Werner Fuetterer Movies

Toward the end of 1918, soldiers in the Austrian army were well aware that things were not going well. In this story, an army cadet arrives to serve in Belgrade and receives orders to serve in a regiment which is accompanying a Hanoverian princess on her return to Vienna. While in Belgrade, the young man and the princess are able to meet, and they fall in love. The cadet knows that it is foolish to expect the Slavs, who have been drafted into the army, to fight very hard for an empire they would happily see dissolved, but his superior officers are oblivious to this simple fact, and as a consequence, they suffer serious military reverses. Inspired by their ancient code of military honor, the regiment's officers fight and die to preserve the regiment's battleflag, which comes into the keeping of the cadet. He is entrusted with the task of returning it to the Hapsburg royal family. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The Devil's General (Des Teufels General) stars Curt Jurgens as a courageous Luftwaffe officer. Jurgens loves the service, even though he barely tolerates the Hitler regime. Sickened by wartime Nazi atrocities, Jurgens renounces his government, and is imprisoned and tortured as a result. Once released, the general takes pity on a downtrodden Jewish family. This isolated act of kindness is a point in his favor when Jurgens stands before Satan himself for his final judgment. The Devil's General was based on an immensely successful postwar play by German author Carl Zuckmeyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The ever-popular Viennese operetta star Willi Forst serves as producer, director, co-writer and star of Es Geschehen Noch Wunder (Miracles Still Happen). The whimsically old-fashioned plotline concerns a pair of young lovers who are haunted by a strange melody. Only the lovers can hear the music, leading to several comically dicey complications. Forst's leading lady this time out is the lovely Hildegarde Neff, who is clearly much, much younger than the star, making certain passages of the storyline a bit hard to swallow. At 125 minutes, Es Geschehen Noch Wunder wears out its welcome long before fadeout time, though Willi Forst's legions of fans never complained. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Avery Hopwood's stage farce Fair and Warmer was effectively Germanized in 1937 as Der Mustergatte. Fed up with faithless boyfriends, Margret (Leni Mahrenbach) impulsively accepts a marriage proposal from young businessman Bartlett (Heinz Ruhmann). He proves to be a loyal and steadfast husband -- too loyal and steadfast, as it turns out. Realizing that his wife is bored silly by his sexual conservatism, Bartlett vows to cut loose and play the field -- thereby becoming a much more desirable spouse. The film's highlight is a drunk scene, masterfully played for all it's worth by the talented Heinz Ruhmann. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title translates literally as I'll Never Believe in Women Again, thereby neatly giving away the entire plot. Ostensibly a vehicle for popular operatic tenor Richard Tauber, the film consigns Tauber to a secondary "bemused observer" role. The basic story focuses on sailor Jochem (Paul Hoerbiger), who hopes to settle down in small port town. Falling in love with local prostitute Katja (Maria Solveg), Jochem sets about to reform her -- only to discover that the girl is his own long-lost sister. Disillusioned, Jochem returns to the sea, but not before making the titular vow to himself. Previously released in New York in a truncated version in 1932, the original, uncut Ich Glaub Nie Mehr an Eine Frau was distributed stateside a year later, and while it the complete version isn't much of an improvement, at least Richard Tauber was permitted a few extra songs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Louis Ralph was director, co-writer and star of WWI drama Cruiser Emden. The title refers to a famous German warship, which conducted innumerable raids upon battle cruisers and passenger vessels alike, always striking without warning. Ultimately, the Emden was itself blasted from the waters by a feisty Australian naval crew. Evidently, the audience is expected to identify with the crew of the Emden, but this proves difficult considering the ship's bloody track record. A silent film on the same subject, Raider Emden, simply told the story without taking sides. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title translates as Oh, Old Student Happiness, which should give the spectator a pretty good idea of what to expect. Once again, old Heidelberg University is depicted as a place where the students spend more time singing, drinking and womanizing than they do at their studies. This time, the students are captivated by an American tourist, played by Betty Amann. Two of her erstwhile suitors fight a duel over her honor, only to be prevented from cutting each other to ribbons by the timely arrival of Amann herself, who can't understand what all the fuss is about. The cliches prevalent in Alte Burscherherlichkeit could be recited by rote in 1932 and were often filmed by rote as well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Veteran German cinematographer Karl Freund made his directorial debut with the 1926 production Die Abenteur eins Zehnmarkscheines, released in the U.S. as Uneasy Money. Credit for the direction, however, was bestowed upon Freund's assistant, Bertold Viertel, which may be why 1932's The Mummy is listed as Freund's first "official" directorial effort. The multistoried plotline is tied together by a ten-mark banknote, which causes no end of tragedy for the main characters. When mill-worker Anna (Mary Nolan) brings home the note as her first week's wages, the money is stolen by her no-good brother. He buys a knife, kills a man, and is sentenced to hang. Grief-stricken, Anna takes to wandering the streets, ultimately falling into the hands of a white-slavery ring. She escapes with her virtue intact and returns to her lover -- but that's not the end of the story, as the ten-pound note continues to pass from hand to hand, spreading disaster wherever it goes until it ends up where it began, in Anna's purse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Faust was the mammoth German production which won F. W. Murnau his contract with Hollywood's Fox Studios. Emil Jannings glowers his way through the role of Mephistopholes, who offers the aging Faust (Gosta Eckman) an opportunity to relive his youth, the price being Faust's soul. Though highly stylized, the film is unsettlingly realistic at times, especially during the execution of the unfortunate Gretchen. Even in old age, actress Camilla Horn could recall how close she came to genuine immolation when Murnau burned her at the stake. An American version of Faust had been planned earlier as a Mary Pickford vehicle, but Pickford's mother wanted no part of a film in which her darling daughter strangled her own baby. The scenario for Faust touches lightly upon the previous retellings by Goethe and Marlowe, but is more heavily reliant on the paintings of Pietr Breughel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide