Vera Molnar Movies
- 1983
In this mix of black comedy and harsh drama, a man and wife are divorced yet still have to share their living quarters even though the wife has remarried -- housing is seriously hard to find in Budapest. Csaba (Karoly Eperjes) has just come out of doing a stint in prison because he stabbed a man while drunk, and when he goes home he discovers that his wife (Mariann Erdos) is now living with someone else in their apartment. Csaba quickly divorces his wife but he still has to move in and share a kitchen and bathroom with her and her new mate, suffering because he still loves her. This untenable situation is complicated by visits from Csaba's mother, and by various women he starts seeing, as well as by a busy-body neighbor. The three main roles of Csaba, his wife, and her lover (Peter Andorai) are excellently interpreted in this satire on social morés and economic realities. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Karoly Eperjes, Peter Andorai, (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
This filmed biography of 19th-century composer Pietro Mascagni ignores his eventual descent into poverty and obscurity. However, the script is unstinting in its re-creation of the tragedies facing Mascagni during his rise to fame. Pierre Cressoy plays Mascagni, whose ultimate success leads to a tender reconciliation with his long-estranged father. Highlighting Melodie Immortali is an abbreviated performance of Mascagni's greatest triumph--actually his only triumph--the one-act opera "Cavaleria Rusticana." This sequence is dominated by the superb tenor voice of Metropolitan Opera star Mario Del Monaco. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pierre Cressoy, Vera Molnar, (more)
- 1951
Former Hollywood musical director (and erstwhile government spy) Boris Morros was one of the producers of the British Tale of Five Cities. Bonar Colleano stars as British soldier Bob Mitchell, who has picked up American habits and speech patterns while employed in the U.S. Suffering from amnesia, Mitchell is led to believe that he is an American GI, though of course no records exist to verify this. Mitchell's confusion prompts a Manhattan-based magazine to launch a search for Bob's true identity, a search leading inexorably to the girls he left behind during WW II. The "five cities" visited during this exploratory journey are Rome, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, and London; Mitchell's Roman sweetheart is played by Gina Lollobridgida, while his Viennese amour is Eva Bartok. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bonar Colleano, Lana Morris, (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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Zarah Leander, Carl Raddatz, (more)
- 1950
Despite its sinister title, the German Gefaehrliche Gaeste (Dangerous Guests) is a romantic comedy. It all begins when Peter Anders (Wolf Albach-Retty) puts his house up for sale. Enter three small-time crooks, who pose as servants to case the joint. Also on a house-hunting expedition is toothsome heroine Inge (Vera Molnar), whose wealthy family the crooks hope to fleece. The film manages to accommodate a couple of antiseptic musical numbers, one of these performed by pianist Paul Kemp, cast as Inge's uncle. This is the sort of escapist fare that was so popular in Germany during the Hitler era; after the war, however, audiences demanded a bit more realism in their entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wolf Albach-Retty, Vera Molnar, (more)
- 1949
Per the title of this Austrian melodrama, much of the action takes place in Satan's domain. The devil, played by Hans Holt, decides to make life a living you-know-what for a nightclub singer. This he does by trying to sabotage the singer's romance with an artist. The cast is wildly variable, with relative newcomer Vera Molnar coming off best, at least in the eyes of the critics in 1949. It is remotely possible that Hoellische Liebe served as one of the influences for the much-later Disney comedy/fantasy The Devil and Max Devlin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elfie Mayerhofer, Hans Holt, (more)
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