Helmut Griem Movies
Born and educated in Hamburg, handsome blonde German actor Helmut Griem first appeared in European films in 1961 and exploded onto the international film scene as the bisexual Aschenbach in Visconti's The Damned(1969). In roughly the same vein, he was cast as the elegantly debauched aristocrat Maximillian Von Heune in Cabaret (1972). Helmut Griem's subsequent roles have included the title character in the 1988 filmization of Faust and Field Marshal Rommel in the 1990 TV movie The Plot to Kill Hitler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The McKenzie Break is an unusual POW escape drama in that the would-be escapees are German prisoners, held in a Scottish camp. When a Luftwaffe pilot is murdered in the compound, British major Ian Hendrey investigates. He suspects that the killing is tied in with a complex escape plan, engineered by German commander Helmut Griem. Before the inevitable break, the prisoners form into the sort of separate factions and pressure groups that fomented the Nazi upheaval in Germany in the first place. Based on a novel by Sidney Shelley, The McKenzie Break was actually filmed in Ireland rather than Scotland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, Helmut Griem, (more)
In 1969, The Damned (La caduta degli dei) was director Luchino Visconti's most controversial film to date. Set in the 1930s, the film zeroes in on a Krupp-like family of German munition manufacturers. The Essenbeck clan is headed by the Baron (Rene Kolldehoff), but daughter Sophie (Ingrid Thulin) wants her Nazi boyfriend to take over the business. Soon the Baron is dead and Bruckman (Dirk Bogarde) becomes company president. Son Martin (Helmut Berger) is the dope-addicted teenager who sleeps with his mother and drags her into her own dependence on drugs. Ever in pursuit of more millions to add to their already bulging coffers, the family plays along with the Nazis, descending into corruption, betrayal and murder all along the way. The film was originally released in the U.S. with an X rating. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Ingrid Thulin, (more)
- 1962
This routine fantasy-drama that centers on a woman's dream is directed by Helmut Kaeutner and begins when Lieschen Mueller (Sonja Ziemann) gets an unbelievable job offer. As her name suggests to a German audience, she is one of those women -- a bank teller in this case -- who want their romantic fantasies satisfied at the movie theater. So when a wealthy man offers her the position of personal secretary with extensive travel, new clothes, and all the perks, she has to sleep on it. When she does, she dreams that she is a super-wealthy woman already. The question is, will the dream state whether at night or on the silver screen be preferable to the reality? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sonja Ziemann, Martin Held, (more)
- 1961
Originally released in Germany as Bis Zum Ende Aller Tage, this film stars Chinese actress Akiko in the title role. Helmut Griem plays a German sailor on leave in Hong Kong who falls in love with Akiko. Despite her questionable past, Griem marries her and brings her home. When Griem's family gives her a chilly reception, Akiko sadly decides that it would be best to quietly exit her husband's life. Though it looks a like lot the old British chestnut Waterloo Bridge, it was actually based on Heinrich Hauser's novel Brackwasser. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
