Alexander Mursky Movies
- 1932
This version of the notorious Russian monk/charlatan's life, presents Rasputin, not as an evil manipulator of the czar's family, but as more of a victim. The story begins in a tiny village where he miraculously healed peasants. He is then taken to court to treat the czarina's hemophiliac son, but because Rasputin was a wild drunk and womanizer, he is sent back to his home. When war breaks out, he goes back to St. Petersburg to con the czar into taking over the high command. En route, Rasputin meets a duke and the soldier whose fiancee with whom he had once dallied. In the end, they lure him to a palace and shoot him. The script has an added touch of historical accuracy in that an actual acquaintance of Rasputin, Ossip Dymow, assisted with the script. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Paul Otto, (more)
- 1932
The title translates as Unfaithful Eckehart, and indeed Dr. Eckart Bleitreu (Ralph A. Roberts) is cheating on his loving wife (Luize Englisch). To throw his wife off his scent, Bleitreu claims that it's his brother-in-law Fritz (Fritz Schulz) who is the philanderer. The doctor's deception backfires when, thanks to his presumed prowess with the ladies, Fritz ends up with a cushy government job and a huge salary. Befitting its subject manner, Ungetrue Eckehart has plenty of old-fashioned door-slamming and ducking in and out of boudoirs. Reportedly, the film was also produced in a French-language version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Arthur Roberts, Lucie Englisch, (more)
- 1931
Allegedly based on a true story, Im Geheimdienst (Secret Service) takes place during WWI. German spy Willy Fritsch, posing as an American violinist, manages to move within the uppermost circles of Russian society with impunity. He inveigles Brigitte Helm, the wife of Russian general Oscar Homolka, into stealing a cache of secret documents. Facing death at every turn, Helm accomplishes her task, and together with her new lover Fritsch escapes to Sweden. This was considered to be a happy ending, but of course no one asked the poor general. Some sources indicate that Willy Fritsch did his own violin-playing in Im Geheimdienst, but this may not have been the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Willy Fritsch, (more)
- 1931
Based on the best-selling book by Egon Erwin Kisch, this Czechoslovakian production tells the true story of one of the most flagrant turncoats in European history. A officer on the pre-WWI Austrian military staff, Colonel Redl has no qualms about accepting bribes from and passing secrets to the hated Russians. Playing both sides of the fence, Redl also accepts gratuities from his fellow Austrians to get the goods on "undesirables" from within. His justification? As a member of the "lower orders," Redl feels that he could never have cracked the aristocratic upper circles of the European military without resorting to treachery. The real Redl's homosexuality is not an issue in this film, though it certainly would be in Istvan Szabo's 1985 production Colonel Redl (not a remake of the 1931 film, but instead adapted from John Osborne's A Patriot for Me). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theodor Loos, Lil Dagover, (more)
- 1930
More formerly known as Das Floetenkonzert von Sanssouci, this German historical drama is set during the reign of Prussia's Frederick the Great (here played by Otto Gebuehr, who made a career out of the role). Forced against his will to go back to war by his enemies, the King stirs up the patriotism of his countrymen by staging the titular flute concert. At one point, Frederick rails against the iniquities of "peace treaties," an obvious -- and anachronistic -- swipe at the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. This propagandistic sidebar is quite surprising in a pre-Third Reich German film but should not be constituted as being pro-Nazi (indeed, director Gustav Uelcky was forced to flee Europe when Hitler came to power). Still, it cannot be denied that Floetenkonzert is a glorification of war and warfare, no matter how prettily it was put together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Gebuhr, Renate Mueller, (more)
- 1930
Filmed silent, Hungarian Nights was released in the U.S. in mid-1930, giving at least a few days' work to the leftover movie-theater musicians. The story focuses on the menage a trois involving Captain Bartok (Hans Stuewe), Col. Reckoczi (Alexander Murski) and the colonel's wife Coraly (Lil Dagover). The plotline is occasionally broken up by drunken bacchanals and angry-peasant mob scenes. When distributed in America, the subtitles were printed in both English and German, giving them a "textbook" appearance which had the effect of taking the audience "out" of the picture. Cast in a small role is Viet Harlan, later one of the most prominent directors of the Nazi era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wilhelm Diegelmann, Daisy D'Ora, (more)
- 1929
Doctor's Women was one of the English-language titles of the 1928 Swedish production Parisiskor. Intoxicated by the seductive charms of Paris, Dr. Robert Monnier (Louis Lerch) romances two sisters almost simultaneously. One of the sisters, Nita (Margit Manstadt), already has a fiance, a playwright named Armand (Miles Mander). But Armand "graciously" steps aside to allow Nita to wed Monnier, fully intending to use his skills as a dramatist to sabotage the honeymoon. Directed by Gustaf Molander, Doctor's Women played better in its original Swedish version than in its heavily edited and poorly subtitled English-language version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Weyher, Margit Manstadt, (more)
- 1925
G. W. Pabst's The Joyless Street (Die freudlose Gasse) is an unvarnished study of post-World War I Vienna. Plagued with skyrocketing inflation, the Austrian metropolis becomes the domain of every scurrilous form of profiteering. The central character is a crooked butcher, whose negative influence dominates the lives of virtually everyone on a single Viennese street. The supporting characters include a poverty-stricken professor, his beleaguered daughter, an idealistic American Red Cross worker and a slinky harlot. Each character is photographed in a symbolic manner underlining his or her basic personality: the domineering butcher is photographed from a low angle, emphasizing his corrupt power, while the professor is lensed in long shot, highlighting the bareness of his apartment-and by extension, his life. The stars of The Joyless Street include Asta Nielsen and Werner Krauss, but latter-day audiences will find more interest in the supporting part played by young Greta Garbo. Incidentally, despite the claims of many film historians, Marlene Dietrich does not appear as an extra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Asta Nielsen, Greta Garbo, (more)
Filmed in 1924 by the brilliant Danish director Carl Theodore Dreyer, the German drama Michael (Mikael) was released in the U.S. three years later under the more lurid title Chained. It was subsequently reissued as The Story of the Third Sex, an unsubtle allusion to the plotline's homosexual subtext. Fellow director Benjamin Christensen stars as "The Master," a world-renowned painter. Celebrated for his portrait of a "beautiful" young male art student named Mikael (played by a slim, 22-year-old Walter Slezak), the Master graciously accepts the plaudits of his acolytes. Inwardly, however, he is tormented by his strong, passionate feelings for Mikael. Ironically, both men have a falling out over the affections of a woman (Nora Gregor) -- and when The Master dies, Mikael is accused of his murder. It turns out that the old artist actually died of natural causes, but Mikael is condemned in the court of public opinion for turning his back on The Master during his last days on Earth. Astonishingly, Chained was dismissed as "junk" by the reviewer for the trade magazine Variety, who felt that the film would have been better if Michael had murdered The Master in actuality rather than symbolically. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benjamin Christensen, Walter Slezak, (more)
