Ernst F. Furbringer
- 1969
- PG
Hannibal Brooks (Oliver Reed) is a British prisoner of war assigned to care for an elephant in a zoo in Munich. Along with an American (Michael J. Pollard) and an Austrian (Helmut Lohner), the trio escapes with the elephant and heads for the Swiss border. They use the elephant to tear down a sentry post and gain access to the border crossing. They are betrayed by a Polish girl who aligns herself with the Nazis as the trio of escapees and their pachyderm protector evade the enemy in their attempt to escape. Comical moments are provided by the animal and James Donald who plays a captured British Army chaplain in this World War II adventure feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Michael J. Pollard, (more)
In 1944, with Paris on the verge of Liberation by the allies, Adolph Hitler ordered that the City of Light be blown up and burned to the ground. General Dietrich Von Choltitz, after much rumination, decided that he didn't want to go down in history as the man who destroyed Paris. His refusal to follow Hitler's orders would make him a pariah in Germany for the rest of his life; nor was his gesture ever rewarded by the Allies. From this very human story in the midst of one of the most inhuman conflicts in history grew the screenplay (by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola) of the all-star, internationally produced Is Paris Burning? Whereas the earlier The Longest Day was able to support a castful of celebrities and brief subplot vignettes, Is Paris Burning? seems more weighted down than weighty. Still, a modern audience will have fun playing "spot the star" throughout the film, especially when those spotted stars include the likes of Gert Frobe (as Choltitz), Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas (as Patton), Glenn Ford (as Bradley), Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Robert Stack, and even Anthony Perkins as a wide-eyed GI. Filmed on a gargantuan scale, Is Paris Burning? was based on a book by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre. The film was lensed in black and white, save for the Technicolor finale (in the original road-show prints). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 1966
Inspector X (Tony Kendall) is a private detective who teams up with Captain Tom Rowland (Brad Harris) of the NYPD homicide division in this action-packed crime drama filled with sex and violence. The duo is sent to Singapore to save a noted atomic scientist (E.F. Fuerbringer) from being blackmailed by international gangsters. There are plenty of fights and pretty femme fatales waiting for the heroes in their quest to protect the coveted professor. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Kendall, Brad Harris, (more)
- 1965
Ludwig (Hansi Kraus) is a mischievous moppet who causes plenty of good-natured fun in this uneven children's comedy taken from the popular book by Ludwig Thoma. He lets loose white mice in the sleeping room of an elderly couple, blows up toys, and replaces his aging Aunt Frieda's (Elisabeth Flickenschildt) beloved parrot with a black cat. Ludwig's mother (Kaethe Braun) and sister (Renate Kasche) must also contend with his hilarious hijinx. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hansi Kraus, Kaethe Braun, (more)
- 1964
Detective C.G. (Klaus-Juergen Wussow) begins to investigate the death of an attractive woman (Heidelinde Weis) whose naked body was found in Beverly Hills. When he recovers her journal, he is taken into her past where he finds that she lead a sexually promiscuous life. Perhaps in the pages of the diary will be a clue to her killer's identity. This thriller was the first German feature to be shot in Hollywood after WWII as well as the first feature for German television director Michael Pfleghar. Based on a bestselling novel by Curt Goetz, Die Tote Von Beverly Hills/The Corpse of Beverly Hills was adapted to the screen only a few short years after his death. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heidelinde Weis, Klaus-Jurgen Wussow, (more)
- 1961
Even while a series of British second features based on the works of Edgar Wallace was flourishing in the 1960s, Germany was grinding out its own Wallace series. Secret of the Red Orchid top-bills British actor Christopher Lee in a story of a joint effort between the FBI and Scotland Yard. The target of these combined forces is a far-reaching crime syndicate. The stellar international cast includes Klaus Kinski (a semi-regular in the Wallace series), Marissa Mell, and silent film veteran Fritz Rasp. Secret of the Red Orchid was originally titled Puzzle of the Red Orchid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
A charming, sophisticated, off-beat, and unlikely comedy, Ein Mann Geht durch die Wand has a title that describes the crux of the humor: an unprepossessing underling in the revenue offices discovers he can walk through walls. Herr Buchsbaum (Heinz Ruehmann) is naturally quite surprised at this development, but he soon finds some very understandable ways to use his newfound ability. His exploits lead both to laughter and to a tug at the heartstrings. Also figuring in the tale are his attractive next-door neighbor, two colleagues at work, and his boss. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Courcel, Rudolf Rhomberg, (more)
- 1958
Writer/director Robert Siodmak based his German-filmed The Devil Strikes at Night on an actual case. Set during the last months of the Hitler regime, the film concerns a series of rapes and stranglings of young women. Gestapo officer Rossdorf (Hannes Messemer) and non-party member Axel Kersten (Claus Holm) investigate the trail of evidence. They discover that the criminal is Bruno Leudke, a mental defective (played by Mario Adorf). An open-and-shut case...except for the fact that Adorf is a loyal Nazi Party member! The dilemma now is to stem the crime spree without publicizing the embarrassing fact that "Aryan supremacy" is capable of yielding a monster like Adorf. Originally titled Nachts, Wenn der Teufel Kam, The Devil Strikes at Night has also been released as Nazi Terror at Night and Nights When the Devil Came. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Adorf, Claus Holm, (more)
- 1957
17th century author Daniel Defoe is assisted by a group of children in this drama. ~ All Movie Guide
This dramatic recounting of the disastrous maiden voyage of H.M.S. Titanic was produced in Germany during WWII and features an undertow of anti-British propaganda absent from other versions of the story. The building of the luxurious ocean liner Titantic proves to be a hugely expensive proposition, and Sir Bruce Ismay (Ernst Fritz Furbringer), president of White Star Lines, wants to make sure that the ship's first crossing is big news. It is at his urging that Capt. Edward J. Smith (Otto Wernicke) pushes for a record speed in their voyage to New York, sowing the seeds for later disaster. This Titanic features a number of rich, decadent British passengers and a handful noble German peasants. While the film was produced with the participation of the Nazi government, its portrait of a disaster at sea proved to be more depressing than inspiring, and it was pulled from theaters shortly after its initial release, though it has since appeared on television and on home video in Europe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1941
This historical recap of Dr. Carl Peters tells of the founding of Deutsch Ostafrika, which covered parts of present-day Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Winner of several awards it its day, this video is available in German only. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1939
Wasser Fur Canitoga (Water for Canitoga) is a duck-billed platypus of a film: a German-language western, filmed in Canada and designed as anti-British propaganda. Hans Albers, in 1939 Germany's most popular male actor, plays the rough-and-tumble hero. Falsely accused of sabotaging the system that pipes water to a remote Canadian outpost. The climax finds Albers struggling to save the subterranean piping machinery, at the cost of his own life. As he lies dying on the floor of the local saloon, his fellow miners strike up a soulful chorus of "Good-bye, Johnny!" This scene alone is worth the admission price of the slow-moving but undeniably compelling Wasser Fur Canitoga. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1938
Hans H. Zerlett was pretty near the whole show in the German Es Leuchten die Sterne (The Stars are Shining): producer, director, screenwriter. Zerlett, however, was not the star, that honor went to German musical-comedy star La Jana. What story there is concerns a pretty movie extra who is mistaken for a famous dancer, requiring her to head the cast of a star-studded musical revue. Among the guest performers in this glorified vaudeville show are tap-dance king Paal Roschberg and former heavyweight boxing champ Max Schmeling. Incidentally, the "Paul Verhoven" providing comedy relief is not the same-named contemporary director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1937
Truxa was inspired by the Heinrich Seiler novel of the same name. The title character, played by Peter Eisholtz, is a world-famous tightrope walker who quits his job when his nerves fail him. Meeting an aspiring aerialist named Husen (Hannes Sielzer), Truxa changes places with the young man, dropping out of view while Husen rises to fame as the "new" Truxa. Life begins to get complicated for Husen when he falls in love with Truxa's former sweetheart Yester (La Jana). The girl's jealous partner schemes to sabotage Hussen's act, but he is saved by the timely reappearance of the real Truxa, whose selfless behavior proves that he's still the greatest aerialist in show business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernst F. Furbringer
- 1936
Du bist Mein Gluck (You Are My Joy) was the third starring feature for the great Operatic tenor Beniamino Gigli. Gigli's imposing presence and splendid singing notwithstanding, the film is dominated by Isa Miranda in a dual role. After deserting her husband to shack up with Mario Monti (Gigli), Bianca Scarpa (Miranda) returns home years later to beg for custody of her child, only to be throw out into the street. Years later, the child has grown up into a beautiful young woman and an excellent dancer (Miranda plays both mother and daughter). Feeling guilty about causing so much family dissension, Monti tries to arrange for a reconciliation between Bianca and her daughter. The musical highlights in Du bist Mein Gluck feature such operatic luminaries as Hildegarde Ranczak, Maria Cornelius, and Ludwig Weber. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beniamino Gigli, Isa Miranda, (more)
- 1936
Diener Lassen Bitten (Dinner is Served) was adapted from a stage comedy by Toni Empekoven. When low-born British whiskey manufacturer James Potter (Joe Stoeckel) purchases stately Castle Bluehill, he sends his snootily aristocratic neighbors into an uproar. It is especially galling when the bluebloods are forced to treat Potter's new wife Henriette (Fita Benkhoff), formerly the Castle Bluehill's housemaid, as an equal. The subsequent romance between Potter's daughter Mary (Rose Stradner) and Lord Spiller (Josef Eichheim) seems doomed thanks to the snobbery of the bluebloods, but the Potters' faithful servants -- most of them old pals of Henriette -- come to the rescue. The "democratic" aspects of the storyline are rather surprising, considering that the film was produced during the Hitler regime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Hübner, Gertrud de Lalsky, (more)
