Ernst Verebes Movies

This earliest film version of Arnold Ridley's popular theatrical comedy-mystery The Ghost Train was lensed in Germany by a British cast and crew. Guy Newall stars as "silly ass" Teddy Deakin, one of several railroad passengers marooned in a remote train depot. Adding to the passengers' discomfort is the apparent presence of a "ghost train," which runs along an abandoned rail line, bringing sudden death in its wake. It turns out that the ghost train is a hoax, perpetrated by a gang of gunrunners to cover up their activities. But the seemingly ineffectual Teddy Deakin offers a few surprises of his own before the villains are thwarted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An early experiment in neo-realist filmmaking, Menschen Am Sonntag is a low-budget drama about two men, a cab driver and a salesman, who find themselves with nothing to do on a Sunday in Berlin. The friends pick up a couple of young women, and the four spend the day wandering the city streets before heading to a beach in Wannsee, where they go swimming and enjoy an idyllic afternoon by the lake. After a genial but determined attempt at seduction by the two men, the foursome returns to Berlin, with the depressing prospect of another working week looming before them. Menschen Am Sonntag is most notable today for the behind-the-camera contributions of several young German filmmakers who would later win greater fame after expatriating to the United States following the rise of the Third Reich, among them Billy Wilder, Fred Zinnemann, Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, and Curt Siodmak. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The producers of the German costume drama Beautiful Blue Danube insisted that the film was "based" on the Strauss waltz of the same name. Since the waltz lasts only 10 minutes or so, one assumes that the screenwriters took a great deal of literary license. Lya Mara stars as Mizzy, a pert cabaret dancer who uses the Strauss composition in her act. While waltzing her heart out for the crowd, Mizzy catches the eye of a handsome young Archduke (Hans Junkerman). The rest of the film follows the standard "duty before love" pattern established by such operettas as The Student Prince, the difference being that love conquers all in this case. Comedy relief was provided by Ernesto Verebes, a popular film farceur of the 1920s and 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ein Tango fuer Dich (A Tango For You) is the story of two jazz singers. Maxim (Paul Otto) is rich and famous; Jimmy (Willy Forst) is neither. Eventually, the status of the two heroes is reversed, but not before both have fallen in love with dancer Mady Smith (Fee Matten). When all is said and done, however, the plots never really mattered in these early-talkie operettas; if there were plenty of singers and dancers and plenty of songs and dance, the audience went home happy. American critics seemed delighted that director Geza Von Bolvary emulated Hollywood filmmaking techniques while putting together Ein Tango fuer Dich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this German comedy is derived from a colloquialism which translates as By the Skin of His Teeth. In the tradition of Harold Lloyd and Ben Turpin, leading man Siegfried Arno manages to wriggle in and out of one devastating dilemma after another, always managing to escape by the proverbial teeth-skin. Arno, who later enjoyed a lengthy Hollywood career as a character actor, was a slight, meek-looking individual, making his various on-screen adventures all the more amusing. Critics, then as now, were resistant to such pure-slapstick endeavors as Um Eine Nasenlaenge, and most of them turned thumbs down. But audiences -- especially German audiences -- were too busy laughing to notice the plot and production deficiencies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sein Liebeslied (His Love Song) was evidently intended as a follow-up to the popular filmed operetta Zwei Herzen, utilizing most of the talent (on both sides of the camera) from the earlier picture. Fee Malten stars as Mady Smith, a boarding-school girl who has been so sheltered from the Outside World that she has never even met her parents. During her first foray outside the walls of the school, Mady falls madly in love with the voice of a famous jazz singer. She meets young Jimmy Bolt (Willy Forst), who hopes to score points by pretending to be the idolized singer. What neither Mady nor Jimmy suspect is that the mysterious vocalist is none other than Mady's own father, Maxim Merblanc (Paul Otto). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "great yearning" of the title refers to the desire of heroine Camilla Horn to become a famous movie star. Fortunately, director Theodor Loos happens to be combing the countryside, searching for "something new" to put before the cameras. He discovers Horn, and the rest can be filled in by the audience blindfolded. The charm of this picture lies not in its corny plotline, but in its handling by young director Stefan Szekely, who refuses to sugar-coat his depiction of movie-studio life but instead offers something very close to the truth. Die Grosse Sehnsucht features cameo appearances by such German film faves as Lil Dagover, Liane Haid, Anny Ondra, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, Luis Trenker, Conrad Veidt, and many, many more. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Max Ophuls' second film directorial effort, Die Verliebte Firma (The Firm in Love) wasn't quite as lavishly esoteric as his later works, but on its own pleased the crowd. While on a location shoot in the mountains, film actress Anny Ahlers quarrels with her husband and walks out of the production. Luckily, Lien Dyers, a beautiful young skier with an even more beautiful singing voice appears out of nowhere. Before long, every male member of the production company has fallen in love with the girl, and it would seem that she is a shoo-in to replace the recalcitrant Ahlers. Alas, Dyers proves to be an inept actress, but she still enjoys a happy ending in the arms of the film unit's production manager. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Austrian musical, a princess finds herself being forced to marry a prince she does not love. She finds herself falling in love with another man who turns out to the prince in disguise. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Ez a Villa Elado (Villa For Sale) was another feather in the cap of talented Hungarian screenwriter Laszlo Vadnai, who'd previously scored a major success with Fairy Tale Auto. This time around, hero and heroine nearly come to blows when both wish to purchase the same villa. The protagonists work out an amusing arrangement, which of course eventually blossoms into romance. The film was supposed to have been a vehicle for popular comic actor Julius Gozon, who is surprisingly humorous here. Though drubbed by the critics, Ez a Villa Elado was a hit with Hungarian movie fans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide