Gustaf Gründgens Movies

The cinemazation of Goethe's Faust is little more than a photographed stage play. The story is as ever: ageing scholar Faust (Will Quadflieg) enters into a pact with the Devil, here named Mephisto (Gustaf Grundgens). In exchange, Faust will be granted youth and unbounded intelligence. This unholy alliance results in tragedy for Faust and all who come in contact with him, especially the unfortunate Gretchen (Ella Buchi). Faust was lensed during a performance of the Goethe piece, staged at the Hamburg Deutsches Schauspielhaus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Eine Frau Ohne Bedeutung was adapted by Thea von Harbou from the 1893 Oscar Wilde comedy A Woman of No Importance. Though updated to the 1930s, the story, concerning a reconciliation between an estranged father and son as orchestrated by an "unimportant" woman, remains the same. Perhaps Wilde had not intended his third act to be quite so melodramatic, but it must be remembered that von Harbou previously worked on such films as Dr. Mabuse and Metropolis. Without a thorough knowledge of German, one is hard-pressed to determine whether or not Wilde's epigrammatic dialogue survived intact. Still, audiences in 1936 were satisfied, as were the producers when Eine Frau Ohne Bedeutung turned out to be a success. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Keeping one step ahead of the Nazis, German director Kurt (Curtis) Bernhardt fled to Paris to film this French-language adaptation of Bernard Kellerman's novel The Tunnel. Jean Gabin heads the cast as two-fisted engineer Mac Allen, whose sole ambition in life is to build a Transatlantic tunnel from New York to Europe. It takes him 15 years to achieve this goal, thanks to the crooked machinations of his own boss, among many others. His ultimate success is bittersweet, inasmuch as Allen's wife Mary (Madeleine Renaud) dies in an accident just before the tunnel's completion. Threatened with expulsion from the French film industry, director Bernhardt was obliged to film a German version of The Tunnel in Munich, resulting in his arrest by the Gestapo, from which he escaped by the skin of his teeth. An English-language version of the film, directed by Maurice Elvey and retitled Transatlantic Tunnel, was completed in 1935, utilizing a wealth of stock footage from Bernhardt's original. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This German flag-waver recounts the life and career of famed 19th-century Prussian military leader General Yorck. Werner Krauss, who 13 years earlier had starred in Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, plays the title role. The film's dramatic high-water mark is the moment in 1812 that Yorck refuses to obey his wrong-minded King, whereupon he is branded a rebel. Within a few years, the German film industry would be nationalized by the Nazi party, whereupon any film in which a courageous general dared to stand up to his country's leader would be rejected out of hand. Ironically, by that time the fervently patriotic Werner Krauss would be designated an "Actor of the State." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fritz Lang's classic early talkie crime melodrama is set in 1931 Berlin. The police are anxious to capture an elusive child murderer (Peter Lorre), and they begin rounding up every criminal in town. The underworld leaders decide to take the heat off their activities by catching the child killer themselves. Once the killer is fingered, he is marked with the letter "M" chalked on his back. He is tracked down and captured by the combined forces of the Berlin criminal community, who put him on trial for his life in a kangaroo court. The killer pleads for mercy, whining that he can't control his homicidal instincts. The police close in and rescue the killer from the underworld so that he can stand trial again in "respectable" circumstances. Some prints of the film end with a caution to the audience to watch after their children more carefully. Filmed in Germany, M was the film that solidified Fritz Lang's reputation with American audiences, and it also made a star out of Peter Lorre (previously a specialist in comedy roles!). M was remade by Hollywood in 1951, with David Wayne giving a serviceable performance as the killer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set in 1806, this is the story of Prussia's best-loved queen, as played by Henny Porten, one of Germany's best-loved actresses. The tragic fate of Queen Luise -- and, by extension, of her homeland -- is sealed by the weaklings and prevaricators all around her. Gustaf Gundgrens gives a masterful performance as the vacillating, ineffectual King Friedrich Wilhelm III. American reviewers paid homage to the film's excellent production values but felt that it was doomed to failure outside Germany because of its melancholy subject matter. The film was based on Luise, a novel by Walter Von Molo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While attending an operatic performance, wealthy Otto van Lingen (Gustav Gruendgens) is smitten by beautiful chorus singer Floriane Bach (Alexa Engstroem). Van Lingen sends his secretary Richard Faber (played by director Carl Froelich) to arrange a romantic rendezvous between Van Lingen and Floriane, which leads to the girl's being cast in the female lead of Jacques Levy Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman. But instead of falling in love with her patron, Floriane goes ga-ga over Faber. Van Lingen is incensed, but all is forgiven when he and Floriane are rescued by Faber from an opera-house fire (hence the film's title, which translates as "Fire in the Opera"). Featured in the cast of Brand in Der Oper are several world-renowned opera luminaries, including the great Czech singer Jarmilla Novotna. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi