Olga Limburg Movies

Ein Stelldichein im Schwarwald (Rendezvous in the Black Forest) is a curious amalgam of music, romance and slapstick farce. Anticipating many a Hollywood musical of the 1940s, the story is motivated by a "battle" between popular tunes and the classics. Two young composers, Paul (Harald Paulsen) and Peter (Hugo Schrader), try to peddle their tunes to an old-fashioned song publisher named Kuehlmann (Theo Lingen). One of the boys also attempts to woo and win the publisher's pretty daughter Lenox (Magda Schneider). What plot there is merely serves as an excuse to parade a series of lavish musical highlights across the screen. Incidentally, leading lady Magda Schneider was the mother of 1960s film favorite Romy Schneider. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

By accident or design, two pre-Hitler efforts from German filmmaker Carl Boese were distributed to the U.S. during the same week of 1937, roughly five years after both were completed. The first was The Gentleman from Maxims; the second was Die Klein Schiwindlerin -- or, as it was known in the U.S., The Little Schemer. Pixieish Dolly Haas plays the title character, a flirtatious cutie named Annette. Our heroine causes all sorts of mischief for handsome young man-about-town Bob (Harald Paulsen), ultimately winning his love. She also saves him from the machinations of a group of con artists. Though Dolly Haas was unable to sustain her acting career in Hollywood, she remained in close contact with the Performing Arts through her long and lasting marriage to caricature artist Al Hirschfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Maedchenpensionat (Girl's Dormitory) was adapted from Princess Dagmar, a play by Hugo Brettschneider. Angela Sallokar stars as Princess Dagmar, sheltered from her "common" subjects since infancy by her overprotective uncle, the King (Raoul Aslan). She finally comes in contact with "the people" when she is enrolled in an exclusive but fairly progressive girl's school. Here she falls in love with her poverty-stricken teacher, Dr. Ruppli (Attila Hornberger). Realizing that such a union can never be, Ruppli suppresses his own feelings and sends Dagmar back to her palace and her own kind. The princess-commoner romance in Maedchenpensionat achieved a special timeliness in late 1936, when England's King Edward renounced his throne for "the woman I love." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Die Grausame Freundin was one of the last cinematic collaborations between director Carl Lamac and his actress-wife Anny Ondra. The title translates as The Cruel Girl Friend, a description that really doesn't fit the winsome heroine. But to keep her boyfriend in line, Ondra pretends to be a shrewish shrike, and the strategy works beautifully. By 1932, films like Die Grausame Freundin were a dime a dozen, but German audiences continued to eat them up. Within a few years, the "cruel girlfriend" would be the "cruel ex-wife" when Anny Ondra left Carl Lamac and married heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sincere but klutzy bank employee Ernest Dumcke is in love with the wealthy and beautiful Maria Meisner. When Meisner and her father head off to a summer resort, Dumcke worshipfully follows after them. Unable to convince the father that he'd be a worthy son-in-law, our hero gets his chance when he finds out that a rich American with whom the father hopes to go into business is actually a penniless swindler. Dumcke pretends to befriend the fraudulent millionaire, then exposes him as a phony at just the right psychological moment. The music for Mein Freund der Millionaer was provided by Hans J. Salter, later a mainstay of Universal Pictures, where he wrote the unforgettable background score for Son of Frankenstein (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Outside of Emperor Franz Joseph, there was no member of the Hapsburg dynasty who showed up in films as often as Empress Elizabeth of Austria. Lil Dagover plays the celebrated empress in this film, which deftly combines fact and fiction into one lavish movie package. Though wed to Franz Joseph (Paul Otto) and expected to comport herself in a regal manner, Elizabeth is too much the free spirit to tie herself down to protocol. Escaping the stuffiness of the Austro-Hungarian royal court, she chooses to live a carefree existence among the people. Elizabeth returns to the palace a shade too late to save her unhappy son Crown Prince Rudolf from committing suicide out of love for the beautiful Countess Mary Vetsera (this subplot later served as the basis for the 1937 film Mayerling). Again fleeing her responsibilities Elizabeth wanders aimlessly around the world until her own life is ended by an assassin's bullet. Amazingly, Elisabeth von Oesterreich manages to pack all this into a brisk 74 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide