Paul Hubschmid Movies

A nearly forgotten accident (or was it murder?) takes on new life when a 50th year class reunion is convened at the remote Alpine mountain chalet of one of the students. During an excursion in the mountains many years before, just after their graduation, one of the least popular of students fell to his death from a high waterfall. We find out that the hostess of this reunion was the dead boy's lover and was pregnant with his child. In this Agatha Christie-type story a series of deaths ensues, some accidental, some not, en route to a surprise ending. The cast of this Swiss production includes nine of the their most prominent native actors, including international star Ursula Andress, who had never before appeared in a Swiss film. Anne-Marie Blanc, who plays the hostess, is one of the great stars of Swiss theater. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this typical Jesus Franco S&M/sex opus, Katja Bienert plays a young woman who was raised in a convent. Searching throughout Europe for her sister, she finally arrives in Spain, where she finds her held prisoner in a brothel. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi

A team of anthropologists travel to New Guinea in search of the missing link in this routine adventure tale. The expedition is financed by Vancruysen (Paul Hubschmid) and lead by Dr. Sybil Greame (Susan Clark). Also on hand are Douglas Temple (Burt Reynolds) and the boozy Otto Kreps (Roger C. Carmel). The two men are on the lookout for phospherous. The party discovers a group that appears to behalf human and half ape. Otto entices the female creature Topazia (Pat Suzuki) with sandwiches. When phosphorous is discovered, the evil industrialist Vancruysen enslaves the primates to work in the mines. Otto, Topazia, and Douglas escape, but there quest is slowed by the stillborn birth of Topazia's child. Douglas tricks the doctor into signing the death certificate that claims the child was human, which forces a murder trial. Eaton (Wilfred Hyde-White) is the South African anthropologist and racist called on to judge the proceedings. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Americans in 1968 seemed to prefer long, campy film titles. Thus it was that the British Taste of Excitement was rechristened Why Would Anyone Want to Kill a Nice Girl Like You? The girl in question is Jane Kerrell (Eva Rienzi), who is somehow involved in an assassination plot. The hero, artist Paul Hedley (David Buck), agrees to help Jane when he's told that the intended victim is a traitor. But who's telling the truth here? Director Don Sharp co-adapted the screenplay from Ben Healey's novel Waiting for a Tiger. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Occasionally listed as In Enemy Hands (evidently a working title), In Enemy Country is a war film with "A" ambitions and a TV-movie budget. Wartime secret agents Col. Charles Waslow-Carton (Tony Franciosa) and Lt. Col. Philip Braden (Guy Stockwell) infiltrate enemy lines, posing as POWs. Their mission is to destroy a deadly new type of torpedo, hidden in a Nazi stronghold in France. Their contact is Denise Marchois (Anjanette Comer), whom Waslow-Carton had coerced into marrying a German baron (Paul Hubschmid) before the outbreak of war, thus allowing her to continue her spying activities unimpeded. Upon the completion of their mission, Marchois chooses to remain behind with her husband, whom she has grown to love. Too many peripheral characters, way too many plot twists, and a "French" village obviously constructed on the Universal back lot: for these and other reasons, In Enemy Country is a must to avoid. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Manon (Catherine Deneuve) is an amoral, free spirit who uses sex to surround herself in relatively luxurious surroundings. The mistress of a wealthy man, she meets a handsome young reporter (Sami Frey) on a flight from Hong Kong to Paris. She gives the older man the boot before slipping into a hot bathtub with her new love, the reporter. Her brother Jean-Paul (Jean Claude Brialey) puts out the word to rich men that his hot-to-trot sister is back in town. She willingly allows herself to be used for sex to justify her lifestyle. The reporter loses his job and Manon takes up with another wealthy client, seeing the reporter on the side. Men continue to fall for the beautiful, opportunistic Manon who is more interested in Mr. Right Now than Mr. Right. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Eva Mireille Darc is an orphaned country girl who comes to the big city looking for love in this old-fashioned melodrama. Getting a job as an au pair, Eva is noticed by her employer, a fashion photographer. She becomes a cover-girl model and finds steady work and a steady architect boyfriend, but Eva leaves him when she determines he lacks commitment. Two failed marriages bring her the riches but not the romance she has searched for all her life. She sadly walks off into a snowdrift on her lavish estate as the narrator redundantly underscores her obvious loneliness. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

An unemployed, cynical Yankee pilot begins working for a strange colonel flying between Lisbon and Mozambique. He is in one of the wealthy officer's clubs when he meets a promising young singer. From there he finds himself entangled in murder, narcotics smuggling and the white slave trade. The film was shot on location in Mozambique and at Victoria Falls. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Leopold (Paul Meurisse) is an attorney who gets involved with underworld thugs trying to hijack a truck containing a shipment of gold in this uneven crime comedy. He decides to kidnap everyone involved, especially when he falls for the felonious female Agnes (Genevieve Page). Leopold gets off easy when Agnes turns out to be an undercover cop. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Caroline (Dany Saval) is a young woman who turns her attention to older men in this romantic situation comedy. She has hopes of finding a worldly, mature man to marry, but always seems to pick the wrong men. She is wooed by a millionaire, a pushy salesman, and a pompous physician before learning all three are already married. Caroline decides to find a young man her own age after her failed attempts for happiness with the middle-aged lotharios. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This overdone German film relies on a repetitive plot centered around bedroom antics worthy of daytime dramas. A call girl (Hildegard Knef) teaches the "ways of love" to a boy (Thomas Fritsch). The boy uses the knowledge to seduce the young wife (Alexandra Stewart) of his professor (Martin Held). Meanwhile, the professor carries on with his secretary (Daliah Lavi). The story continues in like fashion, with little else to give it strength. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, Rovi