Oscar Karlweis Movies

A man finds himself running from both the police and his own troubling memories in this drama. Hans Muller (Kirk Douglas), a German Jew, was once a well-known juggler before he was committed to a concentration camp; Muller survived, but his wife and children did not. After the war, Muller and many other displaced people found themselves in a temporary camp in Israel; his experiences have left him upset and confused, and several of the guards notice that he's behaving oddly. Muller flees the camp after one day, but while running away, he's stopped by Kogan (Richard Benedict), an Israeli policeman. When Kogan asks to see Muller's papers, he immediately flashes back to an unsetting memory in which a Nazi officer asked the same question; Muller panics, attacks the cop, and flees for Mount Carmel. In the morning, Muller encounters a group of children who believe the story he tells them: that he's a tourist from the United States. One of them, Yehoshua (Joseph Walsh), is making his way to a kibbutz in Syria, and Muller, who hopes to get to some friends in Egypt, joins him. Muller entertains the young man by teaching him to juggle, and they become close friends. When Yehoshua is injured by a land mine, Muller rushes him to a hospital, where he meets Ya'el (Milly Vitale), a woman who lost her husband to Arabs. A romance soon blossoms between Muller and Ya'el, and he confesses to her that he's on the run from the police; meanwhile, Israeli Detective Karni (Paul Stewart) is combing the nation, searching for the juggler -- not to arrest him, but to convince him that he's not wanted for murder, and that others want to help him. Michael Blankfort, who wrote the original novel upon which The Juggler was based, adapted the screenplay and also served as executive producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, 5 Fingers stars James Mason as a man known to his superiors only as Cicero. Ostensibly the valet of the British ambassador to Ankara during World War II, Cicero is actually a Nazi agent. He holds no particular political viewpoint: the Nazis offered the best price, so for the time being he is loyal to them. Falling in love with the beautiful Danielle Darrieux, Cicero uses her home as a contact point to meet his German associates. At great personal risk, Cicero secures secret British war files and smuggles them to the Germans; they find the information in the files too far-fetched to be taken seriously--and thus are caught unawares on the morning of the D-Day invasion. An ironic coda finds Cicero, setting himself up in luxury in Rio de Janeiro, double-crossed by both Darrieux and the Germans. What else can he do but laugh uproariously? 5 Fingers, based on the memoirs of the real-life "Cicero" L. C. Moyzisch, was adapted into a 1959 TV series, wherein the antihero was converted into a 100% good guy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed very cheaply in New York, St. Benny the Dip (British title: Escape Me If You Can) has a charm and appeal that transcends its modest production trappings. Dick Haymes, Roland Young and Lionel Stander star as Benny, Matthew and Monk, three confidence tricksters forced by circumstance to pose as priests, tending to a slum mission. While clerically garbed, the three sharpsters slowly but surely change their ways, to the benefit of all concerned. As a result, two of the three find honest jobs in the civilian mainstream, while the third elects to remain a man of the cloth. The handpicked supporting cast includes Nina Foch as Haymes' sweetheart, and former child-star Freddie Bartholomew, making his final film appearance as an uptight genuine priest. Devotees of director Edgar Ulmer have insisted upon finding all sorts of hidden meanings in St. Benny the Dip, though it appears that Ulmer's primary concern while making the film was keeping all three of his formidable leading men within camera range. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Letzte Liebe (Last Love) is a vehicle for Japanese-born singing favorite Mitchiko Meini, whose marriage to a wealthy Austrian coffee importer secured her a place in the European film industry. Meini is cast as a Japanese music student, taking lessons in Vienna. An elderly, dissipated composer (Albert Basserman), now down on his luck, takes a fancy to the girl and composes an opera for her. The old man hopes that her gratitude will eventually blossom into love, but she falls instead for his younger, handsomer nephew (Hans Jaray). The tear-stained conclusion finds the heroine ascending to stardom overnight, but just as quickly retiring from the limelight, saddened beyond words by the tragic and unnecessary death of her aged mentor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Die Firma Heiratet (The Firm Weds) is based on a stage comedy by Walter Turczinsky and Jacques Berg. The plot concerns a pompous Baron (Ralph A. Roberts) who is obliged to marry for business reasons. The subsequent in-name-only marriage experiences some rocky moments when both husband and wife fall in love with others. Filmed at the dawn of the talkie era, Die Firma Heiratet didn't make it to the U.S. until 1932. By that time, its primitive sound quality was all the more obvious than it had been some two to three years earlier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sein Liebeslied (His Love Song) was evidently intended as a follow-up to the popular filmed operetta Zwei Herzen, utilizing most of the talent (on both sides of the camera) from the earlier picture. Fee Malten stars as Mady Smith, a boarding-school girl who has been so sheltered from the Outside World that she has never even met her parents. During her first foray outside the walls of the school, Mady falls madly in love with the voice of a famous jazz singer. She meets young Jimmy Bolt (Willy Forst), who hopes to score points by pretending to be the idolized singer. What neither Mady nor Jimmy suspect is that the mysterious vocalist is none other than Mady's own father, Maxim Merblanc (Paul Otto). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1930 Hollywood feature Laughter, which starred Nancy Carroll and Fredric March, was also lensed in two foreign-language versions. Both the German Die Manner um Lucie and the French Rive Gauche were directed by Alexander Korda. Liane Haid, Walter Rilla and Oskar Karlweis star in this Teutonic spin on the original Harry D'Arrast-Douglas Doty screenplay (D'Arrast also directed the English-language Laughter). Liane assumes the Nancy Carroll role as a Follies dancer who marries likeable millionaire Karlweis. He denies her nothing, not even an extramarital fling with composer Rilla. The complications that follow are both sophisticated and logical, with the characters behaving like human beings rather than French-farce stick figures. We'll let the auteur theorists argue over whether Alexander Korda's direction was any more accomplished than Harry D'Arrast's. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally Zwie Herzen in Drei-Vertel Takt, this delightful operetta was written directly for the screen by Robert Stolz. Nicki and Vicki, two librettists who also happen to be brothers, are presently in collaboration with composer Toni. All too aware of Toni's amorous escapades, Nicki and Vicki try to keep the existence of their pretty sister Hedi a secret. Suffering from a acute case of writers' block (he has yet to find an inspiration for his next production), Toni throws a huge party, which is boycotted by his friends and associates so that he'll keep his mind on his work. The only guest who does show up is uninvited -- and surprise, that guest is sweet little Hedi, who turns out to be inspiration enough for ten operettas. Two Hearts in 3/4 Time was a worldwide financial and critical success, with most of the credit going to cherubic supporting player Szoeke Szakall, who would go on to even greater fame in Hollywood as S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

If a poll had ever been conducted amongst fans of international musical-comedy star Lillian Harvey, the actress's most popular vehicle would probably have been Die Drei von Der Tankstelle (Three From the Gas Station) -- with Congress Dances running a very close second. The story opens as three debt-ridden young men pool what is left of their savings to open a roadside service station. Their most frequent customer is the wealthy, winsome Ms. Harvey, who frequently shows up fetchingly clad in hiking shorts. Each of the young men falls in love with the girl, unbeknownst to the other two. Which one will she choose? Most likely, the one who sings the best -- and that would be Lillian Harvey's frequent screen vis-a-vis Willy Fritsch. Die Drei von der Tankstelle was also filmed in a French-language version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide