Albert Lieven Movies
As was the case of many German-born actors relocated in Britain, Albert Lieven often as not was cast as humorless military types. His characters weren't all Nazis, though many of them behaved as though their first words as infants had been "Seig heil." In truth, Lieven, an actor on the Berlin stage since 1928, fled the Fatherland in 1933, just as Hitler was coming to power, so the cruel edge of his villainous characterizations grew from his own dislike of Nazism. Albert Lieven's best-known roles were the Austrian gigolo in Jeannie (1941), Talleyrand in The Young Mister Pitt (1941), Rommel in Foxhole in Cairo (1960), and Commander Meusel in The Guns of Navarrone (1961). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1972
In this German detective thriller, swindlers using a false charity as a front send a hit man around London to murder wealthy people whose deaths can benefit the organization. This film is one of a very large number of German Scotland-Yard thrillers based on the novels of Edgar Wallace. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1967
The quest for a fortune gold bullion provides the impetus for this adventuresome crime drama set in Southwestern Africa. It all begins with a plane crash. The pilot barely survives. When he awakens he sees that he is near an abandoned, wreck of a wagon. He ends up taken in by a couple who talk about the wagon and its mysterious cargo. Soon after the pilot's return to Johannesburg, he finds that the wagon is purported to have been filled with gold. Excited, he, and others, including his son and his son's girl friend, return to the location and begin their search. Unfortunately, the couple who rescued him lie in wait and take them all hostage. For the second time in the story, the wife attempts to seduce the pilot and was with the first time, the pilot says no. Realizing that she was wrong to have done that, the repentant wife frees the captives, an act that costs her life. Later, the searchers find the treasure, but unfortunately, things are not as they seem to be and violence ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1966
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, Rovi
- 1965
In this drama a Canadian journalist heads for Hungary to do a story when he meets a man who asks him to bring a package containing "medicine" for his niece. The reporter agrees but accidently loses the niece's phone number. He decides to have the message of the packet's arrival broadcast on the radio. He is approached by someone claiming to be the one the package is meant for. Soon the journalist finds that the package has two passports that would have helped a scientist get to Austria. The "recipient" of the package turns out to be a police spy. So was the man who gave him the package. They two agents had planned to arrest the Canadian as a spy too, and use him as a bartering chip for the Americans. They would trade him, for one of their agents. Fortunately, the courageous Canadian disarms a border guard and escapes to Austria with the scientist. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1965
A series of unusual rainstorms have resulted in several deaths. Sent to investigate this phenomenon, Steed and Emma come across an eccentric German scientist named -- believe it or not -- Dr. Sturm (Albert Levien). Before they are able to neutralize Sturm's rainmaking machine, Steed is nearly drowned, and Emma faces a slow and nasty death in a wine press. Written by Colin Finbow, "A Surfeit of Rain" was originally telecast in England on November 26, 1965; curiously, it was never shown on American network television, though it was later included in the series' syndicated package. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diana Rigg
- 1963
Death Drums Along the River was the come-on American title for this 1963 remake of 1935's Sanders of the River. Both films were loosely based on a very popular Edgar Wallace novel. Richard Todd assumes the leading role of Harry Sanders (originally R. G. Sanders), a British police investigator working in Africa. While counting the clues in a hospital murder case, Sanders is led to hidden diamond mine. The patronizing racial attitudes prevalent in the first Sanders of the River have been muted and altered out of respect for the ever-changing Africa of the 1960s. Sanders did well enough to inspire a 1964 sequel, Coast of Skeletons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1963
An epic and unusual anti-war drama about WWII, writer-director Carl Foreman's heavily ironic saga is loosely based on the novel The Human Kind by Alexander Baron. It follows the adventures of an American infantry platoon based in Sicily that participates in the invasion of France, marches into Germany, and remains there for the Allied post-war occupation. Interspersed during the nearly three-hour film are vignettes of silly newsreel scenes from the home front. These are contrasted with disturbing incidents from the war. George Peppard plays Corporal Chase, who has an affair with a woman who wants him to desert to help her run a black market business. He visits the wounded Sergeant Craig (Eli Wallach) in the hospital and finds that most of his face has been blown away. Sgt. Trower (George Hamilton) takes up with a woman who turns out to be a prostitute The plot is highly episodic, with characters coming and going. Originally released at 175 minutes, the picture was withdrawn from distribution and edited down to 156 minutes to place greater emphasis on onscreen action. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Hamilton, George Peppard, (more)
- 1963
This routine wartime drama is set at sea and involves a British convoy trying to elude a group of German U-Boats. After one of the U-Boats is singled out and captured, the British admiral in charge of the current operation hits upon an ingenious but almost suicidal way of defeating the Nazi boats. He orders Lt. Commander Tarlton (Edward Judd) and a group of men to get in the captured U-Boat and then join the other U-Boats as though they had simply wandered off course for awhile. If done quickly and efficiently, Tarlton should be able to radio back the position of the enemy for a fast British offensive. Not an easy task in itself, and made much worse considering that the RAF and other British ships are going to consider the decoy U-Boat to be the enemy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward Judd, Laurence Payne, (more)
- 1962
In this British crime drama, the sister of a suicide victim begins to question the real reason for her sibling's death after she learns that 7,000 pounds were removed from her bank account just prior to her death. She asks her sister's banker, but he claims to know nothing. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
The guns of Navarone are huge Nazi cannons, installed on an Aegean island behind enemy lines. Anthony Quayle is the officer assigned by the British to lead a task force to put the guns out of commission. When Quayle is injured, the mission winds up in the relatively inexperienced hands of Gregory Peck. There's little love lost between Peck, explosives expert David Niven and Greek patriot Anthony Quinn, especially when it becomes known that there's a traitor in their midst. Resistance leader Irene Papas weeds out the traitor, but there's still those guns to take care of. Filmed on location in Rhodes and distinguished by Oscar-winning special effects, Guns of Navarone (based on Alistair MacLean's best-seller was a major box-office hit of 1961; less successful was the pared-down 1977 sequel, Force Ten From Navarone. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, David Niven, (more)
- 1961
In this detective film, a Chinese detective breaks up a drug smuggling ring and tries to find the "Daffodil Killer." The drug smugglers had devised the ingenious method of smuggling heroin from Hong Kong in the stems of daffodils. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Marius Goring, (more)
- 1960
The English title of this different type of wartime drama refers to a chess player's attempts to stay sane while Nazi interrogators mentally and psychologically torture him. Werner von Basil (Curt Jurgens) is an Austrian who has been helping the church by smuggling its art treasures out of the country to protect them from the Nazis. When the Nazis roll into Austria, he is on their hit list and after being spotted at a chess tournament, he is picked up and imprisoned. His brutal jailers subject him to long hours of interrogation meant to break down his hold on sanity and accept their own scenario as the truth. When not being brutalized in this manner, von Basil is kept in solitary confinement, with only a hidden chess book to keep his mind focused and logical. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Claire Bloom, (more)
- 1960
In this psychological thriller an Austrian nobleman tries to stay sane in the face of Nazi torture during World War II. The story is told in flashback after the protagonist is seen at a chess tournament with a champion. He is thrown into jail after the Nazis overran Austria. When he is not being mentally tortured into revealing important secrets, the man is in solitary confinement. To stay sane, he conceals a chess book in his cell. The intricacies of the game help him concentrate. Unfortunately his valiant attempts fail and he breaks down. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Claire Bloom, (more)
- 1960
Lilli Palmer stars as a nun in a World War 2-era Italian convent. At the risk of her own life and those of her cloistered colleagues, Palmer hides a group of Jewish orphans from the Nazis. She then attempts to shepherd the kids to the safety of foster homes. Danger looms in the form of Nazi colonel Albert Lieven, who isn't quite as sympathetic as the nuns. Costar Sylvia Syms has some of the film's best scenes. There's little in Conspiracy of Hearts that we haven't seen before, but the actors manage to inject humor, warmth and pathos into the all-too-familiar proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lilli Palmer, Sylvia Syms, (more)
- 1960
Albert Lieven plays German general Erwin Rommel in this British war drama set in Libya and Egypt. A spy working on behalf of Rommel slips behind British lines and swipes "valuable" battle plans. Actually the information is false, planted by counterintelligence in hopes of misleading the "desert fox". Based on a true story, Foxhole in Cairo is an instructive if not overly suspenseful history lesson. Keep an eye peeled for Michael Caine, billed 16th in the published cast list (but uncredited in many prints). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Robertson Justice, Adrian Hoven, (more)
- 1959
Berlin provides the backdrop for this crime drama that centers on a military doctor falsely accused of dealing illegal drugs. Determined to prove his innocence, he escapes from the MPs and ends up holing up in the apartment his wife rented. He doesn't know that she has sublet the flat to a nightclub singer. When he finds out, he begs the singer to assist him. She is attracted to him and agrees. The doctor believes that his wife is behind the black-market dealings, but in the end, they find the real culprit. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Hildegarde Neff, (more)
- 1956
In this location-filmed domestic seriocomedy, Rosanno Brazzi and Glynis Johns play an accountant and his new wife, honeymooning in Monte Carlo. With the casino in full view and ready for action, the couple would be remiss if they didn't give the gaming tables a try. Besides, Brazzi is certain that he's worked out a "system." Sure enough, the couple's marriage suffers mightily as the lure of the casino becomes stronger than their devotion to each other. Based on a story by Graham Greene, Loser Takes All was remade in 1990 as Strike It Rich, with Robert Lindsay and Mollie Ringwald. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rossano Brazzi, Glynis Johns, (more)
- 1956
This war drama is based on actual events from World War II. The Nazis invade the Netherlands and capture an important British agent who relays daily messages from Amsterdam to London. When the Germans continue to send these messages (unknown to the British), it creates havoc for the British and Dutch underground. Many agents are captured or killed, and the British must smuggle a female agent into Amsterdam to access the troubled situation. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Dawn Addams, (more)
- 1955
The Devil's General (Des Teufels General) stars Curt Jurgens as a courageous Luftwaffe officer. Jurgens loves the service, even though he barely tolerates the Hitler regime. Sickened by wartime Nazi atrocities, Jurgens renounces his government, and is imprisoned and tortured as a result. Once released, the general takes pity on a downtrodden Jewish family. This isolated act of kindness is a point in his favor when Jurgens stands before Satan himself for his final judgment. The Devil's General was based on an immensely successful postwar play by German author Carl Zuckmeyer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Viktor de Kowa, (more)
- 1954
Confession of Ina Kahr is a pay-the-bills effort from the great German director G. W. Pabst. Told in flashback, the film recounts the events leading up to the killing of good-for-nothing Curt Jurgens. Warned by her friends and relatives that Jurgens is a bad job, impulsive Ina Kahr (Elizabeth Mueller) marries him anyway. His ceaseless philandering and abuse wears away at Ina to the point that she contemplates poisoning her husband. When this transpires, Ina wonders if she meant to do the deed, or if it was purely accidental. The court can't make up its mind either, and instead of sentencing Ina to death, the court prescribes a light six-month sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Back in 1954, jaundiced American movie critics suggested that Ina Kahr could have solved all her problems early on with strategic application of a rolling pin or frying pan. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1953
Based on a novel by Martin Albrand, Desperate Moment is set in postwar Germany. Simon van Halder (Dirk Bogarde) serving a life term for murder, escapes to prove innocence. After linking up with his girlfriend Anna de Burgh (Mai Zetterling), Simon relates, in flashback, the events leading up to his current dilemma. He also explains why he initially confessed to the crime. To tell more would be to tell all. It's rather enjoyable to watch the hero and heroine outwitting both British and German authorities, who aren't depicted as stupid, simply not equipped for so resourceful a fugitive. Billed at the bottom of the cast list, Theodore Bikel has a pivotal role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1953
That venerable Leo Fall operetta Die Rose von Stamboul was given a serviceable screen treatment in 1953. The fetchingly underdressed (Inge Egger) plays a pasha's niece, who agrees to a "marriage of convenience" to a supposedly stuffy diplomat. Alas, the girl has eyes only for a handsome composer (Albert Lieven). Imagine what will happen when she discovers (as the audience already has) that the diplomat and the composer are one in the same. Though well-directed and acted, Die Rose von Stamboul is saddled with rather lackluster photography, at least in the prints available for television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Inge Egger, Albert Lieven, (more)
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