Benno Vigny Movies
- 1961
This biopic chronicles the life and rise to fame of the original waltz king, Johann Strauss. The composer developed his radical new sound while conducting a small band in a restaurant. It was his mistress, a milliner, who created the dance. Soon after its appearance, the waltz became the rage of Vienna. The new-found wealth and fame goes to Strauss' head and he ends up abandoning his wife to tour Europe with his lover. Years pass before he returns to Vienna. There the curmudgeonly Strauss discovers that his son, Johann Jr. has become almost as famous for his waltzes. Family discord ensues, but just before the elder Strauss dies, he hears his son's music and the two finally reconcile. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Der Verloreue (The Lost One) was the only directorial effort by actor Peter Lorre. In keeping with Lorre's established screen persona, this is a tale of stark terror, disillusionment and defeatism. The actor stars as Dr. Rothe, a German research scientist who during WW2 discovers that his fiancee has been selling his scientific secrets to the British. In a fit of pique, he murders her, but is not punished for the crime, which is passed off by the Nazi authorities as justifiable homicide. Unable to console himself to his sweetheart's betrayal, Rothe wanders the countryside, killing every woman who reminds him of his lost love - while the Gestapo dutifully continues covering his tracks, even declaring him legally dead so that he can escape imprisonment. In a plot twist worthy of Fritz Lang, Lorre puts himself on trial and metes out his own punishment. Not entirely successful, Der Verloreue is still a fascinating exercise in fatalism from one of the cinema's most distinctive talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Lorre, Karl John, (more)
- 1949
The title character in this French outdoor drama is a trusty St. Bernard dog. The dramatic weight of the story, however, is carried on the shoulders of Barry's master Theotime (Pierre Fresnay). In flashback, the audience is apprised of the events leading up to Theotime's decision to enter the priesthood. As can be expected, a woman (Simone Valere) is the cause of it all. In the spirit of "forgive and forget," Father Theotime does his best to smooth the path of romance for his former lady friend and his onetime best friend (Marc Valbel). Meanwhile, Barry distinguishes himself with various and sundry acts of "above and beyond the call" heroism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simone Valere, Pauline Carton, (more)
- 1931
Das Maedel von der Resperbahn (Girl from the Resperbahn) was based on a story by Benne Vigny. When young Hanna (Olga Tschekova) is washed up on shore after a shipwreck, she is rescued by lighthouse keeper Uwe Bull (Hans von Schlettow). Out of gratitude, Hanna marries her savior, though she does not love him. The story takes an ominous turn when Hanna falls hard for a young sailor (Josef Rowensky). Reviewers in 1930 were less impressed by the stars of this film than they were by popular baritone Andre Pilot, cast in a marginal role as a cabaret singer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Adalbert von Schlettow, Olga Tschechowa, (more)
- 1931
Based on the best-selling book by Egon Erwin Kisch, this Czechoslovakian production tells the true story of one of the most flagrant turncoats in European history. A officer on the pre-WWI Austrian military staff, Colonel Redl has no qualms about accepting bribes from and passing secrets to the hated Russians. Playing both sides of the fence, Redl also accepts gratuities from his fellow Austrians to get the goods on "undesirables" from within. His justification? As a member of the "lower orders," Redl feels that he could never have cracked the aristocratic upper circles of the European military without resorting to treachery. The real Redl's homosexuality is not an issue in this film, though it certainly would be in Istvan Szabo's 1985 production Colonel Redl (not a remake of the 1931 film, but instead adapted from John Osborne's A Patriot for Me). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theodor Loos, Lil Dagover, (more)
- 1931
This British production was the final film of writer/producer/director Rex Ingram, who also stars; his wife Alice Terry assisted him as co-director. André Duval (Ingram) and Si Hamed (Pierre Batcheff) are both sergeants in the Spahis, the corps of Algerian native cavalry in the French Army. Duval falls in love with Si Hamed's sister Zinah (Rosita Garcia), even though an infidel's attentions to her can lead to his death. Zinah's father, Si Allal (Felipe Montes), is a Berber chieftan battling the bandit Si Amarok (Andrews Engelmann), who lusts after Zinah and plans to betray Si Allal. The Spahis defend him against the bandits, and Duval and Zinah come to terms with their feelings. When the Spahis leave, he is with them as she waves goodbye. Released in the U.S. in a 74-minute version called Love in Morocco, Baroud was also shot in a French-language version, with Duval and Zinah played by Roland Caillaux and Colette Darfeuil. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosita Garcia, Colette Darfeuil, (more)
- 1931
The 1930 Hollywood feature Laughter, which starred Nancy Carroll and Fredric March, was also lensed in two foreign-language versions. Both the German Die Manner um Lucie and the French Rive Gauche were directed by Alexander Korda. Liane Haid, Walter Rilla and Oskar Karlweis star in this Teutonic spin on the original Harry D'Arrast-Douglas Doty screenplay (D'Arrast also directed the English-language Laughter). Liane assumes the Nancy Carroll role as a Follies dancer who marries likeable millionaire Karlweis. He denies her nothing, not even an extramarital fling with composer Rilla. The complications that follow are both sophisticated and logical, with the characters behaving like human beings rather than French-farce stick figures. We'll let the auteur theorists argue over whether Alexander Korda's direction was any more accomplished than Harry D'Arrast's. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Rive Gauche (Left Bank) is the French-language version of the 1931 Alexander Korda production Die Manner Um Lucie.When his sweetheart Lulu (Meg Lemmonier) marries a wealthy banker, young Montparnasse musician Robert (Henry Garet) heads to Rome to forget his troubles. Years later, he returns to Montparnasse to reclaim Lulu from the banker, who has proved a most unsuitable husband indeed. Young Fanny Clair steals the show as the banker's precocious daughter (and Robert's unexpected ally). The film is distinguished by its enticing picture-postcard views of Montparnasse and Rome, which proved as fascinating to Europeans as it did to Americans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meg Lemonnier, Marcelle Praince, (more)
- 1930
Like so many campaigners before him, Gary Cooper joins the Foreign Legion to "forget." At a smoky cabaret in Morocco, Cooper meets café entertainer Marlene Dietrich (making her American film debut). A woman with a very checkered past, Dietrich toys with the callow Cooper, but eventually falls hopelessly in love with him, even to the extent of throwing over wealthy Adolphe Menjou. The now-famous final image of Morocco finds la Dietrich, decked out in her cabaret finery and wearing high heels, heading after Cooper's regiment across the desert with the rest of the "camp followers." There is considerably more to the story than that, but these bare-bones details should be enough to entice anyone familiar with the exotic eroticism of the Josef von Sternberg/Marlene Dietrich vehicles. Should you need more enticement, let us inform you that Morocco is the film in which Marlene Dietrich, dressed in a man's tuxedo for her nightclub act, kisses a female patron squarely on the lips. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, (more)
