Karin Dor Movies
Redheaded German leading lady Karin Dor began showing up in European films in 1955. Only a handful of Dor's straight dramatic films have been seen in America, though her more saleable Westerns, sci-fi films, and horror-melodramas have gotten much play in U.S. theaters. Of her Western appearances, the one receiving the widest exposure was her heroine stint in the two-part Winnetou (1965); her more familiar horror flicks include The Invisible Dr. Mabuse (1960) and The Face of Fu Manchu (1962). Among Karin Dor's English-language films were the James Bond opus You Only Live Twice (1967) and Hitchcock's Topaz (1969), each of which afforded the actress a spectacular death scene. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 2006
Deadly secrets begin to seethe when the irresistable allure of a mysterious woman in red draws a weak-willed architect into a fateful one-night stand in director Margarethe von Trotta's entry into the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armin Mueller-Stahl, Katja Riemann, (more)
- 1975
Some sources list Four Against the Desert as a 1979 release. Hal Frederick, Karin Dor and Ron Hayes head the cast, indicating that this obscure actioner was a Euro-American coproduction. The "four" of the title are ecologists, working in the Sahara. Fending off various despoilers, the Four attempt to help a nomadic tribe. It's a toss-up as to what represents the biggest threat: the human villains, or the many natural hazards facing Our Heroes in the desert wastes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1974
An insurance agent, informed that he will die young from a heart ailment, decides to live a wild and uproarious life in the time he has left. He finds himself involved in heart-stopping car chases and explosions on the Riviera while trying to fill in the gaps in an important police investigation. Die Antwort Kennt Nur der Wind is based on Johannes Maria Simmel's novel of the same name. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marthe Keller, Maurice Ronet, (more)
- 1974
- PG
In this taut actioner a steely American officer races against the clock to prevent a radical group of Middle Easterners from obtaining a nuclear warhead that was accidentally lost somewhere in the desert between Jordan and Israel. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1970
Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy wrote, co-produced and stars in (but did not direct) this sophomoric monster mash about a visitor from the dying planet Ummo (a badly-dubbed Michael Rennie, who's played better alien visitors) whose plan for dominating the people of Earth includes the reanimation of several legendary monsters, including the infamous werewolf Waldemar Daninsky (Naschy), the vampire Count de Meirhoff, the mummy Tao-Tet, and Frankenstein's monster... or at least something called "Franksollen" (Naschy again). Everything goes according to his sinister plan until Daninsky has a change of heart (as is his wont in most of Naschy's monster films). Originally titled The Man from Ummo, this cheesy production often aired on late-night TV as Dracula vs. Frankenstein (although the two legendary monsters never actually butt heads). ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- 1970
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Ironside (Raymond Burr) is still in Montreal, still trying to determine if a group of militant Separatists are responsible for a fatal bombing. Reluctantly teamed with flamboyant, cigar-smoking female mystery writer Ernestine Mugford (Hermione Gingold), the Chief must figure out the connection between the death of an old friend and the theft of a priceless chess set. Further complicating matters is Ironside's renewed romance with Jeanine Duvalier (Karin Dor)--whose son Robert (AlaIn Patrick) is among the Separatists who may be planning a major terrorist assault on an upcoming parade. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1970
In the first episode of a two-part story, Ironside (Raymond Burr) arrives in Montreal to attending a criminologists convention. Dampening the festivities is a group of violent Separatists who specialize in terrorist bombings. Making things worse, one of the Separatists, Robert Duvalier (Alain Patrick), is the son of Ironside's former sweetheart Jeanine Duvalier (Karin Dor). Also figuring into the intrigue is a valuable stolen chess set--and let's not forget the presence of flamboyant British crime novelist Ernestine Mugford (Hermione Gingold). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1970
Enemy agents hope to persuade defecting cabinet official Victor Dorman (David Frankham) to return to his own country--or, failing that, they plan to have him killed. For this purpose, the bad guys engage the services of Nicholas Blok (Eric Braeden), a coldblooded troubleshooter who specializes in abduction and assassination. Blok endeavors to force his prey into the open by kidnapping Dorman's daughter Katrina (Dinah Anne Rogers)--and he has no intention of allowing FBI Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to get in his way. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The first horror film from notorious British director Pete Walker, this is a brutal but rather pedestrian pulp thriller about a fetching young go-go dancer (Susan George, in her first starring role) who is stalked in and around an isolated house by ruthless assassins determined to prevent her from reaching her 21st birthday. It seems Marianne is in line for a sizable inheritance from the man she claims is her father -- a crooked magistrate whose career is threatened by her very existence. As if that weren't enough, knowledge of the girl's newfound wealth inspires a team of would-be kidnappers who show up at the villa to beef up the body count. Fans of Walker's blood-drenched thrillers might detect a glimmer of burgeoning talent here, but the suspense is hampered by a clunky script and silly dialogue, and the lovely George is probably just warming up for the following year's Straw Dogs. Also known as Die Beautiful, Marianne! ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- 1969
This is not the same film as the gosh-awful 1970 Al Adamson epic with J.Carroll Naish and Lon Chaney Jr. Originally titled Assignment Terror, this German/Spanish/Italian production stars Michael Rennie as an extraterrestrial invader. Unlike the pacifistic Klaatu, his character in The Day the Earth Stood Still, Rennie is a warmonger this time out, hoping to destroy the earth. To that end, he harnesses the awesome powers of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster et. al. Rennie is foiled (curses!) by a conscience-stricken werewolf. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Filmed on locations ranging from Denmark to the Universal backlot, Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz is based on a novel by Leon Uris. Frederick Stafford, a veteran of European-filmed James Bond rip-offs of the 1960s, is cast as Andre Devereaux, a French secret agent assigned to snoop around Cuba in the months prior to the 1962 missile crisis. Someone is supplying Castro -- and, by extension, Moscow -- with NATO secrets; it is up to Devereaux to liquidate the "mole." Aiding Devereaux is CIA agent Nordstrom (John Forsythe) and aristocratic anti-Castro Cuban Juanita (Karin Dor), who happens to be the girlfriend of pro-Castroite Rico Parra (John Vernon). The director seems to be in awe of the fact-based storyline, and as a result, the film is more cut-and-dried than most Hitchcock efforts. Three different endings were filmed for Topaz; the Laserdisc version carries all three, as does the print available to the American Movie Classics cable service. According to the MPAA, the film was originally rated M but later changed to PG; however, a number of home-video issues of Topaz officially list it as "Not Rated." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, (more)
- 1968
Caroline (France Anglade) is the heroine who is pushed by her father into a loveless marriage with a lawyer. Unknown to her new husband, she lost her virginity to a handsome young officer the day the peasants stormed the Bastille. When her husband flees the revolutionary fervor, Caroline engages in a series of adventures. She is seduced, then raped before her husband returns and relative calm has been restored. The officer, now a member of Napoleon's court, and her husband are now safe. She conspires to leave her husband and return to the arms of her true love, the dashing officer to whom she has given her all. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
James Bond heads East to save the world (and to learn how to serve saki properly) in this action-packed espionage adventure. When an American spacecraft disappears during a mission, it's widely believed to have been intercepted by the Soviet Union, and after a Russian space capsule similarly goes missing, most consider it to be an act of American retaliation. Soon the two nations are at the brink of war, but British intelligence discovers that some sort of UFO has crashed into the Sea of Japan. Agent 007, James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent in to investigate. After staging his own death to avoid being followed, Bond, disguised as a Japanese civilian, teams up with agent Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba) and his beautiful associate Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi). With their help, Bond learns that both the American and Russian space missions were actually scuttled by supercriminal Ernst Blofeld (Donald Pleasance) in yet another bid by his evil empire SPECTRE to take over the world. As he battles the bad guys, Bond finds time to romance both Kissy Suziki (Mie Hama) and Helga Brandt (Karin Dor). You Only Live Twice was one of Sean Connery's last outings as James Bond. The next Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, would star George Lazenby as 007, and while Connery would return for Diamonds Are Forever, in 1973, Roger Moore took over the role. (Connery would play Bond one last time, in 1983's Never Say Never Again, which was produced outside the official series.) ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, (more)
Just the thing for spooky Halloween-night viewing, this good-looking German film from director Harald Reinl tells the story of the horrible Count Regula (Christopher Lee), who murdered a dozen virgins and drained their blood. For these heinous crimes, he was sentenced to be drawn and quartered. Thirty-five years later, his undead servant resurrects him for revenge and a 13th victim (pretty Karin Dor), whose blood will give Regula eternal life. Lex Barker (a former movie Tarzan) plays the descendant of the man who sentenced Regula to death and has the task of stopping him, aided by Dor's maid and a highwayman disguised as a monk. Some chilling visuals (a haunted forest with corpses growing out of trees, swarms of vultures in the castle corridors, the obligatory pendulum) and assorted creepy crawlies (pits of snakes, spiders and scorpions) make this a real old-fashioned scare-fest, and it is not too bloody for horror-hungry children. Very loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe's Pit and the Pendulum, this film delivers on its promise to frighten, although the badly-dubbed U.S. version is to be avoided. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- 1967
A terrifying monk cuts a sinister figure in this grim story of blackmail murder and mayhem. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1966
Siegfried's wife Kriemhild (Maria Marlow) seeks vengeance after she learns of her husband' death. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Karin Dor, Herbert Lom, (more)
- 1966
Director Harald Reinl takes this epic sword-and-sorcery fantasy from the 12th-century Teutonic legend and from the 1924 Fritz Lang silent classic. Siegfried (Uwe Beyer) is a heroic warrior who bathes in dragon's blood to become nearly invincible. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Uwe Beyer, Rolf Henniger, (more)
- 1966
Adriana (Stefania Sandrelli) is a young woman from the country who gets caught up in the tempestuous temptations of the big city in this somber moral drama. She has a series of affairs that are just for fun, but she becomes depressed when she desperately looks for a more meaningful relationship. The only men she finds sympathy with are a battered boxer (Mario Adorf) and a publicity agent (Nino Manfredi). Ugo Tognazzi has a brief part as a washed-up actor. Adriana's dreams are crushed to the point that she considers suicide her only alternative. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stefania Sandrelli, Nino Manfredi, (more)
- 1965
In this drama, the devilish Chinese villain has concocted a deadly gas. He tries it out in a small English town and is delighted to discover that it is terribly effective. He then travels to the Thames with his daughter. There he has an explosive encounter with the hero who stops the evil plot. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Nigel Green, (more)
- 1965
Three espionage stories with drug smuggling, political assassination and secret agents set in Rome, Vienna and Brazil. ~ Rovi
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