Albert Basserman Movies

While he was working in his native Germany, Ernst Lubitsch directed a number of historical pictures -- although this one is not that well-known today, it was one of the most spectacular. Emil Jannings stars in the title role of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Samlak, the king of the Ethiopians (Paul Wegener) plans to give his daughter Makeda (Lyda Salmonova) in marriage to Pharoah Amenes (Jannings), thus joining the two countries in friendly relations. However, the Pharaoh has fallen in love with Theonis, a slave girl (Dagny Servaes), who has run away from Samlak with the help of Ramphis (Harry Liedtke), the son of Egypt's main architect (Albert Bassermann). The Pharoah separates Theonis from Ramphis and forces her to marry him. Because of the rejection of their princess the Ethiopians declare war on Egypt. But Theonis does not love the Pharoah and he locks her away. Ramphis finds her, then when the Pharoah has been wounded in battle, he leads the Egyptians to victory. Ramphis now becomes ruler of Egypt and he takes Theonis as his bride. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Napoleon auf St. Helena was the next-to-last film of director Lupu-Pick, who died by his own hand in 1931. Werner Krauss is a physically inappropriate choice for the role of Napoleon, though he plays the part with his usual consummate skill. This study of Napoleon's last days in exile doesn't offer much in the way of action, but is more interesting as a "chamber piece." Especially well handled is the curious relationship between the Little Corporal and his "host," the British governor of St. Helena (played by Albert Basserman). The screenplay was by Abel Gance, whose own 1927 filmization of the life of Napoleon remains one of the unchallenged masterpieces of the silent cinema. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film was also released as Die Letzten Tag von dem Welt-brand (The Last Days Before the War). Director Richard Oswald and screenwriters Heinz Goldberg and Frtiz Wendhausen tackle the near-impossible task of establishing who exactly was responsible for the outbreak of WWI. The answer seems to be "everyone and no one," though the Russians are taken to task for their war-mongering instincts. The huge and stellar cast (including Albert Basserman, Reinhold Schunzel, Alfred Abel and Oskar Homolka) seem awe-struck by the famous characters they're called upon to play; as a result, they come off more as wax effigies than human beings. The American release version of 1914 was outfitted with a prologue and epilogue spoken in English by a renowned military historian. Coincidentally, the incredibly prolific Richard Oswald began his directorial career in 1914. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The pressbook for Kadetten (Cadets) claims that the film was written by Dr. Alfred Schirokauer, "after motives of a novel from Peter Muir." Whatever that means. The hero, played by newcomer Franz Fiedler, is a young cadet in a Prussian military school. Upon learning that his superior officer has tried to seduce his pretty young stepmother, Fiedler heads to the officer's home for a confrontation. Upon arriving, he discovers that the officer has been killed. Accused of the crime, Fiedler refuses to offer details to the police for fear of exposing his stepmother to scandal. This leads to tension-laden courtroom climax, dominated by that grand old trouper Albert Basserman. Incidentally, the "Peter Muir" who wrote the novel on whose "motives" Kadetten was based was a pseudonym for journalist Sven von Muller, the husband of actress Mady Christians. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Knute Rockne-All American was Pat O'Brien's finest hour: thanks to intensive rehearsals and numerous makeup applications, he so closely resembled the title character that, in the words of Rockne's widow, "I almost expected him to make love with me". The life of the legendary Notre Dame football coach is recounted from his childhood, when young Rockne (played by Johnny Sheffield) startles his Norwegian-immigrant parents by announcing at the dinner table that he's just been introduced to "the most wonderful game of the world." As an adult, Rockne works his way through Indiana's Notre Dame university, under the watchful and benevolent eye of Father Callahan (Donald Crisp) A brilliant student, Rockne is urged by Father Nieuwland (Albert Basserman) to become a chemist, or at the very least remain a chemistry teacher. Newly married to Bonnie Skilles (Gale Page), Rockne at first sticks to academics, but the call of the gridiron is too loud for him to ignore, and before long he has built his reputation as the winningest college football coach in America. One of his most significant contributions to the game is the invention of the tactical shift, inspired by the precision choreography of a team of nightclub dancers! Among the players nurtured by Rockne are the immortal Four Horsemen-Miller (William Marshall), Stuhlreder (Harry Lukats), Laydon (Kane Richmond) and Crowley (William Byrne), and of course the tragic George Gipp, superbly enacted by Ronald Reagan. His career continues unabated until his death in a plane crash in 1931. The screenplay of Knute Rockne-All American tends to be all highlights and little story, with several of the more dramatic passages telegraphed well in advance (just before her husband's death, Bonnie Rockne comments forebodingly "It's gotten cold all of a sudden"). Still, the film remains one of the best and most inspirational sports biographies ever made, with a heart-wrenching conclusion guaranteed to moisten the eyes of even the most jaundiced viewer. Ironically, the film's most famous scene, George Gipp's deathbed admonition to "Win one for the Gipper", was for many years excised from all TV prints due to a legal entanglement stemming from an earlier radio dramatization of Rockne's life; fortunately, this and several related scenes were restored to the film in the early 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As part of his new contract with Warner Bros., Edward G. Robinson agreed to appear in the gangster comedy Brother Orchid on the condition that the studio permit him to play the leading role in the lavish biopic A Dispatch from Reuters. Robinson is cast as Baron Paul Julius Reiter, who in 1833 inaugurates a "pigeon post" messenger service which is soon rendered obsolete by the invention of the telegraph. Eventually adapting to the new communications process, Reuters is able to extends his links to the major capitals of Europe, achieving success by scooping his competition with a transcription of a speech by Louis Napoleon. By 1858, Reuters has expanded his operation to the English-speaking countries, seriously over-extending himself financially. Ultimately, Reuters is rescued from bankruptcy in 1865 when he broadcasts on a worldwide basis the news of President Lincoln's assassination-even before the American ambassador in England has been informed of the tragedy. Throughout the highs and lows of his career, Reuters is encouraged by his loyal and loving wife Ida (Edna Best), who continually reminds him that he is a communicator and not a grandstander. Though not as entertaining and satisfying as Robinson's previous biographical film Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, A Dispatch from Reuters' benefits immeasurably from the almost terrifying expertise of the Warners production staff and its stellar supporting cast (Eddie Albert, Gene Lockhart, Nigel Bruce, Otto Kruger et. al.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this German drama, a French military officer finds himself discriminated against during a trial because he is Jewish. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Josef von Sternberg made his first return to exotic Shanghai since 1932's Shanghai Express in this baroque conflagration, based on a 1925 play by John Colton that required 30 revisions before it was sufficiently sanitized to pass muster with Hays Office censors. The film takes place in the gambling den of Mother Gin Sling (Ona Munson), who finds her casino threatened with closing by stuffed shirt English financier Sir Guy Charteris (Walter Huston). Gin Sling knows that the key to keeping her casino open is to dig up some dirt on Sir Guy, and it's quick in coming. She finds that Sir Guy was compelled to leave China in a hurry some time in the past, stealing his wife's money and plotting to kill her. Sir Guy ended up abandoning his wife in China and leaving her with an infant daughter. She also finds out that Sir Guy's grown-up daughter, Poppy (Gene Tierney, is a frequent and deeply indebted guest of Gin Sling's casino. Gin Sling is now ready to blackmail Sir Guy into keeping her casino open. He tracks down his daughter and tries to convince her to leave town. But Poppy refuses to budge, having fallen in love with Doctor Omar (Victor Mature). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A remake of the Swedish film of the same name (see entry 55092), MGM's A Woman's Face was reshaped into one of Joan Crawford's best vehicles. Told in flashback from the vantage point of a murder trial, the story concerns a female criminal whose face is disfigured by a hideous scar. The plastic-surgery removal of this disfigurement has profound repercussions, both positive and tragically negative. The film's multitude of subplots converge when Conrad Veidt, Joan's lover and onetime partner in crime, is murdered. Melvyn Douglas costars as the beneficent cosmetic surgeon who becomes Joan's lover, while Osa Massen appears as Douglas' vituperative wife. Making his American screen debut in the role of Veidt's father is Albert Basserman, who spoke no English and had to learn his lines phonetically. Both A Woman's Face and its Swedish predecessor were based on Il Etait Une Fois, a play by Francis de Croiset. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide