Francis Lederer Movies
Born in Prague, Francis Lederer was trained at that Czechoslovakian city's Academy of Music and Academy of Dramatic Art. Frequently labelled a "gorgeous man" by the critical press of the time, it took a while for matinee idol Lederer to be taken seriously as an actor. Billed as Franz Lederer in most of his European films, the actor was fortunate enough to be associated with several powerhouse directors, among them G.W. Pabst (Pandora's Box, Atlantic). While appearing on Broadway in 1932, Lederer was "discovered" for Hollywood, where he accepted a string of leading-man assignments in such films as Man of Two Worlds (1934), Romance in Manhattan (1934) and One Rainy Afternoon (1936). His cinematic stock in trade at the time was the outgoing, slightly naïve foreigner at the mercy of aggressive, acrimonious Americans or Britishers. One of his best screen characterizations was the disgruntled German-American bundist in Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), which won him the personal praise of his co-star Edward G. Robinson, who wasn't accustomed to handing out empty compliments. As Lederer grew older, he added villains, continental cads and jaundiced cynics to his repertoire; he even played a world-weary vampire in 1958's The Return of Dracula. An extremely wealthy man thanks to his real-estate holdings, Francis Lederer left films altogether in 1959, busying himself with civic, political and philanthropic enterprises. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1936
Ann Sothern essays the title role in My American Wife. The story opens in Smelter City, Arizona, where the richest man in town is grizzled old Indian fighter Lafe Cantillon (Fred Stone). Lafe's social-climbing sister-in-law (Billie Burke) insists that her daughter Mary wed a titled European, Count Ferdinand (Francis Lederer). Much to Lafe's delight, Mary isn't assimilated into Continental high society; instead, she instructs Count Ferdinand in the virtues of good, old-fashioned American democracy. And, of, course, the Count and Lafe become great chums when the "furriner" proves that he can ride a bucking bronco with the best of 'em. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis Lederer, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1935
Francis Lederer stars as the prince of a mythical European kingdom. To mingle with the "common folk" while on a visit to New York, he takes a job as a hotel doorman. In this capacity he meets Frances Dee, a small-town secretary who has likewise come to Manhattan to put a little variety in her life. Gay Deception is an enjoyable trifle put expertly through its paces by William Wyler, a director just on the verge of bigger assignments. It was one of the last Fox Studios films to be released before Fox's merger with Twentieth Century Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis Lederer, Frances Dee, (more)
- 1934
Ginger Rogers and Francis Lederer share equal billing -- and near-equal screen time -- in this amiable RKO programmer. Lederer plays Karel Novak, an incredibly naïve Czech immigrant who is taken under the wing of streetwise New York chorus girl Sylvia Dennis (Rogers). With the help of lovable cop-on-the-beat Murphy (J. Farrel McDonald), Sylvia hides Karel from the immigration authorities and ultimately falls in love with him. In addition to Karel's illegal-alien status, the plot is complicated by a crooked lawyer (Arthur Hohl) and a group of well-meaning welfare workers who endeavor to place Sylvia's kid brother Frank (Jimmy Butler) in a foster home. Usually cast in insincere roles, Francis Lederer is at his most sympathetic and likable in Romance in Manhattan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis Lederer, Ginger Rogers, (more)
- 1934
Czech leading man Francis Lederer made his Hollywood film debut in the appropriately titled Man of Two Worlds. Based on the novel by Ainsworth Morgan, the film casts Lederar as Algo, a naïve Eskimo hunter introduced to civilization by avuncular English sportsman Sir Basil (Henry Stephenson). Unschooled in the ways of British society, Algo falls in love with Joan (Elissa Landi), unaware that her friendliness is merely a courtesy and nothing more. Ultimately disillusioned, the sadder-but-wiser Algo returns to the snowy wastes whence he came. Apparently audiences weren't as captivated by Francis Lederer as RKO Radio had hoped they would be: Man of Two Worlds ended up posting a $220,000 loss at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis Lederer, Elissa Landi, (more)
- 1934
Pursuit of Happiness was adapted from the risque stage comedy by Lawrence Langner and Armina Marshall. Set during the American revolution, the film centers around the quaint 18th century custom of "bundling"--that is, having unmarried men and women share the same bed during cold weather, albeit fully clothed and with a wooden plank separating the bedmates. Joan Bennett is the American heroine, an innkeeper's daughter, and Francis Lederer the Hessian hero, who has deserted the English cause to experience American freedom--most notably the bundling practice. As Bennett's parents, Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland perform their usual domestic comedy in period costume. TV Guide listings frequently confuse the 1934 Pursuit of Happiness with an altogether different 1971 TV-movie of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis Lederer, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1931
Ihre Majestaet die Liebe (Her Majesty, Love) stars Kaethe von Nagy as a charming Berlin barmaid, in love with aristocratic Franz Lederer. The hero's stuffy businessman brother disapproves of the romance and tries to buy the girl off, while her ex-vaudevillian father Szoeke Sakall (later known as S. Z. Sakall) does his best to marry the girl off to a wealthy baron. Thanks to a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, the heroine ends up as the baron's bride, but the couple comes to the mutual agreement that the marriage is a mistake, and the baron gives the girl a divorce -- making her a baroness in the process and thus a suitably "high born" bride for the faithful Lederer. Ihre Majestaet die Liebe was remade in Hollywood as Her Majesty Love, with Marilyn Miller as the heroine and W. C. Fields as her father. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kaethe von Nagy, Francis Lederer, (more)
- 1931
Susanne Macht Ordnung (Susanne Cleans Up) top-bills Truus von Alten in the title role. Ostensibly orphaned, boarding-school resident Susanne believes that her parents are still alive. Determining to find out the identity of her father and mother, she greets the male half of five different married couples with a "Hello, Papa!" This has the negative result of breaking up each couple. Thus it is that Susanne "cleans up" her mess by arranging for the five couples to meet "by accident" in the same nightclub. Once again, Szoeke Szakall (aka S. Z. Sakall) steals everything but the cameras. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Truus van Aalten, Mary Parker, (more)
- 1931
The "great yearning" of the title refers to the desire of heroine Camilla Horn to become a famous movie star. Fortunately, director Theodor Loos happens to be combing the countryside, searching for "something new" to put before the cameras. He discovers Horn, and the rest can be filled in by the audience blindfolded. The charm of this picture lies not in its corny plotline, but in its handling by young director Stefan Szekely, who refuses to sugar-coat his depiction of movie-studio life but instead offers something very close to the truth. Die Grosse Sehnsucht features cameo appearances by such German film faves as Lil Dagover, Liane Haid, Anny Ondra, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, Luis Trenker, Conrad Veidt, and many, many more. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Camilla Horn, Theodor Loos, (more)
- 1930
Also known as Hai Tang, this exotic melodrama was filmed in both German and English-language versions. The title character, played by Anna May Wong, is a dancer in pre-Revolutionary Russia. Hay Tang is offered a life of luxury by a powerful Russian Grand Duke, but she turns him down, preferring the love of a lowly lieutenant in the Imperial army. The Grand Duke responds by threatening dire consequences for the lieutenant, whereupon Hay Tang finds herself on the horns of a dilemma. Just then, the girl's brother appears with gun in hand, shooting and wounding the Duke. To save her brother from execution, Hay Tang promises unswerving sexual devotion to the Duke -- while the lieutenant waits longingly at home, waiting and longing for his sweetheart's return. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna May Wong, Marcel Vibert, (more)
German filmmaker G.W. Pabst's late-silent classic Pandora's Box (Die Büchse der Pandora) stars the hauntingly beautiful Louise Brooks as libertine dancer Lulu. Ever out for the "main chance," Lulu persuades her wealthy lover Dr. Schön (Fritz Kortner) to marry her. But in a fit of jealous rage, he pulls a gun, a scuffle ensues, and she shoots him. Eventually escaping to London with the doctor's moonstruck son Alwa (Francis Lederer), Lulu takes up residence with her "adopted" father Schigolch (Carl Götz), where she is reduced to walking the streets, with tragic consequences. Pandora's Box (based on two works by the controversial German writer Franz Wedekind) exudes smoky sensuality in every frame; regarded now as a masterpiece, the film received surprisingly scathing reviews, with most of the critical broadsides aimed at Louise Brooks (this was long before Brooks graduated from just another pretty Hollywood starlet to Cult Goddess). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, (more)
- 1929
This silent-screen classic, like many others produced near the end of the silent era, was both a theatrical extravaganza boasting an original orchestral score and an item which languished in obscurity for many years. When Carlo Piccardi took what was left of the score by Maurice Jaubert and re-created it, the existing footage was restored and paired with a new orchestral performance which was shown in Paris in 1988. The film's story concerns the travails of a woman who has been living quite comfortably as the mistress of a colonel in the Tsar's army in Russia. However, she eventually encounters a penniless young lieutenant and falls madly in love with him, as he does with her. Despite her best intentions of remaining with the colonel, and his intention to avoid trouble with his fellow soldiers, they cannot forswear this relationship, and tragedy is the inevitable result. The title refers to a moving incident in the story, and translates as "the wonderful lie of Nina Petrovna." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Warwick Ward, (more)
- 1928
Best known for her comedy roles, Henny Porten went dramatic big-time in her 1928 vehicle Zufflucht (Refuge). Since Porten also produced the film, she bore the brunt of the criticism, which was far from kind. Many felt that the actress would have been better off sticking to comedy, while others were of the opinion that she was too old for her role (she was all of 40 at the time). The most positive comments were reserved for Porten's incredibly good-looking leading man, Francis Lederer. In fact, Zufflucht represented Lederer's screen debut, a full year before his "official" cinematic bow in Pabst's Pandora's Box. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
