Dagny Servaes Movies

In this operatic film, a traveling clown, convicted of killing his wife and lover, serves his 20-year sentence and then begins searching for his daughter. He finds her living in a wealthy woman's home. To ensure that the girl will not reject him, the clown hires a composer to write an opera about his sad story. Upon hearing it, the sympathetic girl and her father at successfully reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

During his silent film career in Germany, Emil Jannings starred in a number of historical dramas; here he plays the powerful Russian emperor. Directed by Dmitri Buchowetzki, this picture should have been as impressive as its title character; instead it came off as technically well done but emotionally cold. When Peter (Jannings) becomes Russia's czar, he uses his extensive knowledge of shipbuilding to develop the navy and launch a war with Sweden. After emerging victorious at the battle of Poltava, Peter becomes determined to make his country even more powerful. Hampering his hopes is his weakling son, Alexis (Walter Janssen), who does not seem destined to follow in his footsteps. Then, after taking Catherine, a refugee girl (Dagny Servaes), as his bride and empress, Peter alienates the church and the nobles. A conspiracy against him makes Peter realize how hated he is amongst his countrymen, and the death of Alexis, by Peter's own hand, only serves to hasten the emperor's own demise. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

A father-son conflict set against the tumultuous background of the First World War lies at the center of this high-class soap opera. S.I. Rupp (Emil Jannings) is a former butcher who has been elevated to the pinnacle of success in postwar Europe, by virtue of having made a few correct decisions about business during the recently ended world war. Now he is one of the wealthiest men on the continent, and beloved of the press and public for his charitable work, his beef company feeding thousands every day who would otherwise starve; and he has in his employ, at his beck-and-call, numerous members of the former aristocracy, reduced to penury by the dissolution of countries and governments. Rupp is a decent man but also a crude man, given to acting on his impulses, and like many a self-made man he also has a tendency to brook no contradiction or interference when he thinks he's right, which is most of the time. The one person in the world whom he loves and respects is his son, Fred (Hermann Thimig), by his first marriage, who, among his other attributes, is a champion-level racing-car driver. Rupp's personal life explodes, however, when he agrees to marry a beautiful former aristocrat; through a misunderstanding, Rupp thinks his son is also interested in his bride-to-be, and father and son end up estranged, just when Rupp's enemies and rivals are preparing to destroy him and his empire. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi