Dolly Haas Movies
Before coming to America to take an unsuccessful stab at Hollywood stardom, Dolly Haas had established herself as a luminary on stage and screen in her native Germany. Born in Hamburg, in 1916, she began dancing at age six, was a professional actress during her teens, and made her German feature film debut in 1923, with One Summer of Happiness. She continued appearing in films there through the early '30s, but when the National Socialists came to power, Hass emigrated to Great Britain. There, she appeared in such films as Broken Blossoms (1935) and Spy of Napoleon (1939). Shortly after making the latter film, she moved to the U.S., but once in Hollywood was unable to find a film that suited her. In the early '40s, she moved to New York to forge a successful career on Broadway, appearing in shows such as Lute Song opposite Yul Brynner and Crime and Punishment with John Gielgud. In 1975, Haas' contribution to German cinema was honored with a retrospective at the Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1988
In a change of pace from his gay-activist or otherwise politically in-your-face documentaries and feature films, director Rosa von Praunheim here films a tribute to the lives and careers of three successful woman performers from pre-Nazi Germany who fled to the U.S. when it became clear that things in their home country were beyond repair. After the war, each of them remained in the U.S. and continued actively pursuing their careers, with mixed success. The first is the innovative dancer/actor/choreographer Lotte Goslar, who worked with Mary Wigman in pioneering modern dance, and choreographed productions by Bertolt Brecht. The second woman, Dolly Haas, was a major German movie star. She had a Hollywood contract but the movie moguls never cast her in anything, and she went on to appear on the New York stage before marrying the Broadway caricaturist Al Hirshfield. Lastly, Maria Piscator, who began her career as a dancer and choreographed for Max Reinhardt, founded the Dramatic Workshop at New York's New School with her husband, director Erwin Piscator. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Haas
Based on the turn-of-the-century play Our Two Consciences by Paul Anthelme, Hitchcock's I Confess is set in Quebec. Montgomery Clift plays a priest who hears the confession of church sexton O.E. Hasse. "I...killed...a man" whispers Hasse in tight closeup--and, bound by the laws of the Confessional, Clift is unable to turn Hasse over to the police. But police-inspector Karl Malden has a pretty good idea who the guilty party is: all evidence points to Clift. It seems that the dead man had been blackmailing Anne Baxter, who was once in a factually innocent, but seemingly exploitable compromising position with Clift. Tried for murder, Clift is released due to lack of evidence, but he is ruined in the eyes of the community. Then it is Hasse's turn to make that One Fatal Error. I Confess is frequently dismissed as a lesser Hitchcock, due mainly to the quirky performance of Montgomery Clift (who, it is said, steadfastly refused to take direction). Today, four decades removed from its on-set intrigues, the film has taken its place as one of the best of Hitchcock's "between the classics" efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, (more)
- 1937
By accident or design, two pre-Hitler efforts from German filmmaker Carl Boese were distributed to the U.S. during the same week of 1937, roughly five years after both were completed. The first was The Gentleman from Maxims; the second was Die Klein Schiwindlerin -- or, as it was known in the U.S., The Little Schemer. Pixieish Dolly Haas plays the title character, a flirtatious cutie named Annette. Our heroine causes all sorts of mischief for handsome young man-about-town Bob (Harald Paulsen), ultimately winning his love. She also saves him from the machinations of a group of con artists. Though Dolly Haas was unable to sustain her acting career in Hollywood, she remained in close contact with the Performing Arts through her long and lasting marriage to caricature artist Al Hirschfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Haas, Harald Paulsen, (more)
- 1936
In deference to the film's title, private secretary Dolly Haas does marry her boss Max Hansen in the final scene. Before this happens, however, Haas is repeatedly fired by Hansen, only to be rehired time and again through one subterfuge after another. The film reaches a dizzy comic highpoint when Hansen is rescued by his faithful secretary from a compromising situation involving two enraged females. Filmed just before Hitler's ascension to power, Privat-Sekretarin Heiratet spotlights the talents of several artists who would be forced to flee from Germany for political or religious reasons. One of these was director Herman Kosterlitz, who soon changed his base of operation to Hollywood -- and simultaneously changed his name to Henry Koster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Haas, Max Hansen, (more)
- 1936
Hollywood star Richard Barthelmess, who's about as French as a hot dog with mustard, plays the title character in the British costume melodrama Spy of Napoleon. Based on a novel by Baroness Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel), the plot focuses on the animosity between Napoleon III (Frank Vosper) and Prussian chancellor Bismarck (Lyn Harding). Certain that he is surrounded by traitors (which indeed he is), Napoleon dispatches his illegitimate daughter Eloise (Dolly Haas) to flush out the turncoats. It happens that the girl is married to exiled French patriot Gerald de Lanoy (Barthelmess), who though he despises Napoleon loves his country and agrees to help her in her mission. Francis L. Sullivan wins the acting honors as the Emperor's sinister chief of police Toulon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Barthelmess, Dolly Haas, (more)
- 1936
This tragedy is a remake of D.W. Griffith's classic silent film. The story is based on "The Chink and the Child," a story by Thomas Burke that tells of the mystical romance between a Chinese fellow and a cockney lass who meet in London's slums. The young woman is seeking to escape her boozy and abusive daddy when she encounters the young Chinese man. He takes her in and they become friends. He is kind and likes to array her in Chinese costumes. Tragically, her father learns of her hiding place and comes to kill her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Haas, Arthur Margetson, (more)
- 1934
Best known today as the wife of famed caricaturist Al Hirschfield, actress Dolly Haas enjoyed a long and fruitful career in England and Europe. One of Haas' best vehicles is the gender-bending British farce Girls Will Be Boys, in which she plays the granddaughter of the Duke of Bridgewater (Cyril Maude). Because her name in the film is "Pat," our heroine is assumed to be a boy by her woman-hating grandpop, and she does nothing to dissuade him of this belief, dressing up in drag when she goes to meet him for the first time. The rest of the picture is a reverse Charley's Aunt, with Pat endeavoring to be "one of the guys" under the most trying of circumstances (yes, she even smokes a cigar at one point). For a one-joke film, Girls Will be Boys is surprisingly substantial, managing to keep the audience amused for 71 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Haas, Cyril Maude, (more)
- 1932
The title translates as A Tremendously Rich Man, which indeed describes the financial condition of hero Curt Bois. Actually, all of Bois' assets are in his stomach: a jeweller's assistant, he has accidentally swallowed a valuable diamond. All sorts of misadventures befall the poor fellow until it is discovered that he hasn't ingested the gem at all, but instead a piece of rock candy. Leading man Curt Bois later emigrated to Hollywood where he appeared in dozens of small movie roles, most memorably the pickpocket in Casablanca. His career extended well into the 1980s, when he made his final film appearance in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curt Bois, Dolly Haas, (more)
- 1932
Music, drama and comedy are neatly integrated in this low-key backstage romance. After a lengthy spell of unemployment, leading man Paul Hartwig (Willy Forst) and leading lady Lisa Brandes (Dolly Haas) prepare to open in a big-time stage musical. Is it any surprise that Paul and Lisa also manage to fall in love? Their story is but one of several leading to the inevitable "big opening"; other subplots involve the director, the composer, the supporting players, the chorus and the technical crew. So Ein Maedel Vergisst Man Nicht is one of the few "putting on a show" endeavors in which it appears that a real show is actually being put on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Haas, Willi Forst, (more)
- 1931
Leading German actor Fritz Kortner made his film directorial debut with Der Brave Suender (The Good Sinner). In his first talking picture, Max Pallenberg is cast as a cashier who through no fault of his own finds that there's a deficit in his records. Suspecting that there's an embezzler involved, Pallenberg traces the lost money to his superior, Heinz Ruhmann. This leads to a series of misunderstandings and deceptions which have a startling effect on both Pallenberg and Ruhmann. The film was based on the best-selling novel Die Defraudanten. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heinz Rühmann, Dolly Haas, (more)
- 1931
One of several German military comedies of the early-talkie era, Liebeskommando (Command to Love) serves as a vehicle for the personable Dolly Haas. The star is cast as Antonia, the youngest member of a military family. When her brother Francesco (Walter Edhofer) refuses to follow in his father's footsteps by enrolling in a military academy, Antonia disguises herself as a boy and signs up in Francesco's place. She manages to pull off the ruse for three years, though one wonders how she was able to avoid undressing in front of her dorm-mates for so long a period. Eventually she reveals her true identity when she falls in love with her handsome superior officer, Lt. Von Lorentz (Gustav von Froelich). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Haas, Gustav Froehlich, (more)
- 1930
(Dolly Macht Karrier) Dolly's Career top-bills the delightful Dolly Haas in the title role. It's a harmless little story about a starry-eyed chorus girl who hopes to become a big star and also keep her virtue, and of the various antagonists who try to prevent her from doing either. The film is highlighted by a number of elaborate dance sequences, gracefully performed by Haas and cleverly choreographed by Ernst Matray. In the largest male role, Alfred Abel does his usual overrated overacting, though audiences were satisfied to the point of applauding Abel upon his first entrance. Star Dolly Haas later emigrated to America, where she eventually forsook show business to marry New York Times caricaturist Al Hirschfield. Dolly Macht Karriere marked the directorial debut of Anatole Litwak (Litvak), who likewise relocated to the U.S., there to enjoy a long and rewarding Hollywood career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Haas, Alfred Abel, (more)
