Peter Petersen Movies
- 1937
Filmed in German by a Swiss production firm, The Eternal Mask (Die Ewige Maske) was adapted by Leo Lapaire from his own novel. Mathias Weimann plays an idealistic doctor who believes he has discovered a cure for meningitis. Ordered not to experiment with this serum, Weimann does so anyway, utilizing the supposed wonder drug on a terminal patient. When the man dies, Weimann is reprimanded by his superiors, and wanders out of the hospital, believing himself a failure. His depression deepens into delirium, and soon the doctor is wandering through a Caligariesque world of distorted shapes and distended shadows, where he finds it impossible to separate illusion from reality. Meanwhile, Weimann's superiors determine that the meningitis serum is indeed effective; now they must snap the doctor out of his nightmare in order for him to reveal the formula. One of the very few successful attempts to convey madness on screen, The Eternal Mask has been surprisingly overlooked by many otherwise thorough reference books on horror films. Perhaps some scholars have been put off by the lethargic pace of the film, which seems to go on far longer than its 74 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Petersen, Mathias Wiemann, (more)
- 1936
Maria Andergast essays the title role in Manja Valewska. In essence, this is a retelling of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, with names changed to protect the producers. The one major departure from the Tolstoy original occurs at the end when, after suffering disgrace for her illicit extramarital romance, Manja is put on trial for the murder of her husband. It turns out that hubby actually committed suicide, permitting the heroine a happy ending (another digression from Tolstoy). Intended as Austria's "big" picture for 1936, Manja Valewska ended up as one of the year's biggest disappointments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Petersen, Maria Andergast, (more)
- 1934
Set in pre-WWI Vienna, Mascarade concerns a near-tragic misunderstanding over a nude painting. It is incorrectly assumed that heroine Leopoldine (Paula Wesseley) posed for the painting, when in fact the model was Gerda (Hilde von Stolz), the wife of stuffy Dr. Harrandt (Peter Peterson). The romance between Leopoldine and artist Heidendeck (Adolf Wohlbruck) is threatened when his cast-off mistress shoots him. Dr. Harrandt is summoned to perform an emergency operation on Heidenbeck, but upon discovering that the artist had painted his wife Gerda in the nude, the "good" doctor refuses to minister to Heidenbeck's wound. It is Leopoldine who appeals to the doctor's essential humanity and finally sets things right. The centerpiece of Mascarade is a concert sequence, given period credibility through its use of authentic Enrico Caruso records on the soundtrack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paula Wessely, Anton Walbrook, (more)
