Mady Christians Movies

Perhaps the finest American film from the famed European director Max Ophüls, the film stars Joan Fontaine as a young woman who falls in love with a concert pianist. Set in Vienna in 1900, the story is told in a complex flashback structure as the pianist, Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), comes upon a letter written to him by Lisa Berndl (Fontaine), a girl who has been in love with him for years. Stefan is in the process of fleeing Vienna on the eve of fighting a duel. As he prepares himself for the nocturnal journey, the letter arrives. It begins, "By the time you read this letter, I may be dead." As Stefan sits back in his study to read this letter, it turns out to be a confession of unrequited love from Lisa. The story flashes backs to when Lisa was 14 years old and Stefan was her neighbor. After following Stefan with a girlish obsession, the romance gets much more serious, and they have a brief encounter. Stefan promises to come back to her after a concert tour, but he never does. Meanwhile, Lisa marries another man when she discovers that she is pregnant with Stefan's child. When she runs into Stefan years later, he doesn't remember her and tries to seduce her. After Stefan reads the letter, he wants to rush to her side, but now poor Lisa is dying from typhus. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A plot revealed through the correspondence between German-American businessman and his Jewish partner, Lukas, the German-American, returns to Germany during the early Nazi years and gets caught up in the racist philosophies. He goes to the point of denying even his partner's daughter, who is engaged to Lukas's son. Disastrous results follow this man's newly acquired bigoted decisions. ~ All Movie Guide

This romantic tearjerker was the second film based on the popular 1922 stage play. James Stewart stars as Chico, a lowly Paris sewer worker who has abandoned his faith in God and any hope for a brighter future or romance when his prayers go unanswered. Chico meets Diane (Simone Simon), a prostitute who lives under the thumb of her cruel sister, Nana (Gale Sondergaard). When Nana kicks Diane out on the street, Chico rescues her from the authorities and gives his new friend shelter in his run-down, seventh floor slum apartment. Although Diane begins to develop feelings for him, the cynical Chico feels nothing in return until Father Chevillon (Jean Hersholt), a local priest, intervenes to get him a better job. Now working as a street cleaner, Chico's self-respect improves, and he considers marrying Diane. WWI intervenes, however, and Chico is sent off to fight, though he and Diane vow to think of each other every night at eleven o'clock. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Johanna Spyri's perennial children's favorite Heidi was retailored to the talents of Shirley Temple, resulting in one of her best vehicles. Orphaned early in the proceeding, Heidi is left in the care of her bitter, misanthropic grandfather Adolph Kramer (Jean Hersholt). It doesn't take long before the sweet little child has melted grandpa's hardened heart, and the two "outcasts" become inseparable. But things take a sinister turn when Heidi's cruel and avaricious aunt (Mady Christians) kidnaps the girl and sells her into servitude in the home of wealthy Segemann (Sidney Blackmer). Making the best of the situation, Heidi befriends Segemann's invalid daughter Klara (Marcia Mae Jones), encouraging the girl to walk unassisted for the first time in years. The grateful Segeman promises to reunite Heidi with her grandfather, but Jones's wicked governess Fraulein Rottenmeier (Mary Nash) contrives to keep the girl and her grandpa separated once more -- until the very, very last moment! Perhaps feeling that the Alpine setting of Heidi did not allow Shirley Temple full scope for her musical talents, the screenwriters contrived to include a dream sequence, wherein Heidi imagines herself to be in Holland and clogs to the tune of "In My Little Wooden Shoes." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, a coal stoker for a ship finds himself turned into a singing sensation when someone hears him lustily singing in the bins one day. He ends up being convinced to go to work as a singer in a floating cafe. Soon he finds himself romantically involved with two women, a socialite and another singer. Songs include: "Fatal Fascination," "I Won't Take No For An Answer," "It's A Great Life," "I Lost My Heart," "Lazybones Gotta Job Now" (Harlan Thompson, Lewis E.Gensler), "Change Your Mind" (Ray Noble), and "My Home Town" (Eddie Davis). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Helen Hayes reportedly turned down the opportunity to play the title role in this dreary melodrama about self-sacrificing motherhood; the opportunity, if that's the word, instead went to Viennese import Mady Christians. After killing her abusive husband (Paul Harvey) in self-defense, downtrodden Naomi Trice (Christians) dusts herself off and moves to another city with her four young children, vowing to pay for her crime when the youngsters are old enough to make their own way in life. Years later, Naomi is not only the proprietor of a successful dress designing business but is also courted by a kind newspaper editor, Pat Naylor (Charles Bickford). But when her oldest son Curtis (William Henry) is badly hurt in a fight with his sister's unsympathetic boyfriend (a very young Robert Taylor), Naomi vows to live up to her old promise if only he will pull through. The young man recovers and Naomi goes on trial for the murder of her husband but refuses to allow her children to give crucial testimony that may lead to an acquittal. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

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

In this drama, a recently convicted criminal boards a train bound for the prison where he will be hanged. His wife rides with him and en route tells a reporter how her husband had accidentally killed a man while protecting her. The reporter, who is dying of tuberculosis, is touched by the story and decides to help them by knocking out a guard, helping the man to escape and jumping off the train to his death. When authorities find the corpse, the assume it belongs to the young convict, and the real killer and his wife are free to start a new life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Because I Loved You was the first German-made talking picture to obtain a widespread release in the U.S. Mady Christians stars as Inge Lund, a popular stage actress who plans to retire upon the occasion of her marriage. Shortly before the wedding, she allows her drunken leading man Otto Radney (Walter Jankuhn) to invite himself into her apartment. One thing leads to another, and before long Inge and Otto end up in bed together. Years later, Inge, happily married and the mother of a child, is unexpectedly reunited with Otto when the latter shows up in town with a touring play. Upon learning of her brief affair with Otto, Inge's husband dissolves the marriage and takes custody of the child. To assuage her grief, Inge returns to the stage. More years pass; Inge comes back to the town where her ex-husband resides, hoping for a reunion with her beloved child. Variations of Because I Loved You would pop up in Hollywood for years afterward, usually starring the likes of Kay Francis and Ruth Chatterton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Das Brennende Herz (The Burning Heart) is motivated by the romance between young composer Georg Wittig (Gustav Froelich) and aspiring singer Dorothy Claudius (Mady Christians). Before their first meeting, hero and heroine have their own individual crosses to bear: Georg is saddled with an alcoholic mother, while Dorothy's father is a helpless invalid. On the eve of Dorothy's first singing job, her father dies, and in her grief she turns to Georg for comfort. Their chance meeting blossoms into love, but the drunken rages of Georg's mother put a nearly impossible strain upon the relationship. And just when it seems that things can't get any worse, Dorothy is seriously injured in a traffic accident. Amazingly, there's a happy ending, but by that time the audience has gone through as much of an emotional wringer as the characters on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide