Harry Meyen Movies

In 1944, with Paris on the verge of Liberation by the allies, Adolph Hitler ordered that the City of Light be blown up and burned to the ground. General Dietrich Von Choltitz, after much rumination, decided that he didn't want to go down in history as the man who destroyed Paris. His refusal to follow Hitler's orders would make him a pariah in Germany for the rest of his life; nor was his gesture ever rewarded by the Allies. From this very human story in the midst of one of the most inhuman conflicts in history grew the screenplay (by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola) of the all-star, internationally produced Is Paris Burning? Whereas the earlier The Longest Day was able to support a castful of celebrities and brief subplot vignettes, Is Paris Burning? seems more weighted down than weighty. Still, a modern audience will have fun playing "spot the star" throughout the film, especially when those spotted stars include the likes of Gert Frobe (as Choltitz), Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas (as Patton), Glenn Ford (as Bradley), Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Robert Stack, and even Anthony Perkins as a wide-eyed GI. Filmed on a gargantuan scale, Is Paris Burning? was based on a book by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre. The film was lensed in black and white, save for the Technicolor finale (in the original road-show prints). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, two total strangers suspect each other of murdering their own wives. The trouble begins when an unhappily married architect becomes obsessed with a murder trial in which a husband allegedly murdered his wife. The architect begins collecting newspaper clippings. Although the charges against the accused are dropped, the architect is convinced that the man is guilty. He even visits the husband. After talking to him, the architect is more sure than he was before. The architect gets into trouble after his own wife's body is discovered in a ravine. The other husband, believing the architect did it, begins blackmailing him. Later the cops find the architect's collection of clippings. The husband, now convinced that the architect is out to destroy him, murders the architect. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This uneven, clichéd drama set in Germany of the 1930s is loosely based on historical fact. At that time Heinrich Himmler had created an inhuman, manipulative, super-race propagation plan called "lebensborn" which recruited men and women for their fair skin, blond hair, and blue eyes alone. Once these special people were selected (all Germans, of course) they were ordered to breed, for the Fatherland. Some viewers may feel that this drama trivializes the degrading "lebensborn" operation by focusing instead on a story about some of the subjects. The story is there for its own entertainment value, giving rise to the question of what really matters in the telling. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This Austrian romantic comedy was adapted from The Master, a play by Herman Bahr. O. W. Fischer stars as the head surgeon at the Ischl health spa. When rumors persist that Fischer performed an illegal abortion on a peasant girl, it appears as though his career is ruined. Moral and financial support from an unexpected source enables the doctor to restore his reputation -- and, eventually, to prove that the accusations of his enemies were false. What could have been oppressively melodramatic is handled with a refreshingly light touch by director Rolf Thiele. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as Alraune and Mandrake, The Unnatural is a kinky science fiction film, elevated by the bravura performance of Erich Von Stroheim. Playing a mad scientist (again?), Von Stroheim artificially inseminates an addled prostitute with the sperm of a vicious murderer. The result of this unholy union grows up to be Hildegarde Neff, who is none too stable herself. Combining the worst traits of both her parents, Neff lures unsuspecting males to premature deaths. Just when Neff is about to consummate her first genuine romance with Karl Bohm, she is killed by Von Stroheim, who has long harbored incestuous feelings for his "foster daughter." Officially, The Unnatural was adapted by Fritz Rotter from a novel by H. H. Ewers, but one has the impression that Von Stroheim might have dropped a few suggestions of his own here and there. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide