Liane Haid Movies

Peter Im Schnee (Peter in the Snow) top-bills Traudl Stark in the title role. Despite her character name, Stark was certifiably female, and for a brief period she was considered Germany's answer to Shirley Temple. This entry in Stark's "Peter" series finds the little girl helping to patch up the broken marriage of her Aunt Doris (Liane Hald). Peter's efforts are nearly thwarted by Doris' divorce lawyer, who covets his share of a huge settlement. The plot is resolved in a tiny Alpine cabin, with all the adult characters darting in and out in the manner of a frantic French farce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The oft-filmed life of Viennese composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is again cinematized in this elaborate but ponderous British production. Stephen Haggard plays Mozart, the former child prodigy who becomes the fair-haired boy of Austria, only to lose it all and die in poverty before his 40th birthday. The screenplay, by Margaret Kennedy (The Constant Nymph), chooses to sidestep the less-savory aspects of Mozart's life and death, choosing to end on a note of triumph as the composer's The Magic Flute temporarily rescues him from bankruptcy. Conspicuous by his absence is the composer Salieri, whose rivalry with Mozart formed the basis of the 1984 Oscar-winner Amadeus. Completed in the late 1930s, Mozart was released in 1940, as the last non-documentary effort by director Basil Dean (whose wife Victoria Hopper appears as Mrs. Mozart). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The full title of this German musical was Ich Will Nicht Wissen Wer Du Bist, which translates as I Care Not What You Are. Gustav Froelich stars as Bobby, an impoverished baron who takes a job as a chauffeur. Alice (Liane Haid), the niece of Bobby's employer, falls in love with the handsome car jockey, but Uncle will have none of it; he insists that Alice marry someone on her same social level. Amused by the situation, Bobby doesn't reveal his true identity until he is certain that Alice loves him for himself and not his lineage. Originally running 95 minutes, Ich Will Nicht Wissen was cut by a full reel before its American premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Forced to work nights, a young Austrian bureaucrat is unable to escort his lovely wife to a masquerade ball. Unbeknownst to our hero, his wife and her maid slip off to the ball on their own. Wifey makes the acquaintance of her husband's best friend who, unaware of her identity, is quite smitten by her and invites himself to her home. She manages to get rid of her lovesick swain by removing her mask and gown and disguising the maid as herself. Never revealing her true identity, the maid enjoys a passionate evening in her escort's apartment. The next day, the husband, who hasn't a clue as to what has transpired the night before, invites his friend home to "meet the missus." The friend is naturally terrified at the prospect that the wife will reveal their romantic rendezvous of the night before, little realizing that he'd actually spent the entire evening with the maid. How this situation eventually straightens itself out is far better seen than described. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "great yearning" of the title refers to the desire of heroine Camilla Horn to become a famous movie star. Fortunately, director Theodor Loos happens to be combing the countryside, searching for "something new" to put before the cameras. He discovers Horn, and the rest can be filled in by the audience blindfolded. The charm of this picture lies not in its corny plotline, but in its handling by young director Stefan Szekely, who refuses to sugar-coat his depiction of movie-studio life but instead offers something very close to the truth. Die Grosse Sehnsucht features cameo appearances by such German film faves as Lil Dagover, Liane Haid, Anny Ondra, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, Luis Trenker, Conrad Veidt, and many, many more. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Das Lied ist Aus (The Song Is Ended) is a typical early-talkie German musical in every respect, save one. The story, concerning the lives and loves of show folk, ends unhappily -- and surprisingly so. The doleful denouement didn't seem to have much effect on the film's box-office appeal, since Das Lied ist Aus proved a major moneymaker. Perhaps this was due to the stellar line-up of Willy Forst, Liane Haid and Ernesto Verberes, three of Germany's most popular screen personalities. One suspects that the lilting melodies of Robert Stoltz (of Two Hearts in Three-Quarter Time fame) were also instrumental to the film's success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally Der Unsterbliche Lump, this German operetta is based on a popular stage piece by Edmund Eyster. Set on the Austrian Tyrol, the story begins when a poverty-stricken village schoolmaster (Gustav Froelich) proposes marriage to the postmaster's daughter (Liane Haid). The girl's father would prefer that she marry a wealthy farmer, and he sends the schoolmaster packing. Our hero heads to Vienna, where he writes an operetta with the hope of striking it rich and proving to be a suitable bridegroom. In the meantime, however, the girl has been browbeaten into marrying the man of her father's choice. On the opening night of his operetta, the grief-stricken schoolmaster hears the first notes of the aria written in honor of his sweetheart and goes into a rage of hysteria. The production proves a great success, but its author doesn't know it; he has become a hobo and disappeared into the night. Presumed dead, the schoolmaster resurfaces years later when a statue in his honor is erected in his hometown, whereupon his old girlfriend leaves her bourgeois husband and goes "on the bum" with her true love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

S.O.S was the last of six films directed in 1927 by Carmine Gallone. The story gets off to a lively start with a spectacular collision at sea between two enormous ocean liners. As the ship sinks, philandering husband Alfrons Fryland and his new bride Liane Haid are rescued separately, each believing that the other has drowned. Heading to Africa to forget his troubles, Fryland proves easy prey for vampish Gina Manes. Meanwhile, the grief-stricken Haid accepts a job as a female clown with a travelling circus. During a native insurrection, Fryland and Haid are reunited -- but Fryland doesn't recognize his heavily made-up spouse. Wounded in the fray, the husband is rescued by his "lost" wife, at which point everything is explained. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This silent German production is based on the same-named operetta by Oscar Strauss -- minus the musical score, of course. Hans von Schlettow plays the caddish Crown Prince of a mythical European country. Eve willing to sacrifice his honor in favor of a good wine or a pretty girl, the Prince is publicly chastised by his aide, the Count (Willy Fritsch). The two men prepare to fight a duel, whereupon their respective sweethearts, the Princess (Liane Haid) and the Countess (Suzy Vernon), conspire to knock some sense into their foolhardy swains. The English-language scenario for The Last Waltz was prepared by novelist Alice Duer Miller, a member in good standing of the famed "Algonquin Round Table." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide