Zarah Leander Movies
Swedish actress/singer Zarah Leander (born Zarah Hedberg) is best known for appearing in several of Douglas Sirk's operetta films. Prior to that she had been a popular performer in Swedish theater and films. Her popularity reached its peak during WW II when her films were shown all over occupied Europe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1986
Director Christian Blackwood has brought forth more than 40 documentaries in 25 years, most of them specializing in artists' and filmmakers' work and/or biographies. This docudrama represents a new approach and melds the single-minded adoration of one fan, Paul Seiler, with film clips and archival interviews with Swedish Zarah Leander, an actress from the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. She was a haunting chanteuse whose distinctive voice and great beauty captivated many during the era of the Third Reich. She ultimately left Germany for Stockholm in 1943, in spite of Goebbels attempts to keep her working in the Nazi film industry. In this fictionalized drama, Paul watches a documentary about her on television while he intermittently spills out his emotions and history as one of her most ardent fans. Paul became friends with the star and attended her recording sessions, held her hand when she got bad reviews, corresponded with her on a regular basis, and personally questions her ethics in refusing to face up to Nazi atrocities. His psychology, her own personality, and their interaction make for an intriguing and unusual docudrama. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zarah Leander, Margot Hielscher, (more)
- 1950
Gabriela (Zarah Leander) is a popular nightclub singer who has recently divorced her millionaire husband Thomas Lorenzen (Siegfried Breuer). Just before running off with her lover, pianist Charlie (Carl Raddatz), Gabriela kidnaps her own daughter Andrea (Vera Molnar), who'd been left in her father's custody. Leaving her daughter in the care of a kindly mountain family, Gabriela and Charlie embark on a decade-long series of trials and tribulations, with occasional pauses for songs. A major box-office hit in Germany, Gabriela scores on its strong characterizations, from the leading character to the lowliest bit player. The film also represented the return to the screen of musical-comedy favorite Zarah Leander, who'd "officially" retired to her native Sweden in 1943, much to the dismay of her most fervent fans (including Hitler and Gobbels!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zarah Leander, Carl Raddatz, (more)
- 1942
In her penultimate film in National Socialist Germany, Swedish diva Zarah Leander plays Hanna Holberg, a Danish chanteuse, who, in platinum wig and a swagger worthy of Mae West, holds all Berlin in her spell -- including, during one special performance, Luftwaffe Lieutenant Paul Wendtland (Viktor Staal), with whom she falls in love. But with the exception of fleeting encounters when Hanna goes to entertain the troops in Paris, the war conspires to keep the lovers apart, she slowly emerging as a woman of substance and he heroically answering the call of duty on the eastern front. As the war drags on, Hanna takes up nursing at a military hospital where one day a severely wounded Paul arrives. Making the most of a bad situation, the lovers agree to live for the moment. Die Grosse Liebe was prohibited by the Allied Board of censorship from being shown on German territory immediately after the war, but was distributed with some editing to the rest of Europe. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zarah Leander
- 1938
In this drama, a devoted woman takes the rap for her yellow-bellied lover's crime and gets sent to Australia's Parmatta Pententiary. When her boy friend finds out where she is, he moves to Australia to get in touch. He doesn't succeed and soon finds himself marrying the governor's daughter. Meanwhile, the girl is eventually released when she marries an upstanding settler. When she learns that her old lover has married another, the distraught lass takes off and attempts to start a new life as a nightclub singer. In the end, she winds up choosing to return to prison. Her good husband again comes to her aid and saves her from prison. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1937
The Austrian musical Premiere showcases the talents of Swedish stage and screen star Zara Leander. It's a backstage drama with the action equally divided on both sides of the curtain. As Fraulein Leander prepares for opening night, her life is thrown into turmoil by a variety of romantic misadventures. But she manages to show up on stage at the appointed time, scoring a huge success. It was reported that, during the filming of Zara Leander's musical numbers, the audience (ostensibly made up of paid extras) broke into spontaneous applause; when the film premiered in Vienna, the first-night moviegoers did the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Martell, Walter Steinbeck, (more)
The German La Habanera is set in "contemporary" Spain-and never mind that there's no evidence of the then-raging Spanish Civil War. Zarah Leander plays Astree Sternhjelm, a Swedish lass who falls in love with all things Spanish while on vacation in Puerto Rico. She ends up the mistress of charming but caddish aristocrat Don Pedro (Ferdinand Marion), who discards her when she gives birth to his child. Tragedy is averted when Astree finds true and lasting love in the arms of Swedish doctor Sven Nagel (Karl Martell). La Habanera director Dietflif Sierck later enjoyed a long and fruitful Hollywood career as Douglas Sirk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zarah Leander, Julia Serda, (more)
