Jenny Jugo Movies
- 1937
The English-language title of this German period comedy is A Night With the Emperor -- and it's not a Marx Brothers film. The time is the early 19th century: ambitious young actress Lisa Grossinger (Jenny Jugo) tries to advance her career by romancing Napoleon Bonaparte (Hans Zesch-Ballot) and securing his backing for a show she's appearing in. Lisa sneaks into the imperial palace by posing as a vegetable vendor (evidently these guys had full run of the place back then). Our heroine is deflected from her petty machinations by Heinz Bechmann (Frederick Benfer), a young patriot who enlists her aid in toppling Napoleon from his throne. "Then," noted the critic for Variety, "the story gets really screwy." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Jugo, Richard Romanowsky, (more)
- 1936
Allotria is a catch-all German word which roughly translates as "Hokum." And there's hokum in abundance when lascivious lothario Philip (Adolf Wohlbruck, aka Anton Walbrook) falls into a marriage trap concocted by Gaby (Jenny Jugo) and Viola (Renate Muller). Knowing that Philip prefers the sexual company of married women, Gaby and Viola exchange identities, much to the discomfort of Gaby's jealous husband David (Heinz Ruhmann). The misunderstandings multiply as the four protagonists attend the annual Monte Carlo motor race, then head off for a zany ocean voyage. On the basis of his past box-office track record, director Willie Forst was afforded a huge budget to complete Allotria, and the added expenditure was well worth it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Jugo, Renate Muller, (more)
- 1936
Maedchenjahre Einer Koenigen translates as The Girlhood of a Queen -- the queen in question being young British regent Victoria. As played by Jennie Jugo, Victoria is hardly prepared for the responsibilities attending her ascension to the throne at age 18. But she learns quickly, thanks in great part to her loyal court advisor Lord Melbourne (Otto Tressler). The only time she refuses to follow Melbourne's advice is when he arranges a marriage for her, but all this is forgotten when she falls in love with her husband-to-be Prince Albert (Friedrich Benfer) without being ordered to do so. In a few years, most German films would not treat their British characters as affectionately as those found in Maedchenjahre Einer Koenigen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Jugo, Otto Tressler, (more)
- 1935
Jenny Jugo plays the long-suffering title character in Pechmaire (Hard Luck Marie). Born with three strikes against her, newsstand girl Marie endures one setback after another. Her luck changes radically when she befriends a good-natured hobo (Willie Schur) who gives her a lottery ticket as a gift. Once she's in the money, Marie tries to rekindle her romance with her house-painter boyfriend (Friedrich Benfer). Alas, he misunderstands the relationship between the girl and her hobo benefactor, thus it takes quite a while before "Hard Luck Marie" is able to drop her uncoveted nickname. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerhard Bienert
- 1933
The title of this effervescent musical comedy translates as There is Only One Love. Louis Gravuerre and Heinz Ruhmann star respectively as an opera singer and ballet master, bosom buddies who embark upon a vacation in the Balkans. Thanks to a cluster of coincidences, our heroes are mistaken for escaped criminals and forced to take refuge in the remote mountain cabin of a taciturn hunter. Only when heroine Jenny Jugo identifies the boys are they permitted to go free -- only now, they can't get rid of Jugo, who has fallen madly in love with Gravuerre. The girl's well-meaning interference nearly causes an irreparable rift between the two pals and almost scuttles Gravuerre's singing career, but love triumphs over silliness in the finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Jugo, Heinz Rühmann, (more)
- 1932
The titular group is not a musical aggregation but a German acrobatic team. The lovely but unathletic Jenny Jugo is inadvertently signed on as one of the Jazzband Five. Failing miserably in rehearsals, she heads to a tavern for solace and liquid replenishment; here she meets handsome Theo Shall. When sneak thief Peter Lorre steals Shall's car, he implicates Jugo as his accomplice. This causes a rift in her new romance, but by film's end Jugo and Shall are back together--while the Jazzband Five place an ad for a new member. Released in Germany as Funf von der Jazzband, this breezy little comedy was written by Hermann Kosterlitz, who went on to Hollywood fame and fortune as writer/director Henry Koster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1931
The title of this French-filmed, German-language comedy translates as Head First into Fortune. The story is summed up in the title, as an enterprising young girl finds herself a millionaire, for no other reason than she truly deserves it. Musical-comedy star Jenny Jugo plays the girl, investing the role with her usual attention-getting theatrical tricks. Matching her scene-stealing prowess is supporting player Szoeke Sakall, who later went through many of the same motions in Hollywood under the new moniker of S. Z. Sakall. Kopfueber ins Gluck represented a collaboration between novelist Richard Arbey and satirist Charlie Roellinghoff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Jugo, Fritz Schulz, (more)
- 1931
Jenny Jugo stars as innocent young Mary, whose titular "start into matrimony" occurs when her father selects her husband-to-be. She rebels at this, running off to the railway station with all her money and valuables packed in a single valise. When the bag is stolen, Mary assumes that the man sitting in front of her on the train is the thief, since he's carrying a similar bag. She "retrieves" the valise while the man sleeps, whereupon he wakes up and assumes that Mary herself is a crook. On and on it goes until Mary and her railway acquaintance finally march down the altar. The co-scripter of Mary's Start in Die Ehe was Hermann Kosterlitz, who as Henry Koster was to pilot several of the best Deanna Durbin vehicles at Universal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hermann Vallentin, Jenny Jugo, (more)
- 1931
The title of this carefree German comedy translates as Who Takes Love Seriously. It isn't easy at first to see what this title has to do with the plot, which involves a pair of small-time swindlers. Our heroes' latest scam is to steal dogs then return them to their owners for a hefty reward. Along the way, the two rapscallions get mixed up with the heroine (Jenny Jugo), who's smarter than both of them put together. The films of Jenny Jugo could always be counted upon to make the turnstiles click in Germany, and the immensely profitable Wer Nimmt Liebe Ernst is no exception. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Hansen, Jenny Jugo, (more)
- 1930
This self-conscious German "art" picture stars musical-comedy favorite Jenny Jugo, here doing a Marlene Dietrich imitation (before Dietrich had been "invented" by Josef Von Sternberg). Nearly plotless, the film concentrates on a group of low-lifes who hang out along the waterfront in Hamburg. There are the usual jealousies, petty squabbles and not-so-petty outbursts of violence. Heroine Jugo, her splendid singing voice unheard, comes off best under the circumstances, while Willy Fritsch and Fritz Rasp do their best to hold the audience's attention. The prints distributed to the U.S. were substandard, at least according to contemporary critics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Jugo, Willy Fritsch, (more)
- 1928
Looping the Loop is not an aviation picture (as one might expect), but instead a circus drama, starring Werner Krauss as a famous, Grock-like clown named Bitto. Falling in love with heroine Jenny Jugo, Bitto is convinced that she could never care for a man who puts makeup on his face and takes pratfalls. Thus, he poses as a prominent businessman, and she swallows the subterfuge. Later on, Jugo joins a circus acrobatic act, which comes to a sudden end when her partner is seriously injured. At this juncture, the heroine discovers Bitto's true identity -- which makes her love him all the more! The title refers to the dangerous mid-air stunt which nearly kills the heroine and forces Bitto to reveal that he is Bitto. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Werner Krauss, Warwick Ward, (more)
- 1927
Russian stage star Ivan Mosjoukine plays the title role in this far-from-accurate biopic of legendary Italian lover Casanova. The main plot concerns itself with political intrigue, as Casanova travels from Venice to Russia and back again on a variety of "secret missions." This doesn't prevent the amorous hero from enjoying the favors of several delectable females. Even Russia's Catherine the Great (Suzanne Bianchetti) briefly falls under Casanova's spell. But when all is said and done, it is the lovely Therese (Jenny Jugo) who captures the protagonist's heart. Highlights include the spectacular Carnival of Venice sequence and the splendiferous scenes within the palace walls of Czarina Catherine. Casanova was truly an international production: It was filmed in France but financed and written by Germans, while its star and director were Russians. The film ran into some curious censorship troubles in the U.S., and as result it was retitled Prince of Adventurers, with the main character rechristened as "Roberto Ferrara"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ivan Mosjoukine, Suzanne Bianchetti, (more)
