Hardy Kruger Movies

This minor 1952 drama resurfaced during the 1989 Berlin Film Festival, and was found to have previously unsuspected historical and artistic merit. At the time it was made, Sybille Schmitz, one of the great movie stars and beauties of the Nazi era, was fading into her final dissipation and scandal-ridden suicide in 1955 (the subject of a later film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Veronika Voss). At the same time, two of her costars in this film, Hardy Kruger and Hildegard Knef, were just beginning to make their presence known. The story in this black and white film in some ways parallels the actor's actual circumstances at the time, and gains resonance from that fact. In the film, Schmitz is a wealthy widow who has grown romantically attached to a band leader who is at least as well known for his seductions as for his music. When her son, Kruger, becomes aware of her impending marriage to this cad, he enlists the help of his tragically ill fiancee (Knef) to unmask this man for the villain he really is. Alas, when the widow's illusions are shattered, her dreams are also, and by the end of the film she is alone and miserable, watching the two young lovers head off "into the sunset." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This is the story of a chaste young TV-commercial actress (Maggie McNamara) who is romanced by a playboy architect (William Holden). Despite all sorts of temptations, the girl refuses the architect's invitation to become his mistress, holding out for marriage or nothing. Meanwhile, middle-aged rake David Niven tries to move in on the girl himself, with an equal lack of success. So why was this harmless little comedy so controversial? It seems that director Otto Preminger decided to film the play as written, retaining such words as "virgin," "seduce," and "mistress" in the script. The antediluvian Motion Picture Production Code refused to approve the film so long as those naughty words remained in the dialogue; thus, Preminger released the picture minus the Code's seal of approval. Rather than hurt the film's chances at the box office, Preminger's bold move resulted in a major financial success -- not to mention the beginning of the end for the ancient, wheezy Production Code. However, in the meantime, troubles piled up; the Jersey City Municipal Court -- at the hands of Secaucus' Justice George King -- fined Alfred Manfredonia, manager of the Stanley Theatre, 100 dollars for screening the film (declaring him guilty of violating a city ordinance), and a ban was imposed on the picture by the Maryland State Board of Motion Picture Censors. While The New York Times' Bosley Crowther dismissed the accusations of prurience, he blithely observed, "The Moon Is Blue is not outstanding, either as a romance or as a film...at times, it gets awfully tedious...Its charm...will depend on how much one delights in its choice of words." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this German drama, a mediocre actress is quite happy to have a steady stream of bit movie roles. Unfortunately, an egocentric director sees her and vows to make her a star whether she wants to be one or not. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this variation of the Tarzan legend, a beautiful white woman is found living with a tribe in the jungles of Africa. Thought to be the granddaughter of a rich Englishman, she is brought back to London. However, she finds that she is in as much danger in the city as she would be in the jungle. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

Bachelor of Hearts stars Hardy Kruger as Wolf, a German exchange student attending Cambridge University. Initially arousing the distrust and disdain of his classmates (WWII was, after all, only thirteen years in the past), the affable Wolf slowly wins them over. He also finds romance in the lovely form of an English miss named Ann (Sylvia Sims)-but only after he has gotten himself in quite a pickle by lining up several dates simultaneously (hence the film's title). Filmed on location at Cambridge, Bachelor of Hearts affords ample screen time to the music of the university's highly regarded Jazz Club. The script was cowritten by Leslie Bricusse, later the composer/lyricist/librettist of such filmusicals as Dr. Dolittle and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. ~ Hal Erickson, 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

The Rest Is Silence, a German-made attempt to update Shakespeare, is one of the best and least self-conscious of this minor genre. As indicated by the title, the film's script is a "mufti" version of Hamlet, with young Hardy Kruger trying to prove that his uncle (Peter van Eyck) has killed his father. Direct references to the Shakespeare original abound, right down to the re-enactment of the crime for the benefit of the Uncle and the periodic appearances of the ghost of the hero's father. Interestingly, this 1960 film was released at the same time as a "straight" German version of Hamlet, made for television and starring Maximillian Schell. The original title of Rest Is Silence was Der Rest Ist Schweigen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide