Jacob Tiedtke Movies

Henrik Galeen both acted in and directed this first version of the Jewish folk tale. A clay statue is unearthed by workmen who are digging a well. It is bought by Aaron (Galeen), an antique dealer. He also purchases a book from an old professor which explains that if a capsule containing certain magic words is placed in the figure's breast, it will come to life as a creature known as the Golem (Paul Wegener). When Aaron finds out that his daughter, Eleanor (Lydia Samonova), is having an affair with a count, he uses the Golem to keep her from going to a party that her lover is throwing. But Eleanor struggles with the Golem and knocks the capsule out of his breast, rendering him dormant. She goes to the party, and while she is away, the professor shows up and replaces the capsule in the Golem's breast. He comes to life and follows Eleanor to the count's party. The guests are thrown into a panic, and nobody can kill the monster. Only when the capsule is knocked from its breast once again does it stop. The Golem falls to the ground below, smashing into pieces. The Golem would make another appearance in 1920's Der Golem (and again in 1936, 1953, and in several more versions). Galeen and Wegner also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1920 version, which Wegener co-directed with Karl Boese. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

One Arabian Night is the inadequate American title bestowed upon director Ernst Lubitsch's brilliant German drama Sumurun. In what turned out to be his last on-camera appearance (he was a former slapstick comedian), Lubitsch stars as Yeggar, a hunchbacked clown who works with a travelling carnival. Arab sheik Paul Wegener demands that the troupe's dancing girl Pola Negri be sequestered in his harem. Yeggar faithfully follows along, and is a horrified witness as Wegener kills Negri for presumed unfaithfulness. The wizened clown vows revenge on the wicked Sheik. Inspired by the popular stage pantomime "The Arabian Nights", Sumurun is the film that encouraged Hollywood to invite Lubitsch into its fold-whereupon the director abandoned melodrama for good and all and concentrated instead on elegant sex comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The German Mascottchen was inspired by the Bromme operetta of the same name. Had the producers waited a few months, they could have included Bromme's songs, and thus spared themselves the slings and arrows of abrasive music lovers. Kathe Von Nagy stars as a Budapest salesgirl who, through luck and pluck, becomes a celebrated musical comedy star. Along the way, she does her best to help her boyfriend, a two-bit ham actor. The "hero" repays her kindness by leaving her for another woman, but by the third-act curtain he comes to his senses and returns to Von Nagy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Most modern-day viewers are familiar with German author Alfred Doeblin's naturalistic novel Berlin Alexanderplatz from its epic TV miniseries presentation, directed in 1980 by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The Doeblin work was previously filmed on the very brink of the Nazi takeover in 1933, with Heinrich George as the ex-convict protagonist. Yearning for respectability, George finds he cannot escape the influence of his old criminal cohorts. When George refuses to pay "hush money" to the mob, his faithful wife Margarete Schlegel is killed. George resignedly returns to a life of crime, ultimately descending into madness. The 1933 adaptation of Berlin Alexanderplatz ran a brisk 90 minutes; Fassbinder's 1980 TV version ran ten times longer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Zum Goldnen Anker (The Golden Anchor) was the German-language version of the Marcel Pagnol masterpiece Marius. Jakob Tiedtke steps into the central role of Marseilles tavernkeeper Cesare, the character immortalized in the French-language version by the great Raimu. Cesare's irresponsible son Marius (Karl Ettinger) seduces the lovely Fanny (Lucie Hoeflich), who hopes that this indiscretion will lead to marriage. Alas, Marius begins to show signs of restlessness, whereupon Fanny magnanimously offers to give him his freedom, even though there's a baby on the way. Despite Cesare's insistence that Marius make an honest woman of Fanny, the girl makes certain that Marius will be able to follow his heart and set off to sea. Albert Bassermann co-stars as wealthy middle-ager Panisse, who it is inferred will become Fanny's husband once Marius is out of the picture. While the original Marius was followed by a brace of sequels, Zum Goldnen Anker was not. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title translates as Schoeller Boarding House, which is where 95% of the film's action takes place. The hero, Phillip Klaproth (Jacob Triedke), has been borrowing heavily from his wealthy uncle Alfred (Paul Heidemann), ostensibly to finance his education but actually to pay for his hedonistic lifestyle. When Uncle shows up in town, Phillip hastily tries to put him out of the way so he won't discover the truth. He takes his uncle to a boarding house, claiming that it's a mental hospital which he, Phillip, intends to purchase. Though the boarders aren't really crazy, they're eccentric enough to convince the uncle that Phillip is telling the truth. Pension Schoeller is an agreeable entry in the screwball-comedy genre, its humor predicated almost entirely upon misunderstanding and misrepresentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anny Ondra is the whole show in the musical comedy Der Junge Graf (The Young Count). Ondra plays Billy, the daughter of circus owner Preissnitz (Hans Junkerman). To keep production costs low, our heroine performs as a blonde female aerialist, then dons a black wig and poses as a male acrobat. Her dual identity results in a series of complications reminiscent of (but not copying) Viktor und Viktoria. When Der Junge Graf was distributed in the U.S., it was sold on the basis of Anny Ondra's marriage to heavyweight boxing champ Max Schmeling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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