Klaus Kinski Movies

Unable to cope with life after stardom a former headliner with the Ziegfeld Follies becomes an alcoholic. Meanwhile her horrifying sons run off to commit a terrible crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A group of international jewel thieves band together to pull off a huge heist in this suspenseful caper film that was shot in Europe, New York, and Brazil. The adventure begins in Rio where a burned out school teacher (Edward G. Robinson) decides to chuck his unfulfilling career and try to steal some of the diamonds he sees being delivered to the gem company across the street from his classroom. Realizing that the theft must be carefully planned and delicately executed, he heads for New York to gain the assistance of an old friend, a crime boss (Adolfo Celi) who then gathers an outlaw group comprised of an electronics expert, a safecracker, a gigolo, and an ex-mercenary. They make their plans and head back to Rio when the city is engulfed in Carnival celebrations. Unfortunately, they quickly learn that the diamond company has installed a nearly impenetrable new security system called Grand Slam 70. While altering their plans, the company secretary (Janet Leigh) gets suspicious and makes a few plans of her own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Produced in the wake of the all-star "comedy spectacular" Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Fantastic Flying Fools (originally titled Blast-Off, and also released as Those Fantastic Flying Fools) is based very loosely on a Jules Verne novel. A 19th century British newspaper offers a prize to the first scientist who is able to construct and launch a rocket to the moon. Contestants from all over the world compete for the prize, including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines cast members Terry-Thomas and Gert Frobe. Much of the slapstick is tiresome and derivative, but there is one cute closing gag involving villains Terry-Thomas and Lionel Jeffries and a Siberian chain gang. There's precious little of the spirit of Jules Verne in Fantastic Flying Fools, save for the woodcut illustrations which decorate the opening credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on an Edgar Wallace murder mystery this chiller centers on a Scotland Yard investigation of a series of puzzling deaths plaguing a traveling circus and the hunt for loot stolen from an armored car robbery. Suspects include the mask-wearing and disfigured lion tamer, a vengeful ringmaster, an insanely jealous knife-thrower, and a blackmailing dwarf called "Mr. Big." The film is also known as Circus of Fear. A German version was shot simultaneously with Psycho-Circus but used a different director. Though available in color in Great Britain, most of the American copies of the film are in black-and-white. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from an Edgar Wallace story, the plot of The Creature with the Blue Hand concerns an innocent man who is accused of murder. The real perpetrator is, of course, the title character. Since Klaus Kinski plays both roles, it's understandable why the authorities are confused. One of several German-produced Edgar Wallace films, Creature With the Blue Hand was one of the few to attain widespread American release. The film has also been known as Die blaue Hand and The Bloody Dead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ruthless Four follows four prospectors who are out to strike a big lode in the Nevada gold rush days. When one of the four hits the riches, he finds the other three are out to partake of the hard-earned find. ~ All Movie Guide

Though based on an Edgar Wallace novel, Traitor's Gate was not part of the long-running British series of second features based on the works of Wallace. Albert Lieven plays a London businessman who doubles as a high-tech crook. He organizes an elite gang of thieves to steal the crown jewels. Their escape at sea is complicated by the rivalry between Lieven and his brother Gary Raymond. Traitor's Gate provides an interesting contrast to The Jokers (67), a "mod" comedy in which another pair of brothers pilfer the crown jewels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

This pulse-pounding follow-up to Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars brings back Clint Eastwood as the serape-clad, cigar-chewing "Man With No Name." Engaged in an ongoing battle with bounty hunter Col. Douglas Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef), the Man joins forces with his enemy to capture homicidal bandit Indio (Gian Maria Volontè). Both the Eastwood and Van Cleef characters are given understandable motivations for their bloodletting tendencies, something that was lacking in A Fistful of Dollars. In both films, however, the violence is raw and uninhibited -- and in many ways, curiously poetic. Leone's tense, tight close-ups, pregnant pauses, and significant silences have since been absorbed into the standard spaghetti Western lexicon; likewise, Ennio Morricone's haunting musical score has been endlessly imitated and parodied. For a Few Dollars More was originally titled Per Qualche Dollaro in Più; it would be followed by the last and best of the Man with No Name trilogy, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago covers the years prior to, during, and after the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of poet/physician Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif). In the tradition of Russian novels, a multitude of characters and subplots intertwine within the film's 197 minutes (plus intermission). Zhivago is married to Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), but carries on an affair with Lara (Julie Christie), who has been raped by ruthless politician Komarovsky (Rod Steiger). Meanwhile, Zhivago's half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) and the mysterious, revenge-seeking Strelnikoff (Tom Courteney) represent the "good" and "bad" elements of the Bolshevik revolution. Composer Maurice Jarre received one of Doctor Zhivago's five Oscars, with the others going to screenwriter Robert Bolt, cinematographer Freddie Young, art directors John Box and Terry Marsh, set decorator Dario Simoni, and costumer Phyllis Dalton. The best picture Oscar, however, went to The Sound of Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide