Walter Janssen Movies
- 1970
- R
Based on a novel by Harry Kressing, Something for Everyone must hold some sort of record for having the largest number of unsympathetic characters within a single film. Mercenary layabout Michael York talks himself into a footman's job at the estate of dissipated countess Angela Lansbury. In his efforts to advance himself socially and monetarily, York stops at nothing--including murder. He is eventually roasted on his own spit, courtesy of Lansbury's gross, ugly daughter Jane Carr. Guiding the debauched destinies of the characters is none other than Broadway luminary Harold Prince. The film has also been released as The Rook and Black Flowers for the Bride. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Lansbury, Michael York, (more)
- 1965
The German Hansel and Gretel was originally produced in 1954, but was withheld from American release because of a competing animated version. In 1965, a limited-release concerns called Childhood Productions managed to find several "four waller" bookings for the 11-year-old film. The story is the same as ever: forest urchins Hansel and Gretel venture into the woods, get lost, come across a gingerbread house, and foil the plans of a voracious witch. Dubbed into English, Hansel and Gretel was fitted out with a new musical score by Milton and Anne DeLugg. Its narrator was Paul Tripp, whom baby-boomers will fondly remember as TV's "Mr. I. Magination." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Starring the peripatetic Eddie Constantine as Eddie Petersen ("Hoppla Eddie"), this amusing crime parody pokes at the foibles of gangster movies. Eddie is a seaman working out of Hamburg who has been given the enviable job of watching over a group of pretty South American women. While this seems like a better assignment than putting out to sea for six months, he soon finds himself in more limited, but very hot water. One of the women may hold the key to a secret uncovered by her famous scientist-father, now deceased. He apparently discovered something cheap to power the automobile and a notorious international gang is after his invention. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Constantine, Maria Sebaldt, (more)
- 1958
Writer/director Robert Siodmak based his German-filmed The Devil Strikes at Night on an actual case. Set during the last months of the Hitler regime, the film concerns a series of rapes and stranglings of young women. Gestapo officer Rossdorf (Hannes Messemer) and non-party member Axel Kersten (Claus Holm) investigate the trail of evidence. They discover that the criminal is Bruno Leudke, a mental defective (played by Mario Adorf). An open-and-shut case...except for the fact that Adorf is a loyal Nazi Party member! The dilemma now is to stem the crime spree without publicizing the embarrassing fact that "Aryan supremacy" is capable of yielding a monster like Adorf. Originally titled Nachts, Wenn der Teufel Kam, The Devil Strikes at Night has also been released as Nazi Terror at Night and Nights When the Devil Came. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Adorf, Claus Holm, (more)
- 1957
Released in English-speaking regions as Italian Journey-Love Included, this modest German romantic drama was based on a novel by Barbara Noack. Paul Hubschmid plays a tour guide, shepherding a group of German vacationers through sunny Italy. All the ladies on the tour immediately fall in love with the handsome Hubschmid, but he has eyes only for the toothsome Susanne Cramer. Meanwhile, Cramer's jealous lover Walter Giller dogs Hubschmid's trail throughout the tour. Italienreise-Liebe Inbegriffen is reminiscent of the 1967 English-language comedy Three Bites of the Apple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Hubschmid, Susanne Cramer, (more)
- 1954
The German musical comedy Guitars of Love stars Italian tenor Vico Torriani. The hero is garage mechanic Robert Trenti (Torriani), who dreams of attaining fame and fortune as a singing star. Heading to Rome to realize his goal, Trenti joins a musical aggregation called the "Hot Four." While touring the provinces, Trenti is selected for stardom by internationally famous orchestra leader Mantovani (who co-stars as himself). Elma Karlowa co-stars as Mantovani's femme vocalist Ilona Mirko, with whom Trenti falls in love at fade-out time. One wonders how the Mantovani depicted in Guitars of Love eventually evolved (or devolved) into the King of Elevator Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vico Torriani, Elma Karlowa, (more)
With the Third Reich disintegrating, several members of the German army are defecting to the Americans and offering their services as spies. US officer Gary Merrill trusts none of these last-minute "converts", but German prisoner Oskar Werner seems to be sincere. Werner insists that by helping the Americans, he is saving Germany from destruction. Merrill sends Werner behind enemy lines for counter-espionage with an American officer (Richard Basehart), who still isn't convinced that the German expatriate means what he says. At several critical junctures, it seems as though Werner had been lying about his mission, but at the last moment he saves Basehart's life at the cost of his own...but was this act of bravery intentional? A thoughtful World War II drama, Decision Before Dawn was filmed on location in Europe. Watch for a young and sickly-looking Klaus Kinski as an overeager defector. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, (more)
- 1948
In a sense, The Mozart Story can qualify as an international production. The balance of the film was lensed in Austria by director Karl Hartl, with Hans Holt as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the songs sung in German. When the American rights to the film were purchased by Screen Guild, director Frank Wisbar supervised the English dubbing, and even lensed a few new scenes, with Wilton Graff as Mozart's great rival Antonio Salieri (later the "protagonist" of the Oscar-winning Amadeus). Also appearing in the newly shot scenes were Carol Forman as Catherine Cavalleria and Anthony Barr as Ruffini. Despite its patchwork construction, The Mozart Story weaves a cogent and credible (if not altogether accurate) version of Mozart's life and work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Holt, Winnie Markus, (more)
- 1938
The title Die Entfuehrung translates as The Abduction, but it's a comedy, so no one gets hurt. Marieleuse Claudine plays Suzanne, an impressionable young miss who frets over her mother Yvonne's (Lola Chlud) clandestine romance with a smarmy lothario. With papa (Walter Janssen) away on business, Suzanne decides to take matters in her own hands. She fakes her own kidnapping, stowing away on the yacht of family friend Gerard Frehl (Gustav Froelich). Though poor Frehl takes his lumps from the Law, it all turns out okay when Suzanne's mom comes to her senses and her dad realizes how neglectful he's been. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gustav Froehlich, Walter Janssen, (more)
- 1936
Liebesleute (People in Love) was based on Goethe's Herman and Dorothea, updated to 1936 Berlin. Dorothea (Renate Muller), a farm girl, falls in love with wealthy young Herman (Gustav Froelich). This does not sit well with Herman's gentrified parents, who have already selected a "proper" bride for their son. Herman and Dorothea decide to elope to the Big City, where they find that life can be very unkind and unfair. After much heartbreak and disappointment, Dorothea arranges a reconciliation between Herman and his parents. All is forgiven, the lovers are reunited, and, as a bonus, the wheat crop comes in on time! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gustav Froehlich, Heinrich Schroth, (more)
- 1935
Considering how much Adolf Hitler relied upon his scientists during WWII, the anti-technology stance of Der Herr Der Welt (Ruler of the World) is amazing. After a long absence, Dr. Heller (Walter Janssen) returns to his laboratory, where he learns that his demented chief assistant (Arlbert Waeschler) has developed a robot. Dr. Heller approves of this, but he's less happy with the fact that the robot is equipped with a death ray. His objections don't carry too much weight, however, inasmuch as Heller is quickly dispatched by the homicidal robot. The story briefly goes off on another tangent as Heller's widow Vilma (Sybille Schmitz, of Vampyr fame) falls in love with handsome mining engineer Baumann (Sigfried Schuerenberg). Ultimately, both Vilma and Baumann must contend with thousands upon thousands of killer robots, who've been programmed to take over all jobs -- and, eventually, the world. Die Herr der Welt was the last of director Harry Piel's quartet of science fiction films, which began in 1915 with Die Gross Wette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Janssen, Sybille Schmitz, (more)
- 1934
Set in pre-WWI Vienna, Mascarade concerns a near-tragic misunderstanding over a nude painting. It is incorrectly assumed that heroine Leopoldine (Paula Wesseley) posed for the painting, when in fact the model was Gerda (Hilde von Stolz), the wife of stuffy Dr. Harrandt (Peter Peterson). The romance between Leopoldine and artist Heidendeck (Adolf Wohlbruck) is threatened when his cast-off mistress shoots him. Dr. Harrandt is summoned to perform an emergency operation on Heidenbeck, but upon discovering that the artist had painted his wife Gerda in the nude, the "good" doctor refuses to minister to Heidenbeck's wound. It is Leopoldine who appeals to the doctor's essential humanity and finally sets things right. The centerpiece of Mascarade is a concert sequence, given period credibility through its use of authentic Enrico Caruso records on the soundtrack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paula Wessely, Anton Walbrook, (more)
- 1932
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Werner Krauss, Grete Mosheim, (more)
- 1931
Filmed in France, the German-language Das Konzert was based on the play of the same name by Hermann Bahr. The farcical plotline concerns a series of marital misunderstandings, all tied in with the arrival of a famous concertmaster. Olga Tschechowa, usually cast as a femme fatale, gives a sympathetic and understanding performance as a long-suffering wife. Oscar Karlweis also scores as a husband who nearly loses his spouse, only to win her back at the very last moment. According to reviewers in 1931, the subtleties in the original play were sacrificed in favor of bed-slat slapstick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olga Tschechowa, Oscar Karlweis, (more)
- 1931
Die Koenigen einer Nacht was based on a novel by Alfred Machard. The title translates as Queen of a Night, which is the lofty status thrust upon heroine Friedl Haerlin. Despite the fact that she is not in the least bit queenly, Haerlin manages to convince her fans that she is indeed a beautiful regent, forced into a marriage of convenience which unexpectedly blossoms into love. That superlative singer Walter Janssen shows up in a supporting role designed to allow him full scope to display his remarkable vocal skills. The best acting performance in Die Koenigen einer Nacht is rendered by Carl Ludwig Diehl as the queen's adjutant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Friedl Haerlin, Adele Sandrock, (more)
