George Alexander Movies
- 1958
War of the Colossal Beast picks up a year after the end of The Amazing Colossal Man -- Joyce Manning (Sally Fraser), sister to the first film's 70-foot-tall Colossal Man, Lt. Col. Glenn Manning (Glenn Langan), believes that her brother is still alive, despite his fall off of Boulder Dam at the denouement of the first movie.Her hope is based on reports out of Mexico about a "very big man" attacking truckers and other passersby in a remote part of the country. As it turns out, Manning (played here by Dean Parkin, since Langan turned down the request to star in a sequel) is alive and hiding somewhere in the mountains, bigger than ever and suffering from serious brain damage, with a hideously deformed face that is covered in scar tissue and missing an eye. Every effort at communicating with the giant fails, and as things always transpire in movies of this sort (at least since the silent version of The Lost World), he breaks out of the place where he is being held and goes on a rampage. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Fraser, Dean Parkin, (more)
- 1951
A remake of the French Le Corbeau ("The Raven"), The Thirteenth Letter is a film noir in a curious setting -- a rural village deep in Quebec, seemingly sleepy and typical. Dr. Laurent (Charles Boyer) returns from a medical convention in Montreal, anxious to see his much younger wife, Cora (Constance Smith). Cora is attracted to Dr. Pearson (Michael Rennie), a young doctor who moved into the town soon after his unfaithful wife killed herself. Soon Pearson, Laurent and Cora all receive letters -- signed "the Raven" -- hinting at an affair between Pearson and Cora. Soon more poison pen letters are showing up around town, including one which insinuates that Pearson has not been telling the truth about the medical condition of a wounded war hero. Distraught, the veteran takes his life, unaware that the information in the letter was a lie. Meanwhile, Pearson has become attracted to Denise, (Linda Darnell), a romance-starved young woman born with a clubfoot. As suspicion builds about who is sending the letters -- and about whether Pearson should be trusted -- the Mayor takes charge of the investigation, and Pearson doubles his efforts to prove his innocence. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Darnell, Charles Boyer, (more)
In an on-the-run investigation, a female reporter is in a race against time to capture a prominent attorney who has been implicated in a murder committed years before when she receives an inside tip. As she collects evidence, she must stay one step ahead of him so that she doesn't become his latest victim. Good scripting and direction makes this a suspense-filled movie. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helmut Dantine, Mary Anderson, (more)
- 1937
The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lida Baarova, Hans Söhnker, (more)
- 1937
In keeping with its title, which translates as Tales from the Vienna Woods, this German operetta spotlights the lilting three-quarter-time tunes of Johann Strauss. It all begins when humble mechanic Rudi Walheim (Wolf Albach-Retty) inherits a title and a castle. Unfortunately, his new domicile is mortgaged to the hilt, forcing Rudi to cook up a few get-rich-quick schemes. He is helped along by Millie (Magda Schneider), a poor girl pretending to be rich, and Mary (Truus von Aalten), a rich girl pretending to be poor. It's anybody's guess as to which girl our hero will marry at film's end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Magda Schneider, Wolf Albach-Retty, (more)
- 1936
A popular novel by Richard Henry Savage was the springboard for Seine Offizielle Frau (My Official Wife). The story is set in 1910 with the action evenly divided between Paris and St. Petersburg. Basically a comedy, the story concerns a high-ranking British official named Colonel Lenox (George Alexander) who is forced by diplomatic circumstances to pretend that one Mme. Helene (Renate Muller) is his wife. All well and good -- except that the Colonel is already married! My Official Wife was first filmed by Vitagraph in 1916 -- and, contrary to popular belief, did not feature Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky in the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Renate Mueller, George Alexander, (more)
- 1936
Though the title translates literally as My Sweetheart is a Hunter, this German musical comedy was released in the U.S. as Love at Court. The story takes place during the reign of Austrian emperor Franz Josef I, here played by Earl Ehmann. The emperor embarks on a hunting expedition, with three young romantic couples in tow. Not much "big game" is bagged, but at least Franz Josef can take comfort in the fact that all three pairs of lovers are happily married by film's end. Billed at the bottom of the cast list is "guest star" Leo Slezak, the opera-star father of character actor Walter Slezak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Alexander
- 1932
Ein Bischen Liebe (A Bit of Love) was based on Business in America, a play by Frank & Hirschfield. A wealthy American auto manufacturer pays a visit to Vienna, there to make an inspection tour of his company's Austrian plant. Weaned on the romanticized images of Vienna as seen in the movies, our hero is rather surprised to discover that conditions in Austria are not so far removed as those in the good old USA. Well, there is one difference: while in Vienna, he manages to fall in love for the first time in his life. At this point, Ein Bischen Liebe evolves into a marital-mix-up farce, with all the expected comic cliches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hermann Thimig, Lee Parry, (more)
- 1932
Ein Prinz Verliebt Sich (A Prince Falls in Love) stars Georg Alexander as the title character, a merry young monarch named Prince Michael. Ordered to marry homely little Maria (Lien Deyers), the Prince takes a run-out powder to the continent, where he dallies with a Parisian number named Fifi (Trude Berliner). Taking matters in her own hands, Maria dolls herself up until she's a ravishing beauty. Naturally, Michael falls for her -- but now she's not so sure that she wants him! The songs in Ein Prinz Verliebt Sich were just as derivative and unoriginal as the storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Alexander, Lien Deyers, (more)
- 1931
The German playwrighting team of Arnold and Bach were the collective Neil Simon of their time, turning out one successful stage comedy after another. Hurra! Ein Junge (Hurrah! A Boy!) is a typical Arnold-Bach melange of infidelity, mistaken identity, and punctured pomposity. The situations surrounding the birth of the heroine's child sparks a maelstrom of slapstick, coming to a hilarious head just a few moments before the final fadeout. Critics found the picture "grotesque"; audiences found it side-splittingly funny. The best performances were rendered by Ralph A. Roberts and Max Adelbert, two veterans of many a previous Arnold-Bach collaboration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Adalbert, Ida Wuest, (more)
- 1931
Several European countries collaborated to create this drama. The story begins as a young British woman meets and falls in love with her tour guide during a vacation to Naples. Along the way, she hears him singing. Recognizing a good tenor voice when she hears one, she takes him back to England for special vocal training. The tour guide is one handsome heartbreaker and one of his lovers is angered by his desertion. In England he sings at a fancy party. They are so impressed, that he is immediately booked into an opera house the following night. During the party, he finds himself becoming increasingly jealous of his newest girlfriend's flirtatious ways. When he discovers that his operatic debut is being financed by other party goers, the tenor flies into a rage and begins attacking the backers. Naturally they cancel his performance. The tour guide returns to Naples and to his other lover. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan Kiepura, Walter Janssen, (more)
