Ernst Waldow Movies

In a routine, unexceptional drama by Alfred Weidenmann, Robert (Hardy Krueger), Georg (Mario Adorf), and Willy (Horst Frank) are a trio of would-be safecrackers out to pull off a heist. The trio do not live in perfect equanimity, and eventually one of them lets jealousy get the best of him and he turns tail, betrays his cohorts, and talks to the police. The resultant round-up has its moments, with the leader Robert involved in a long chase by the cops. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Ratsel um Beate (Beate's Mystery) was adapted from a play by Alfred Moller and Hanz Lorenz, which originally starred Dorothy Wieck. The film version features Lil Dagover in the leading role of Beate Kaiserling, an impressionable young woman who gets involved in a village scandal. Despite her protestations of innocence, poor Beate cannot stem the steady stream of misinformation from her gossiping neighbors. Critics in 1938, liked the film, noting that it was a distinct departure from the usual bombastic German drama of the period. The film was Lil Dagover's first effort since being appointed State Actress of Germany in 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set in 1900 Berlin, Die Goettliche Jette (The Divine Jette) stars Grethe Welser as the title character. A singer in a ragtag touring theatrical troupe, Jette attracts the attentions of wealthy Count Opalia (Kurt Meisel), who has several influential show-business friends. Feigning love for the Count, Jette manages to wangle an audition, and before long she is Berlin's most popular musical-comedy artiste, more famous for her dazzling legs than her singing skills. Unfortunately, she runs afoul of a group of blue-nosed "reformers," and is banned from ever performing again. Disconsolately, Jette agrees to marry Opalla and live the life of a countess. But when the Berlin theatergoers demand her return to the stage, Jette is brought back in triumph, obliging the Count to nobly step aside so that the heroine can enjoy a lasting romance with her true love Fritz (Viktor de Kowa). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Before he became cult director Douglas Sirk, Detlef Sierck cut his teeth on such lavish European star vehicles as Hofkonzert (Court Concert). Marta Eggerth is cast as Christine, a young singer who aspires to find out who her father was. Her odyssey brings her to the court of a mythical kingdom, where she is romanced by handsome lieutenant Walter (Johannes Heesters). He is warned not to lose his heart to a "commoner," but all turns out all right when King Serenissimus (Otto Tressler) turns out to be Christine's long-lost daddy. Hofkonzert was designed as a comeback for Marta Eggerth, whose star had eclipsed by the mid-1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Professor Niemeyer (Emil Jannings) is known to his students as "Traumulus," or "The Dreamer," in referring to his easygoing nature. Hoping to cushion his charges from the harsh realities of life, Niemeyer allows them to run roughshod over him, refusing to impose any sort of discipline in his classroom. But when his best student commits suicide after getting mixed up in a local scandal, Niemeyer realizes that he's done a disservice to his boys by letting them get away with murder. Without sacrificing his essential decency or humanity, Niemeyer vows to be a stricter taskmaster from this day forward. Keeping his tendency to overact in check, Emil Jannings delivers one of his best and subtlest performances in this film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This operetta provides a vision of how the Nazis of Germany envisioned the Italian Renaissance. The residents of the town of Ferrara are swept up in a tide of emotion and physical passion by the writings of a Renaissance author. Before long, the town is in chaos and it becomes difficult to keep track of which characters have been involved with one another. In German with English subtitles. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi