Alice Kessler Movies
- 1965
This gang-directed comedy combines the talents of Dino Risi, Franco Rossi, and Luigi Filippo Sonego. In "A Decisive Day," Nino Manfredi plays a shy company employee who wins the heart of a longtime flame only to discover she is married. Franco Rossi directs "Complex Of The Nubian Slave" starring Ugo Tognazzi and Claudie Lange. An Italian bigwig faces social ruin when he discovers his wife once appeared nude in a sword-and-sandal epic. Luigi Filippo directs "Toothsome Guglielmo" starring Alberto Sordi in the final episode. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Detective C.G. (Klaus-Juergen Wussow) begins to investigate the death of an attractive woman (Heidelinde Weis) whose naked body was found in Beverly Hills. When he recovers her journal, he is taken into her past where he finds that she lead a sexually promiscuous life. Perhaps in the pages of the diary will be a clue to her killer's identity. This thriller was the first German feature to be shot in Hollywood after WWII as well as the first feature for German television director Michael Pfleghar. Based on a bestselling novel by Curt Goetz, Die Tote Von Beverly Hills/The Corpse of Beverly Hills was adapted to the screen only a few short years after his death. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heidelinde Weis, Klaus-Jurgen Wussow, (more)
- 1962
This 153-minute Biblical epic about salt and sin is directed by Robert Aldrich and has enough dynamic interactions between its chief protagonists to sustain interest in-between climactic scenes. Stewart Granger is Lot, the Hebrew leader who takes his people to camp in the Valley of Jordan only to find that they are caught between the Helamites on the one hand, and the wicked Queen Bera (Anouk Aimee) on the other. She rules over the twin cesspools of Sodom and Gomorrah and is beleaguered by a crafty brother who wants the scepter she now wields. The Queen makes a pact with Lot that he can stay with the Hebrews in the valley as long as he defends it -- she wants to use him and the Hebrews as a first line of defense against the Helamites. To seal the pact, she gives Lot her best slave Ildith (Pier Angeli) to be his wife. Adventures and excitement prevails as Lot and the Hebrews brave one challenge after the other -- until Lot realizes that his people are being corrupted by the environment of Sodom and Gomorrah and eventually receives a Divine vision and knows he has to lead the Hebrews away from here. Special effects are impressive and take much of the impact away from the fate of Ildith, as she turns one last time to look back at the crumbling cities. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
Italian director Mario Bava took a brief hiatus from horror films to make this fairly interesting Viking-themed adventure. Iron (Cameron Mitchell) is a Viking leader whose long-lost brother Erik (Giorgio Ardisson) was raised by Queen Alice of England. Alice's counselor, Gunnar (Andrea Checchi) betrays her and helps the Vikings take over, while the shipwrecked Erik is nursed back to health by Rama (Alice Kessleri), the twin sister of Iron's wife Daja (Ellen Kessleri). Naturally, Erik returns home and must fight Iron and defeat Gunnar in order to save the country. It doesn't quite work out that way, however, as the ruthless counselor kills Iron, leading the Vikings and British to join forces with Erik and take Gunnar down. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Andrea Checchi, (more)
Love and the Frenchwoman (La Francaise et L'Amour) concentrates on the nature of love by illustrating seven separate aspects of the emotion. In "Childhood," 9-year old Pierre-Jean Vaillard suffers a traumatic experience when he takes his parents' "cabbage patch" theory of conception too literally. In "Adolescence," a little girl (Annie Sinigalla) constructs an elaborate fantasy world on the occasion of her first kiss. "Virginity" is a study in frustration, as betrothed couple Valerie Lagrange and Pierre Michel agonizingly await their wedding-night consummation of their ardor. "Marriage" finds a union ending almost before it begins as a pair of newlyweds (Marie-Jose Nat and Claude Rich) bicker all the way to their honeymoon rendezvous. "Adultery" allows husband Paul Meurisse the opportunity to calmly provide an object lesson to his wife's lover Jean-Paul Belmondo. In "Divorce", a couple (Annie Girardot and Francois Pierer) find that it's impossible to have a "civilized" breakup. And in "A Woman Alone," bigamist Robert Lamoreaux meets his Waterloo in the forms of Martine Carol and Sylvia Montfort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darry Cowl, Sophie Desmarets, (more)
- 1960
Murder, illusion, and lies form the basis of this convoluted drama that centers around twin sisters and the man that loves one of them. The girls work as a circus illusionist. People love their act because the girls are adept at making the audience believe that there is only one of them. To keep the illusion alive, the girls sign a contract that keeps them publicly separated. A man falls in love with one of the twins without knowing that she has a sister. The other sister becomes terribly jealous of the affair. The man's alcoholic mother is also jealous of the affair and murders one of the twins. Unfortunately, she murdered the wrong one. Meanwhile, news of the murder is kept secret to preserve the illusion. The poor man, in a confused rage, thinking his love to be the jealous twin, kills her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Riberolles, Ellen Kessler, (more)
- 1958
The Beggar Student is based on Der Bettelstudent, the evergreen operetta by Carl Milloecker (previously filmed in 1936). Set in the 18th century, the story focuses in on the Countess Laura (Waltraut Haas), who has spurned the affections of wicked Colonel Ollendorf (Gustav Knath). Seeking revenge, the Colonel flimflams the Countess into marrying an impoverished student named Symon (Gerhard Riedmann). Little does he know that the beggar student is really of noble lineage (in this, he's three steps behind the audience). The Beggar Student is highlighted by the dancing of the Kessler Twins, a shapely duo then enjoying a vogue of popularity on American TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerhard Riedmann, Waltraut Haas, (more)
- 1956
This musical presentation is the story of common people who revolt against the government in Krakaw, Poland. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1955
This German language film, features two couples sharing their memories of the years after the war. ~ All Movie Guide
This German language film is about a man illegally broadcasting his commercials and the bumbled attempts of the police to stop him. ~ All Movie Guide
