Curd Jürgens Movies
German actor Curd Jurgens worked as a journalist until his first wife, actress Louise Basler, persuaded him to take up acting. In 1935 he began appearing on the German stage and screen, and gradually increased his career status until 1944, when he was sent to a concentration camp at the order of Dr. Goebbels. After his release he continued to appear in German films, gaining international recognition with his work in The Devil's General (1955). Jurgens went on to be a leading star of the European stage and international films; onscreen he often played urbane villains, and sometimes was cast as a Nazi. Although he appeared in over 100 films, he considered himself primarily a stage actor. He directed a few films with limited success, and also wrote screenplays. Jurgens was married five times; one of his wives was actress Eva Bartok. He authored an autobiography, Sixty and Not Yet Wise. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
Serge (Serge Gainsbourg) is sent to France by New York mobsters to secure a shipment of heroin. The supplier in France is being ripped off by a middleman who has gone into business for himself. His first order of business is to wipe out the customers of a drug house who have bought their drugs from a rival dealer. After slaying the bunch, with the help of a maniacal hippie (Paul Nicholas), he is off to Paris. Someone tips off the rival gang of Serge's arrival and he is met at the airport by two thugs. A pretty woman he met on the plane (Jane Birkin) finds him slumped in his car and takes him home with her. The two soon are entwined in a passionate embrace. Emery (Curt Jurgens) is the French drug kingpin who along with Serge is sought by the inspector (Gabriele Ferzetti). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, (more)
- 1970
- PG
An undercover agent has a clever plan to get into a terrorist ring, but finds more than he bargained for in this 1970 film. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Konrad Johannsen (Curt Jurgens) is the World War II submarine commander who made a pact with God. He agreed to become a priest if he is saved from the sinking sub. After the war, he becomes a priest in the Reeperbahn district, a seamy section of Hamburg plagued by sex, drugs and rock & roll. The local criminals seek to drive him out and employ a prostitute in an attempt to make him fall from grace and give in to the pleasures of the flesh. Konrad avoids temptation as he deals with the villains, saves fallen women and rescues fishermen is distress. Above all, he keeps his promise to God for saving his life during the war. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- PG
In this British sex-comedy, a car salesman journeys to France and encounters an apparently lonely woman. He immediately begins to successfully woo her only to learn that she is actually a baron's wife. Fortunately, the baron believes in open marriages and winds up hiring the Englishman to teach his son (from an earlier marriage) everything about automobiles. Meanwhile the car salesman finds himself falling seriously in love with the wife. The baron really doesn't mind as he himself is involved with another. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Crawford, Genevieve Gilles, (more)
Released as Mark of the Devil to U.S. theaters (accompanied by complimentary barf-bags for squeamish patrons with urpy tendencies), this gory torture-fest was produced in Germany under the title of Hexen bis aufs Blut Gequält (Witches Tortured Till They Bleed). The story is comprised of equal parts Ken Russell's The Devils and Michael Reeves' sardonic Witchfinder General (aka The Conqueror Worm). It involves the demented Count Cumberland (Herbert Lom), an Austrian nobleman who implements the witch-hunting policies of the Inquisition as a means of obtaining land, riches, and nubile young wenches -- particularly the lovely Vanessa (Olivera Vuco), who has been accused of heresy and witchcraft. Cumberland's accomplice in the torture and terror, Baron Christian Von Mem (Udo Kier), realizes too late that his mentor is the true evil stalking the land, not the terrified innocents whose "trials" are a mockery of justice. Christian is sacrificed to the enraged villagers during the inevitable revolt at the film's climax, while the Count makes a hasty escape -- thus enabling the birth of a sequel, Mark of the Devil Part 2. Both films were repackaged in the mid-70's and released in time to join the ranks of the European demon-possession subgenre (American release ads proudly proclaimed "Damn The Exorcist!"). The barf-bags were not entirely unjustified for this graphically sadistic exercise which assaulted audiences with explicit scenes of torture, including the removal of one poor victim's tongue. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Lom, Olivera Vuco, (more)
James Bond-flick director Guy Hamilton helmed this episodic, all-star World War II film. With Sir Laurence Olivier heading up an ensemble cast as flight commander Sir Hugh Dowdling, The Battle of Britain pays tribute to other nationalities instrumental in fending off the waves of Luftwaffe planes, notably the expatriate Polish and Czech pilots. Trevor Howard, Michael Caine, and Michael Redgrave also populate the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Andrews, Trevor Howard, (more)
- 1969
Originally released as The Battle of the Neretva, this sprawling epic is a tribute to the Yugoslav partisan fighters of World War II. Yul Brynner stars as a guerilla leader whose mission in life is to eradicate all Nazis from his homeland (recently revealed instances of Yugoslav collaboration are dispensed with in this uncomplicated actioner). Hardy Kruger costars as Brynner's principle German antagonist. Originally released at 175 minutes, this $12 million spectacular was ruthlessly whittled down to 102 minutes by its American distributors. The resultant film looks like a series of outtakes in search of a story, but the action scenes more than compensate for the overall incoherence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Hardy Kruger, (more)
- 1969
In this exciting war drama, a hard-nosed army colonel helps to prepare French beaches for D-day using a band of convicted criminals. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Curt Jurgens once again displays his considerable charms as an actor while performing in a role set in the middle of the colorful St. Pauli district of Hamburg. In this story, he is a sea captain who spent eight years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Now he is forbidden to follow his profession, and his name and honor have been sullied. In order to put his life back in order, he is attempting to find out who actually did the crime he was punished for. Along the way he encounters a girl who is much too young to become his lover, and they become deeply attached to one another. It's just as well neither of them is able to consummate their growing affection, for he later discovers that she is his daughter. Even with a story touching on an overlarge grouping of themes, including murder, dope rings, prostitution, and corruption, critics found this sometimes sentimental movie highly appealing. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Heinz Reincke, (more)
- 1969
Two physician brothers meet after several years when one is accused of murder. Dr. Jan Diffring (Curt Jurgens) is the sympathetic doctor who helps people from all walks of life. Drunken sailors, prostitutes and the poor are aided by the dedicated doctor. His brother Klaus (Horst Naumann) is a gynecologist who caters to the wealthy social elite. Klaus hobnobs with the blue-bloods and takes part in orgies out of sheer boredom. When a sailor is accused of a brutal murder, the trail leads to the arrogant Klaus. The accused sailor has a world of friends who stand by him while the bad doctor is abandoned by his upper-crust clientele as he finds he really has no friends. Klaus considers suicide as the only way out as things close in around him in this dark drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Horst Naumann, (more)
The Assassination Bureau is loosely based on a turn-of-the-century yarn written by Jack London. Nellie Bly-style girl reporter Sonya Winter (Diana Rigg) tries to get the goods on shady businessman Ivan Dragomiloff (Oliver Reed). Ivan is in charge of a wide-reaching organization which, for a price, assassinates those who "need killing." As a challenge, Sonya offers to pay Ivan a huge sum if he'll instruct his minions to assassinate him; Ivan agrees, hoping that it will put a little kick in his work. Despite his profession, Ivan isn't the villain of the piece; that honor goes to evil nobleman Lord Bostwick (Telly Savalas), whose perfidy leads Sonya into joining forces with the Assassination Bureau. A wild climactic chase in a zeppelin caps this tongue-in-cheek escapade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, (more)
- 1968
Agent OSS 117 (John Gavin) is the American secret agent who battles an evil organization that carries out assassinations. He poses as a killer to infiltrate the organization led by the macabre Major (Curt Jurgens). He draws an assignment that sends him to the Middle East where his target is a United Nations envoy negotiating for peace. He must rescue the envoy and shatter the spy ring before the assassination takes place. With the help of the lovely Aicha (Margaret Lee), the duo battles against the diabolical plot that could plunge the region into further chaos. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gavin, Margaret Lee, (more)
- 1968
Set near the end of World War II in the Netherlands, Dirty Heroes concerns a group of ex-convicts recruited into the U.S. Army to recover Dutch jewels originally stolen by the Nazis as well as confiscated Allied plans. Ennio Morricone contributed the score music. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1968
There must be some significance to the fact that neither Jean Negulesco nor chroniclers of his career are eager to include The Invincible Six in the director's credits. This US/Iran coproduction (obviously filmed before 1977) stars Stuart Whitman as the top dog of a group of criminals. Failing to swipe the Tehran crown jewels, Whitman's gang heads for the rural regions, where they offer protection (for a price) to a small village. Elke Sommer wants the crooks to help her find a treasure, using a map that she's appropriated through questionable means. But when Whitman's minions defend the village against an attack by Iranian bandits, the map is destroyed. Only momentarily daunted, Elke joins the Invicible Six for the next adventure. Oh, almost forgot: There's some dancing in The Invincible Six, choreographed by Rudolph Nureyev. No, really. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
This film combines both black-and-white and color photography to tell the story of a circus beset with financial woes. Leni (Hannelore Hoger), the director of a circus, has just lost her father in a trapeze accident. She tries to keep the circus out of debt and vows to continue the performances under the big top. Helped by a small and unexpected inheritance, Leni has high hopes of keeping the circus operating. She must decide if her dedication to the show is realistic or merely wishful thinking. Curt Jurgens appears as the animal trainer Mackensen in this symbolic but slow-moving feature. The film took the Gold Lion award at the 1968 Venice Film Festival. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hannelore Hoger, Alfred Edel, (more)
- 1967
The Man from UNCLE comes to the big screen in this spy thriller comprised of episodes from the popular television series. The story centers around the attempts of evil THRUSH operatives who endeavor to abduct a professor who has developed a formula for turning salt water into gold. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Novelist Jean De Bruce's "Bondish" secret agent Hubert Bonisseur de la Bruce--alias O.S.S. 117--is portrayed by John Gavin in O.S.S. 117: Double Agent. De la Bruce disguises himself as a bank robber in order to get the goods on an international criminal organization. He learns that the criminals plan to spark a World crisis by killing an influential diplomat. Like his role model James Bond, O.S.S. 117 finds time to romance a beautiful girl, in this instance Margaret Lee. The "O.S.S. 117" series did well in Europe but failed to catch on in the US, perhaps because the leading role was played by a different actor in virtually every episode. The original French title for this film was Pas De Roses Pour O.S.S. 117. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Montgomery Clift made his last screen appearance in this French-produced Cold War thriller, completed shortly before his death. American scientist James Bower (Clift) is approached by CIA agent Adam (Roddy McDowall) who wants him to perform an official mission while visiting East Germany. A Russian scientist who has defected to Germany has brought with him a cache of top-secret material on microfilm, and Adam wants James to retrieve it from one Dr. Saltzer (Hannes Messemer). However, James's secret plan is discovered by Peter Heinzman (Hardy Kruger), a Russian intelligence agent determined to keep the microfilm out of American hands and turn James against his American comrades. James wants no part of Heinzman and is determined to complete his assignment, with the help of Saltzer's nurse, Frieda (Macha Meril). Legendary filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard makes a rare dramatic turn in a small supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Montgomery Clift, Hardy Kruger, (more)
- 1966
How to Kill a Lady is an Bond-style thriller with an international cast. The lady in question is toothsome Molly Peters. The killers are members of Lebanese crime syndicate who'd like to claim Molly's millions. Stewart Granger is the secret agent assigned to protect the girl from harm, while various pro- and antagonists are impersonated by Curt Jurgens, Adolfo Celi and Klaus Kinski. Originally titled Das Geheimnis der gelben Monche (evidently part of a series starring Granger), How to Kill a Lady was also released as A Target for Killing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Martin (Jean Gabin) is a venerable gardener who passes counterfeit currency to make ends meet in this situation comedy. When a tax bill puts him further in debt, his nephew convinces him to pass bigger bills to pay off the taxes and live the good life. Soon the nephew and his girlfriend buy a villa on the Riviera and some fancy cars. Martin wants out of the deal but agrees to pull off one more caper before retiring. He meets a wealthy man who takes a liking to him and helps the man win a fortune while gambling at the casino. He brings the money to his nephew who does not realize the currency is real, and when police show up looking for an escaped lion, the nephew and his girl burn what they believe are the bogus bills to avoid being arrested. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Liselotte Pulver, (more)
