Marte Harell Movies
- 1967
This lugubrious spy yarn finds Philip Scott (Stephen Boyd) posing as a toy manufacturer to hide his real purpose in life. He and his faithful operative Harris (Michael Redgrave) battle the evil Smith (Leo McKern) in Austria, England and West Germany. Toni Peters (Camilla Sparv) is the love interest in Philip's life, which is in constant danger from shadowy spies and double agents. The low-key direction ends up having no key to unlock anyone's imagination, but there's nothing inspiring about much of anything in this feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Boyd, Camilla Sparv, (more)
- 1958
The English-language title of this colorful Austrian operetta is Trees Are Blooming in Vienna. Johanna Matz stars as Lixie Haertel, a plain-Jane who is "beautified" by romance. In time-honored operetta tradition, the love of Lixie's life happens to be a member of the royal family -- to be exact, Archduke Peter (Gerhard Riedmann). The course of true love never runs very smoothly, but no matter how dire the circumstances, the leading characters always find time to break into song. Adapted from a stage play by Rudolf Oesterreicher and Siegfried Geyer, Im Prate Bluch'n Wieder die Baueme benefits from the lilting musical score of Robert Stolz and the cinematography of Willi Sohm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johanna Matz, Gerhard Riedmann, (more)
- 1955
This 1955 drama was based - like Istvan Szabo's masterful Colonel Redl (1985) - on the life story of Alfred Redl, a Ukrainian man who worked his way up through the hierarchy of the Austrian army in the early 20th century, while concealing his own homosexuality. In time, when others learn of his gayness, Redl is blackmailed by the Russians into taking counter-espionage maneuvers against the Austrians, and is ultimately forced to commit suicide. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewald Balser
- 1951
Wien Tanzt is an old-fashioned musical extravaganza in the tradition of pre-war Austrian films. The story centers upon Waltz King Johann Strauss (Adolf Wohlbrueck) and his "progressive" composer son Richard. It's a tale that had been told before on screen, and would be told again; nothing new has been added here concerning the friction between the senior and junior Strauss. Still, the music is terrific -- indeed, to many observers the music was the film's sole saving grace. The feminine interest in Wien Tanzt is provided by Marte Harell, who refreshingly is not a Hollywood-style glamourpuss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marte Harell
- 1948
Though made in Germany, this film version of Johann Strauss' comic opera Die Fledermaus was distributed in the U.S. by the Russian firm of Artkino. Such full-throated singing personalities as Marte Harell, Johannes Heesters, Willi Dohm and Haus Brauseweiter go through the time-honored paces of the opera's libretto, wherein an upper-class Viennese gentleman simultaneously tries to avoid arrest and to prove his wife's fidelity. Because of running-time restrictions, the audience is denied the pleasure of the original opera's third-act highlight, wherein the participants are invited to sing their favorite operatic arias, whether written by Strauss or not. Happily, the lengthy, largely ad-libbed scene with Frosch the jailer remains intact, with Willi Fritsch bringing down the house as the bibulous Frosch. The Afgacolor process is cleverly deployed throughout, especially in the scene wherein Rosalind (Marte Harell) dyes her hair a flaming red. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marte Harell, Johannes Heesters, (more)
- 1948
Nach dem Sturm (After the Storm) is based on a story by the prolific Carl Zuckmeyer. Shortly after VE day, Austrian girl Barbara von Trentini (Marte Harrell) falls in love with American occupation soldier Maj. Michael Sinclair (Nicholas Stuart). Their romance is fiercely opposed by both Barbara's family and Sinclair's superiors, but the lovers pay no heed to the many nay-sayers. Besides, they've already selected "their song," a popular ballad called "Somewhere, Some Time." Except for the timeliness of the film's postwar setting, Nach dem Sturm is really nothing new or innovational. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marte Harell
