Hardy Kruger Movies

Von Werra is an offbeat documentary which, while investigating the life of a historical figure, also explores the fine line between fact and fiction. Franz Von Werra was an aviator from one of Switzerland's most provincial regions, Canton Valais. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered as a fighter pilot for the Luftwaffe and his exploits made him a darling of the Nazi press. When Von Werra was shot down over England, he managed to pull off a miraculous escape which was later recounted in the British film, The One That Got Away. The actor who played Von Werra, Hardy Kruger, serves as narrator and chief investigator here as he and director Werner Schweizer set out to discover the real man behind the legend, who was reported to have said: "making war was terribly entertaining". With the use of archive footage, written memoirs, and interviews, the lives of Von Werra and Kruger are scrutinized side-by-side as intertwined dramas about the making of history, and the exploiting of it. ~ Connor McMadden, All Movie Guide

The action in this comedy is set within a 24-hour period, as unusual events unfold in the lives of two elderly sisters, Else (Elisabeth Bergner) and Hilde (Lilli Palmer). The sisters were living together in the family mansion in Hamburg when Else got tired of that life and hit the streets to make a go of it as a bag lady, collecting enough each week to send a regular five marks to an orphanage in India. Her older sister stayed in the mansion and made sure that Else always had enough to live on, without letting her know about it. One day -- at the beginning of the fateful 24-hour period -- Else gets evicted from her squatter's apartment in West Berlin and after she leaves with her cart and belongings, she makes a stop at the bank to send the weekly money to the orphanage. Fate has it that two thieves complete a bank robbery just as Else is leaving, throwing their loot into a flower truck by mistake -- much to their dismay and to the total ignorance of the truck driver. Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Hilde is right in the middle of a conversation with Harms (Hardy Kruger), her favorite man of the moment, when she is visited by banking representatives that tell her she has lost it all. Her money manager made some bad financial moves and ran her fortune to the ground, killing himself because of it. Else reads about his suicide in the newspaper, and decides she had better go console her sister -- but not alone. She unwittingly takes the two bank robbers with her, along with a street wino, and when she arrives, the bank robbers drop their facade and threaten to blow everything up if they do not get some cash soon. Meanwhile, Hilde's friend Harms is on the way to join them with the original loot from the bumbled morning robbery in his car (it had fallen out of the flower truck and into his vehicle). Soon everyone and the cash are going to be in one place -- a situation rife with possibilities ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

When her 10-year-old daughter is killed by kidnappers, Madeleine (Annie Girardot) goes a little nuts. However, she is fully able to continue investigating what went wrong, despite badgering by news reporters and curious neighbors. Her 19-year-old son has behaved strangely throughout the whole ordeal, and eventually she confronts him. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

While in prison, aloof and stand-offish loner Eric (Hardy Kruger) longs to see his daughter, whom he remembers as a young girl. His manner brings him abuse from the other inmates and also from a guard (Raymond Pellegrin) who appears to enjoy the abusive side of his job. Eric is indeed The Loner. Then he receives a proposition from his guard and tormentor: if he robs the prison safe, the guard will help him escape. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The true story of a tragic 1928 arctic expedition provides the basis for this adventure drama that was a joint Italian and Russian co-production. Peter Finch stars as General Umberto Nobile, who is visited in Rome by the ghosts of those whose lives were taken in his ill-fated mission forty years earlier. In flashback, Nobile recalls the attempt to cross the North Pole by flying dirigible, the Italia. When the airship crashes, Nobile and his crew are scattered across the ice, left to struggle against the freezing cold elements and local polar bears, among other hazards. In an effort to save the expedition, the great explorer Roald Amundsen (Sean Connery), the first man to reach the South Pole, is dispatched to rescue Nobile. When Amundsen disappears (never to be heard from again), an icebreaker is launched to bring national hero Nobile home, but at the expense of his crewmates. Although The Red Tent (1971) was considered a costly box office failure, the film did win a Golden Globe for Best English Language Foreign Film. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Albert (Hardy Kruger) is a Franciscan monk and a medical orderly at a monastery in France. Although he is German, the kindly monk helps hide French resistance members and gives medical treatment to anyone who needs it. Albert helps two Frenchmen who escape from a Nazi prison, and he tries to maintain the delicate balance between the warring factions by helping out the afflicted and not getting involved in political ideology. This film, based on a true story from the novel by Marc Toledano, was released nearly 23 years after the end of World War II. Some students of history allege that the French resistance was a much more insignificant affair than is shown in post-war films and express great bitterness about all Franco-German collaboration during the war. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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

French novelist Henri-Francois Rey adapted his novel Les Pianos Mecaniques with director Juan Antonio Bardem for this French/Italian/Spanish co-production, set in Spain. Vincent (Hardy Kruger) is recovering from a nervous breakdown in a seaside village on the Costa Brava. He enters into an affair with nightclub owner Jenny (Melina Mercouri), but their relationship changes when she falls for alcoholic author Pascal Regnier (James Mason), who is struggling to resume his writing career. Vincent eventually returns home, leaving Jenny to stay on with Pascal and his young son Daniel (Didier Haudepin). Their love enables him to start writing again. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide

The friendship between two rival soldiers provides the basis of this comedy. The tale is set during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The soldiers meet while swimming in the same place. They become friends. When they get out of the water, they accidentally trade uniforms. Together they go to a farmhouse. There they meet an old farmer and his pretty granddaughter. They engage in friendly rivalry for the girl, go for another swim and get their proper uniforms back. They then bid each other adieu and return to their troops. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In a routine, unexceptional drama by Alfred Weidenmann, Robert (Hardy Krueger), Georg (Mario Adorf), and Willy (Horst Frank) are a trio of would-be safecrackers out to pull off a heist. The trio do not live in perfect equanimity, and eventually one of them lets jealousy get the best of him and he turns tail, betrays his cohorts, and talks to the police. The resultant round-up has its moments, with the leader Robert involved in a long chase by the cops. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide