Wolfgang Buttner Movies
- 1988
Bruno Morlock (Ludwig Hirsch) is a world-weary urban cop who is left in charge of the decidedly strange teenage Karl (Sara Kellenberger) when his occult-dabbling mother dies. Bruno and coroner Dr. Tanzgeschirr (Elsbeth Janda) are soon baffled over a series of mysterious murders. The doctor is not prepared for what she discovers, nor is Bruno prepared for the feelings of love he has for his new ward. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ludwig Hirsch, Sara Kellenberger, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Also released as Sergeant Steiner, Breakthrough is a German war flick helmed by western specialist Andrew McLaglen. Richard Burton stars as Sgt. Steiner, a German who doesn't subscribe to the Nazi party line. When the plot to kill Hitler is hatched, Steiner is persuaded to join the conspiracy by General Hoffman (Curt Jurgens). Robert Mitchum and Rod Steiger costar as American officers peripherally involved in the storyline. Intended as a sequel to the successful Cross of Iron, Breakthrough failed to match the box-office performance of the earlier film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Rod Steiger, (more)
The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate "takes" were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film's title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox's concurrently produced Cleopatra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1961
This is a hard-hitting, realistic drama by Helmut Kaeutner that covers perhaps too much territory as it looks at the failing morality of a small German village, caught in the fever of material gain. The U.S. is building a military base nearby in cooperation with the Germans, a base for launching rockets. Along with the copious and rapid flow of dollars into the economy come nightclubs and bars, prostitution, and black-market deals for those who would get rich quick. Among the latter are some Germans making a good profit illicitly selling the gravel that is destined for the construction of the military base to other buyers. The story focuses on a truckdriver, Robert Neidhardt (Helmut Wildt), who is connected to the wheeling part of the dealing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingmar Zeisberg
- 1961
Even while a series of British second features based on the works of Edgar Wallace was flourishing in the 1960s, Germany was grinding out its own Wallace series. Secret of the Red Orchid top-bills British actor Christopher Lee in a story of a joint effort between the FBI and Scotland Yard. The target of these combined forces is a far-reaching crime syndicate. The stellar international cast includes Klaus Kinski (a semi-regular in the Wallace series), Marissa Mell, and silent film veteran Fritz Rasp. Secret of the Red Orchid was originally titled Puzzle of the Red Orchid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lilli Palmer, Winnie Markus, (more)
