Gert Fröbe Movies

This zany satire of the stereotypical spy thriller is directed by Gerard Oury, known for his ability to wring laughter out of a script. Pierre Richard stars as Gregorie, a down-and-out actor anxious to find a job. He wanders into the office of a talent agent and signs a contract to work in a mega-buck action thriller, or so he thinks. In fact, he has actually signed a contract as a hitman with a mafioso that he mistook for a talent agent. The misunderstandings and close calls start flying right and left as Gregorie and the gangsters head for a wild finale at a St. Tropez hotel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The Serpent's Egg, or Das Schlangenei is director Ingmar Bergman's second English language production (The Touch was his first). It is, however, his first completely non-Swedish production, made after his voluntary self-exile from Sweden over taxation issues. Set in Berlin in the early 1920s, it explores the fear and despair the city evokes in Manuela and Abel Rosenberg (Liv Ullmann and David Carradine), two Jewish trapeze artists. The suicide of Manuela's husband (Abel's brother), has stranded them in Berlin. Berlin is shown to already possess the sinister elements of cruelty and anti-Semitism which laid the groundwork for the later Nazi takeover. A series of misadventures gets them sent to a medical clinic for treatment. However, the clinic is actually a site for Nazi-type "racial" experiments on humans, which generally either madden or kill the subjects. Das Schlangenei was savaged by the critics for its improbable-seeming story and more particularly, for casting David Carradine (best known for his earlier appearances in the Kung Fu U.S. television series) in a crucial role. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

An Italian-French-Spanish version of the much-filmed Agatha Christie story, this film is strangely set in Iran, not Great Britain. Ten guests are invited to a remote desert inn and informed that the mysterious host has described in a nursery rhyme how they will all die during the gathering. One by one, the characters, played by such Continental stars such as Elke Sommer and singer Charles Aznavour as well as Britons Oliver Reed and Richard Attenborough, dwindle in number, each in accordance with a verse of the nursery rhyme, until only a few remain. The final characters then plot to ensnare the criminal mastermind behind the weekend of mayhem. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

One of the stars of Walt Disney's Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke, is re-united with that film's composer and lyricist, Richard M.Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, in this big budget and bloodless children's fantasy musical, based on the children's book by James Bond author Ian Fleming. Van Dyke plays Caractacus Potts, a failed inventor who lives in a big house with his two children -- Jemima Heather Ripley and Jeremy Adrian Hall -- and eccentric father Lionel Jeffries. Potts has to raise 30 shillings so his children can buy a broken-down racing car from the junkyard. After a disastrous attempt to sell his invention of whistling sweets to Lord Scrumptious (James Robertson-Justice), the local candy maker, he finally gets enough money for the car by doing a Dick Van Dyke dance routine at the county fair. Potts takes the car and miraculously transforms the vehicle into a shiny new car named Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. While on a picnic with the children and Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes), Lord Scrumptious' beautiful daughter, Potts concocts a fantasy tale about the magical powers of the car, which can now float on water and fly. In the tale, Baron Bomburst (Gert Frobe) wants the car for himself and kidnaps the automobile and the inventor. But Bomburst captures Grandpa by mistake along with the wrong car, so Potts, Truly, and the children have to enlist Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on a rescue mission to Bomburst's lair to save Grandpa. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Adapted from his autobiography The Eddie Chapman Story, this is the story of a British safecracker who was in prison when WWII broke out. When the Germans occupied the area, he offers to work for them if they will set him free and they do so, sending him as a spy to England. Once there, however, he offers his services to the British and becomes a double agent. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, two middle-aged gangsters attempt to run an international smuggling ring and begin looking for new people to sneak their illicit gold across Europe. They take on a jobless journalist to assist, not realizing he is really a US government agent who is looking to see if the two crime lords are affiliated with an American crime boss who runs illegal guns to Cuba. The agent discovers that the two are not affiliated with the Mafia. The American Mafioso wants them to be though and eventually sabotages their operation and forces them to join. During a meeting between the two sides, the smuggler pretends to willingly acquiesce to the American. He also manages to surreptitiously plant a bomb that explodes and kills everyone but him. The US agent is impressed and compliments the wily old smuggler. The smuggler shrugs him off. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In 1944, with Paris on the verge of Liberation by the allies, Adolph Hitler ordered that the City of Light be blown up and burned to the ground. General Dietrich Von Choltitz, after much rumination, decided that he didn't want to go down in history as the man who destroyed Paris. His refusal to follow Hitler's orders would make him a pariah in Germany for the rest of his life; nor was his gesture ever rewarded by the Allies. From this very human story in the midst of one of the most inhuman conflicts in history grew the screenplay (by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola) of the all-star, internationally produced Is Paris Burning? Whereas the earlier The Longest Day was able to support a castful of celebrities and brief subplot vignettes, Is Paris Burning? seems more weighted down than weighty. Still, a modern audience will have fun playing "spot the star" throughout the film, especially when those spotted stars include the likes of Gert Frobe (as Choltitz), Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas (as Patton), Glenn Ford (as Bradley), Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Robert Stack, and even Anthony Perkins as a wide-eyed GI. Filmed on a gargantuan scale, Is Paris Burning? was based on a book by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre. The film was lensed in black and white, save for the Technicolor finale (in the original road-show prints). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama is taken from Thomas Mann's 1903 semi-autobiographical novel. Tonio (Jean Claude Brialy) is an aspiring writer and the son of a rigid aristocratic father and a music-loving mother. Wandering throughout Germany and Italy to "find himself," Tonio frequently remembers his childhood experiences in a series of flashbacks. The highlight of the film is the expert lensing by cinematographer Wolf Wirth. Erika Mann, the daughter of the late poet and author, collaborated with Ennio Flaiano on the screenplay. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Richard Hughes, this drama takes an unusual look at both seafaring pirates and the true nature of children. The Thorntons, a British family living in Jamaica, decide to pull up stakes and sail back to England after Frederick Thornton (Nigel Davenport) and his wife (Isabel Dean) decide that life in the Caribbean is having a negative effect on her children's sense of order and discipline. While returning home, their ship is attacked by Capt. Chavez (Anthony Quinn), who along with his first mate Zac (James Coburn), begins to loot the ship for valuables. However, in the midst of the confusion of the pirate raid, the Thornton children scurry onto the pirate ship, and it's not until they've left the other ship behind that Chavez and Zac discover that they have new passengers. While most of the pirates are unenthusiastic about having a pack of kids on board, Chavez declares that they must be allowed to stay on board until they can be taken to a safe port. As they get to know each other, Chaven develops a soft spot for the children, especially ten-year-old Emily (Deborah Baxter), but in time, the kids' mischievous playfulness begins to transform itself into something more sinister. The supporting cast includes Dennis Price, Lila Kedrova, and Gert Frobe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A greedy gold smuggler hires a handsome hero to transport a stolen fortune to a new hideout in this thrilling adventure. The smuggler sends his moll to accompany (and spy on) the hero. The two set out for Beirut to get instructions as to where the gold is located. They travel throughout exotic southeastern Europe and the Middle East seeking further instructions, never realizing that they have had it all along. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide