Karl Etlinger Movies

This movie tells the story of a suicidal young woman who became involved with an artist. ~ All Movie Guide

The queen wants to take a vacation, and she wants passage aboard a ship whose crew is waiting for their pay. The captain has a winning streak and acquires enough money to pay the crew, but he doesn't know when to stop and loses all of the cash. He demands that the casinos of Monte Carlo refund his money or claims he will bomb the city. The queen, who has remained aboard, orders his arrest. Unwilling to be taken captive, he jumps ship and is saved by the crew of a ship which is going to Honolulu. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Originally Zwie Herzen in Drei-Vertel Takt, this delightful operetta was written directly for the screen by Robert Stolz. Nicki and Vicki, two librettists who also happen to be brothers, are presently in collaboration with composer Toni. All too aware of Toni's amorous escapades, Nicki and Vicki try to keep the existence of their pretty sister Hedi a secret. Suffering from a acute case of writers' block (he has yet to find an inspiration for his next production), Toni throws a huge party, which is boycotted by his friends and associates so that he'll keep his mind on his work. The only guest who does show up is uninvited -- and surprise, that guest is sweet little Hedi, who turns out to be inspiration enough for ten operettas. Two Hearts in 3/4 Time was a worldwide financial and critical success, with most of the credit going to cherubic supporting player Szoeke Szakall, who would go on to even greater fame in Hollywood as S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Napoleon auf St. Helena was the next-to-last film of director Lupu-Pick, who died by his own hand in 1931. Werner Krauss is a physically inappropriate choice for the role of Napoleon, though he plays the part with his usual consummate skill. This study of Napoleon's last days in exile doesn't offer much in the way of action, but is more interesting as a "chamber piece." Especially well handled is the curious relationship between the Little Corporal and his "host," the British governor of St. Helena (played by Albert Basserman). The screenplay was by Abel Gance, whose own 1927 filmization of the life of Napoleon remains one of the unchallenged masterpieces of the silent cinema. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

G. W. Pabst's The Joyless Street (Die freudlose Gasse) is an unvarnished study of post-World War I Vienna. Plagued with skyrocketing inflation, the Austrian metropolis becomes the domain of every scurrilous form of profiteering. The central character is a crooked butcher, whose negative influence dominates the lives of virtually everyone on a single Viennese street. The supporting characters include a poverty-stricken professor, his beleaguered daughter, an idealistic American Red Cross worker and a slinky harlot. Each character is photographed in a symbolic manner underlining his or her basic personality: the domineering butcher is photographed from a low angle, emphasizing his corrupt power, while the professor is lensed in long shot, highlighting the bareness of his apartment-and by extension, his life. The stars of The Joyless Street include Asta Nielsen and Werner Krauss, but latter-day audiences will find more interest in the supporting part played by young Greta Garbo. Incidentally, despite the claims of many film historians, Marlene Dietrich does not appear as an extra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

F. W. Murnau's landmark vampire film Nosferatu isn't merely a variation on Bram Stoker's Dracula: it's a direct steal, so much so that Stoker's widow went to court, demanding in vain that the Murnau film be suppressed and destroyed. The character names have been changed to protect the guilty (in the original German prints, at least), but devotees of Stoker will have little trouble recognizing their Dracula counterparts. The film begins in the Carpathian mountains, where real estate agent Hutter (Gustav von Wagenheim) has arrived to close a sale with the reclusive Herr Orlok (Max Schreck). Despite the feverish warnings of the local peasants, Hutter insists upon completing his journey to Orlok's sinister castle. While enjoying his host's hospitality, Hutter accidently cuts his finger-whereupon Orlok tips his hand by staring intently at the bloody digit, licking his lips. Hutter catches on that Orlok is no ordinary mortal when he witnesses the vampiric nobleman loading himself into a coffin in preparation for his journey to Bremen. By the time the ship bearing Orlok arrives at its destination, the captain and crew have all been killed-and partially devoured. There follows a wave of mysterious deaths in Bremen, which the local authorities attribute to a plague of some sort. But Ellen, Hutter's wife, knows better. Armed with the knowledge that a vampire will perish upon exposure to the rays of the sun, Ellen offers herself to Orlok, deliberately keeping him "entertained" until sunrise. At the cost of her own life, Ellen ends Orlok's reign of terror once and for all. Rumors still persist that Max Schreck, the actor playing Nosferatu, was actually another, better-known performer in disguise. Whatever the case, Schreck's natural countenance was buried under one of the most repulsive facial makeups in cinema history-one that was copied to even greater effect by Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's 1979 remake - Nosferatu the Vampyre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide