requests to discuss her screen career. She passed away in 1996, at age 88, some 60 years after the role that had immortalized her onscreen. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Hanns Heinz Ewers' grim science-fiction novel Alraune has already been filmed twice when this version was assembled in 1928. In another of his "mad doctor" roles, Paul Wegener plays Professor Brinken, sociopathic scientist who combines the genes of an executed murderer with those of a prostitute. The result is a beautiful young woman named Alraune (Brigitte Helm), who is incapable of feeling any real emotions -- least of all guilt or regret. Upon attaining adulthood, Alraune sets about to seduce and destroy every male who crosses her path. Ultimately, Professor Brinken is hoist on his own petard when he falls hopelessly in love with Alraune himself. Alraune was remade in 1930, with Brigitte Helm repeating her role, and again in 1951, with Hildegarde Knef as the "heroine" and Erich von Stroheim as her misguided mentor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The biggest-budgeted movie ever produced at Germany's UFA, Fritz Lang's gargantuan Metropolis consumed resources that would have yielded upwards of 20 conventional features, more than half the studio's entire annual production budget. And if it didn't make a profit at the time -- indeed, it nearly bankrupted the studio -- the film added an indelible array of images and ideas to cinema, and has endured across the many decades since its release. Metropolis had many sources of inspiration, including a novel by the director's wife, Thea von Harbou -- who drew on numerous existing science fiction and speculative fiction sources -- and Lang's own reaction to seeing the Manhattan skyline at night for the very first time. There are some obvious debts to H.G. Wells (who felt it "the silliest of films"), but the array of ideas and images can truly be credited to Lang and von Harbou.
In the somewhat distant future (some editions say the year 2000, others place it in 2026, and, still others -- including the original Paramount U.S. release -- in 3000 A.D.) the city of Metropolis, with its huge towers and vast wealth, is a playground to a ruling class living in luxury and decadence. They, and the city, are sustained by a much larger population of workers who labor as virtual slaves in the machine halls, moving from their miserable, tenement-like homes to their grim, back-breaking ten-hour shifts and back again. The hero, Freder (Gustav Froehlich) -- the son of Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel), the master of Metropolis -- is oblivious to the plight of the workers, or any aspect of their lives, until one day when a a beautiful subterranean dweller named Maria (Brigitte Helm) visits the Eternal Gardens, where he spends his time cavorting with various ladies, with a small group of children from the workers' city far below. They are sad, hungry, and wretched looking, and he is haunted by their needy eyes -- something Freder has never seen or known among the elite of the city -- and by this strange and beautiful woman who tells all who hear her, workers' children and ruler's offspring, that they are all brothers. He follows her back down to the depths of the city and witnesses a horrible accident and explosion in the machine halls where the men toil in misery. Haunted by what he has seen, he tries to confront his father, only to find that the man he loves and respects believes that it is right for the workers to live the way they do, while he and his elite frolic in luxury.
Freder decides to do something about it, but he must first learn more, and also locate Maria. With help from Josaphat (Theodor Loos), Fredersen's recently dismissed office manager, he goes below again and takes over the job of one of the workers, in order to find Maria. Meanwhile, Fredersen is concerned about the rumblings of unrest among the workers, and his son's sudden interest in their plight; he assigns "Slim" (Fritz Rasp), his investigator, to follow Freder. Meanwhile, he goes for advice to an old acquaintance, the inventor C.A. Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge). Rotwang once was a rival to Fredersen for the love of the woman Hel, who married Fredersen and died bearing his son, Freder. Rotwang still feels the loss, but he is a cunning and practical man, and is willing to help his old "friend," but not before showing off his latest creation -- a robot that he has modeled in the image of his beloved Hel, that he may have her again. Rotwang answers Fredersen's question by taking him to the catacombs below the modern city, where they see Maria preaching the gospel and counseling patience, in the hope that a "Mediator" -- who will be able to reconcile the "head" and "hands" of society (i.e. the ruling and working classes) -- will come among them.
Fredersen will hear none of it, and sees the need to break the workers' resistance and destroy Maria's influence among them. He arranges with Rotwang to make his robot creation into a duplicate Maria (which requires his kidnapping her), and to send her out among the workers to incite them to violence, so that Fredersen can use force against them. But he doesn't reckon with Rotwang, who despises Fredersen and his ruling class, and has commanded the robot to obey his orders and follow a plan that will destroy the city, both above and below ground. Fredersen also doesn't reckon with his own son Freder, who not only believes in what Maria is preaching but is beginning to see himself as the "Mediator," and is right in the midst of the conflagration when the workers' uprising starts. Soon, fires and floods spread, threatening to doom the children of the workers, abandoned in their parents' frenzied attack on the machines, and the city of Metropolis faces an impending disaster of biblical proportions. Meanwhile, the now-mad Rotwang tries to reclaim his lost Hel, and Maria and her evil robot twin are both stalked by crowds of workers driven to a murderous rage.
When it was premiered in Germany in January 1927, Metropolis ran 153 minutes when projected at 24 frames per second. That complete version was heavily cut for release in America, removing a quarter of the movie -- this included the personal conflict between Fredersen and Rotwang; a subplot involving double-dealing, espionage, and the mysterious "Slim"; a section taking place in the "red-light" district of the city; a good deal of the symbolism in the movie's original dialogue; and a large chunk of the chase at the end. In Germany in the spring of 1927, an edited version modeled roughly on the American edition, though running slightly longer, was prepared and released, and that became the "standard" version of the movie, for both domestic (i.e. German) distribution and export. In subsequent years, other editions were circulated and still others were found deposited in various archives; in a surprising number of instances -- including that of a source stored at the Museum of Modern Art in New York -- there were tiny fragments to be found of the lost, longer version of Metropolis.
The movie's reputation was further compromised with the lapsing of its American copyright in 1953, after which countless copies and duplicates, in every format from 8 mm to 35 mm (and, later, VHS tape and DVD) came to be distributed in the U.S. by anyone who could lay their hands on a print, of whatever quality and with whatever music track they chose (or didn't choose) to put on it. While several versions of the movie from these sources -- each with plot elements missing -- circulated, various restorations of the movie were attempted over the decades by responsible parties, as well. The BBC did a very effective one in the mid-'70s that was a hit on public television in America, utilizing an electronic music track that sometimes mimicked some of the industrial images on the screen. Also, there was the Giorgio Moroder version from 1984, heavily tinted and re-edited, with a rock score grafted onto it, which introduced the movie to a whole new generation of fans and turned it into a modern pop-culture fixture. The copyright was re-established in 1998 by the F.W. Murnau Foundation, and a restoration in 2002 brought the movie back to a 127 minute running time, in addition to utilizing a full orchestral score based on Gottfried Huppertz's original 1927 music. In 2008, it was reported that a significant part of the "lost" footage from the 1927 153-minute version of Metrpolis had been found in Argentina. The newest restoration of the complete Metropolis was on-going as of 2009, and a theatrical premiere was anticipated for 2010. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
In the somewhat distant future (some editions say the year 2000, others place it in 2026, and, still others -- including the original Paramount U.S. release -- in 3000 A.D.) the city of Metropolis, with its huge towers and vast wealth, is a playground to a ruling class living in luxury and decadence. They, and the city, are sustained by a much larger population of workers who labor as virtual slaves in the machine halls, moving from their miserable, tenement-like homes to their grim, back-breaking ten-hour shifts and back again. The hero, Freder (Gustav Froehlich) -- the son of Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel), the master of Metropolis -- is oblivious to the plight of the workers, or any aspect of their lives, until one day when a a beautiful subterranean dweller named Maria (Brigitte Helm) visits the Eternal Gardens, where he spends his time cavorting with various ladies, with a small group of children from the workers' city far below. They are sad, hungry, and wretched looking, and he is haunted by their needy eyes -- something Freder has never seen or known among the elite of the city -- and by this strange and beautiful woman who tells all who hear her, workers' children and ruler's offspring, that they are all brothers. He follows her back down to the depths of the city and witnesses a horrible accident and explosion in the machine halls where the men toil in misery. Haunted by what he has seen, he tries to confront his father, only to find that the man he loves and respects believes that it is right for the workers to live the way they do, while he and his elite frolic in luxury.
Freder decides to do something about it, but he must first learn more, and also locate Maria. With help from Josaphat (Theodor Loos), Fredersen's recently dismissed office manager, he goes below again and takes over the job of one of the workers, in order to find Maria. Meanwhile, Fredersen is concerned about the rumblings of unrest among the workers, and his son's sudden interest in their plight; he assigns "Slim" (Fritz Rasp), his investigator, to follow Freder. Meanwhile, he goes for advice to an old acquaintance, the inventor C.A. Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge). Rotwang once was a rival to Fredersen for the love of the woman Hel, who married Fredersen and died bearing his son, Freder. Rotwang still feels the loss, but he is a cunning and practical man, and is willing to help his old "friend," but not before showing off his latest creation -- a robot that he has modeled in the image of his beloved Hel, that he may have her again. Rotwang answers Fredersen's question by taking him to the catacombs below the modern city, where they see Maria preaching the gospel and counseling patience, in the hope that a "Mediator" -- who will be able to reconcile the "head" and "hands" of society (i.e. the ruling and working classes) -- will come among them.
Fredersen will hear none of it, and sees the need to break the workers' resistance and destroy Maria's influence among them. He arranges with Rotwang to make his robot creation into a duplicate Maria (which requires his kidnapping her), and to send her out among the workers to incite them to violence, so that Fredersen can use force against them. But he doesn't reckon with Rotwang, who despises Fredersen and his ruling class, and has commanded the robot to obey his orders and follow a plan that will destroy the city, both above and below ground. Fredersen also doesn't reckon with his own son Freder, who not only believes in what Maria is preaching but is beginning to see himself as the "Mediator," and is right in the midst of the conflagration when the workers' uprising starts. Soon, fires and floods spread, threatening to doom the children of the workers, abandoned in their parents' frenzied attack on the machines, and the city of Metropolis faces an impending disaster of biblical proportions. Meanwhile, the now-mad Rotwang tries to reclaim his lost Hel, and Maria and her evil robot twin are both stalked by crowds of workers driven to a murderous rage.
When it was premiered in Germany in January 1927, Metropolis ran 153 minutes when projected at 24 frames per second. That complete version was heavily cut for release in America, removing a quarter of the movie -- this included the personal conflict between Fredersen and Rotwang; a subplot involving double-dealing, espionage, and the mysterious "Slim"; a section taking place in the "red-light" district of the city; a good deal of the symbolism in the movie's original dialogue; and a large chunk of the chase at the end. In Germany in the spring of 1927, an edited version modeled roughly on the American edition, though running slightly longer, was prepared and released, and that became the "standard" version of the movie, for both domestic (i.e. German) distribution and export. In subsequent years, other editions were circulated and still others were found deposited in various archives; in a surprising number of instances -- including that of a source stored at the Museum of Modern Art in New York -- there were tiny fragments to be found of the lost, longer version of Metropolis.
The movie's reputation was further compromised with the lapsing of its American copyright in 1953, after which countless copies and duplicates, in every format from 8 mm to 35 mm (and, later, VHS tape and DVD) came to be distributed in the U.S. by anyone who could lay their hands on a print, of whatever quality and with whatever music track they chose (or didn't choose) to put on it. While several versions of the movie from these sources -- each with plot elements missing -- circulated, various restorations of the movie were attempted over the decades by responsible parties, as well. The BBC did a very effective one in the mid-'70s that was a hit on public television in America, utilizing an electronic music track that sometimes mimicked some of the industrial images on the screen. Also, there was the Giorgio Moroder version from 1984, heavily tinted and re-edited, with a rock score grafted onto it, which introduced the movie to a whole new generation of fans and turned it into a modern pop-culture fixture. The copyright was re-established in 1998 by the F.W. Murnau Foundation, and a restoration in 2002 brought the movie back to a 127 minute running time, in addition to utilizing a full orchestral score based on Gottfried Huppertz's original 1927 music. In 2008, it was reported that a significant part of the "lost" footage from the 1927 153-minute version of Metrpolis had been found in Argentina. The newest restoration of the complete Metropolis was on-going as of 2009, and a theatrical premiere was anticipated for 2010. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Abel, Gustav Froehlich, (more)
Before plunging headlong into the Freudian sexuality of Pandora's Box, German filmmaker G. W. Pabst offered the impressionistic social document Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney (The Love of Jeanne Ney). Based on a sturm-und-drang story by Ilya Ehrenberg, the film travels from the Crimea to Paris and back again in unfolding a sprawling tale of sociological upheaval. The events are seen through the eyes of Jeanne Ney (Edith Hehanne), who is forced to flee her Russian homeland when her Communist lover kills her diplomat father. The romance between Jeanne and her politicized paramour irrevocably links the lure of radicalism with the call of the flesh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1928
This G.W. Pabst production was know by many titles, both in Europe (where it was alternately released as Abwege and Begierde) and the U.S. (where it was shipped out as Byways, Crisis and Desire). Brigitte Helm, of Metropolis fame, stars as Irene, the wife of self-absorbed Robert (Gustav Diessl). Feeling neglected, Irene strays from the marital nest, leading to a series of horrendous suppositions and misunderstandings. Critics in 1928 felt that Abwege was far below the standards of Pabst's best-known film Secrets of a Soul. If the film is forgotten today, it is probably because it was followed by the director's masterpiece, Pandora's Box (1929). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1928
Am Rande der Welt (At the Edge of the World) was a German antiwar film that had the bad luck to be released in the U.S. at the same time as several other antiwar efforts. Even so, the picture was successful in London and Paris, a fact that the critics attributed as much to the direction by Karl Grune as to the subject matter. Brigitte Helm, who'd scored a sensation a year earlier in Metropolis, was the biggest "name" in the picture. The story was easy enough to follow in the film's original form: alas, the producers decided to severely curtail the film's running time, and as a result several important scenes were lost. The Variety reviewer complained that the characters were "abstractions" rather than people, but this was hardly unusual in German films from this period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Steinruck, William Dieterle, (more)
- 1929
This silent-screen classic, like many others produced near the end of the silent era, was both a theatrical extravaganza boasting an original orchestral score and an item which languished in obscurity for many years. When Carlo Piccardi took what was left of the score by Maurice Jaubert and re-created it, the existing footage was restored and paired with a new orchestral performance which was shown in Paris in 1988. The film's story concerns the travails of a woman who has been living quite comfortably as the mistress of a colonel in the Tsar's army in Russia. However, she eventually encounters a penniless young lieutenant and falls madly in love with him, as he does with her. Despite her best intentions of remaining with the colonel, and his intention to avoid trouble with his fellow soldiers, they cannot forswear this relationship, and tragedy is the inevitable result. The title refers to a moving incident in the story, and translates as "the wonderful lie of Nina Petrovna." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Warwick Ward, (more)
- 1929
This French production was based on a novel by Emile Zola, of the same title. Pierre Alcover stars as Saccard, a ruthless and untrustworthy banker who is all but ruined by speculating on the European stock market. Exulting in Saccard's imminent destruction are two old enemies, rival businessman Gunderman (Alfred Abel) and cast-off mistress Countess Sandorf (Brigitte Helm). Briefly rescued from poverty when he aligns himself with Hamelin (Henry Victor) a war hero-turned-petroleum profiteer, Soccard once more faces ruination when Hamelin is reported missing and presumed dead. Upon being assured that Hamelin is safe, Saccard cold-bloodedly sets about to stab his new partner in the back and assume control of his petroleum holdings. But Saccard is foiled by the last-minute manipulations of Gunderman, who ends up inviting Hamelin to join his operation. L'Argent was adapted for the screen by Marcel L'Herbier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Alcover, Brigitte Helm, (more)
- 1930
H.H. Evers' best-selling science fiction novel Alraune was the source for this chilling German fantasy. The story is set in motion by a misguided scientist (Albert Basserman) who artificially inseminates a prostitute (Agnes Straub) with the sperm of a convicted murderer. The baby grows up to be a beautiful young woman (Brigitte Helm) with absolutely no sense of right or wrong. Dancing sensuously for the benefit of her admirers, the sociopathic "heroine" leads several otherwise decent men to their ruin. Alraune was remade in 1952 with Erich Von Stroheim and Hildegarde Knef; this version was released to the U.S. as Unnatural. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Basserman, Brigitte Helm, (more)
- 1930
In this drama, an experimental researcher plays with gene splicing. In one experiment, he artificially inseminates a prostitute with the semen of a hanged killer. A beautiful daughter is produced. The trouble is that the daughter is devoid of moral character. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Several European countries collaborated to create this drama. The story begins as a young British woman meets and falls in love with her tour guide during a vacation to Naples. Along the way, she hears him singing. Recognizing a good tenor voice when she hears one, she takes him back to England for special vocal training. The tour guide is one handsome heartbreaker and one of his lovers is angered by his desertion. In England he sings at a fancy party. They are so impressed, that he is immediately booked into an opera house the following night. During the party, he finds himself becoming increasingly jealous of his newest girlfriend's flirtatious ways. When he discovers that his operatic debut is being financed by other party goers, the tenor flies into a rage and begins attacking the backers. Naturally they cancel his performance. The tour guide returns to Naples and to his other lover. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan Kiepura, Walter Janssen, (more)
- 1931
Air-mail pilot George Koehler (Gustav Froelich) would like to be more of a daredevil, but his wife Maria (Brigitte Helm) won't let him. George's frustration is multiplied when his best friend Jonny (Fritz Kampers) wins an aviation competition in which Maria refused to allow him to participate. The last straw comes when, after a particularly grueling mail run, George returns home to find Maria dancing with Jonny. Seething with jealousy, George "gets even" by defying Maria's wishes and embarking upon a perilous transatlantic flight. Maria finally realizes how she's been holding her husband back, and everyone lives happily ever after, or at least until the closing credits roll. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Mady Berry, (more)
- 1931
Allegedly based on a true story, Im Geheimdienst (Secret Service) takes place during WWI. German spy Willy Fritsch, posing as an American violinist, manages to move within the uppermost circles of Russian society with impunity. He inveigles Brigitte Helm, the wife of Russian general Oscar Homolka, into stealing a cache of secret documents. Facing death at every turn, Helm accomplishes her task, and together with her new lover Fritsch escapes to Sweden. This was considered to be a happy ending, but of course no one asked the poor general. Some sources indicate that Willy Fritsch did his own violin-playing in Im Geheimdienst, but this may not have been the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Willy Fritsch, (more)
- 1932
The credits for the 68-minute programmer Blue Danube are rather more impressive than the film itself. The picture was produced and directed by British cinematic giant Herbert Wilcox, the script is by veteran actor/director/playwright Miles Malleson, and the stars are the formidable Austrian-born stage actor Joseph Schildkraut and one-time Metropolis leading lady Brigette Helm (this was a German-English co-production). The story casts Helm and Schildkraut as European gypsies whose romance is broken up when both fall in love with aristocrats. It is Schildkraut who finally awakens to the old bromide "stay in your own backyard." Blue Danube is not a remake of the 1928 film of the same name, even though Joseph Schildkraut starred in both. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Schildkraut, Dorothy Bouchier, (more)
- 1932
Brigette Helm stars as a disillusioned movie extra who makes a speedy exit from a Viennese movie studio while still wearing her elegant costume. She heads off to a resort in Monte Cristo, where she poses as a wealthy countess (she's certainly dressed for it!) Jewel thief Gustaf Gruendgens and swindler Rudolf Forster help Helm carry off her masquerade for larcenous reasons of their own, but Forster spoils everyone's plans by falling in love with the girl. Graefin von Monte Cristo served as the basis for the 1934 Universal comedy The Countess of Monte Cristo, with Fay Wray in the starring role. The property was remade in 1948 as a musical vehicle for skating-star Sonja Henie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Rudolf Forster, (more)
- 1932
Also known as Die Herrin von Atlantis, this expansive G. W. Pabst production is a remake of the 1921 Jacques Feyder film of the same name. Like the earlier film, the remake was largely shot in the Sahara Desert and cost a fortune to put together. Based on the best-selling novel by Pierre Benoit, the original story of adventure, sacrifice, fantasy and mysticism is largely dispensed with as Pabst focuses on the pivotal character of Anitnea, played by the always fascinating Brigitte Helm. Still, plenty of time is afforded the narrative of a group of French soldiers literally stumbling upon the underground city of Atlantis, their efforts to escape, and the ultimate destruction of the lost metropolis. Though Feyder's film is still the superior of the two versions, there is still much to recommend Pabst's L'Atlantide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Pierre Blanchar, (more)
- 1932
In this mythical fantasy, the evil queen of Atlantis lives in a magnificent palace, the halls of which are filled with the mummified remains of former lovers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm
- 1933
Andre Beucler directed this German romantic comedy, filmed in two languages and released overseas in French. Brigitte Helm stars as a sophisticated jewel thief who escapes to Spain with an expensive stolen necklace then gets involved with a naive advertising executive (Jean Gabin) who becomes her unsuspecting dupe. The film is nothing special, but is worth seeing for the cast alone. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Brigitte Helm, (more)
