Senta Berger Movies
Austrian actress Senta Berger was born while Vienna was under siege; reportedly, her family was bombed out four times before she was five. Enrolled in ballet school, Senta was asked to leave at 14 because she had "developed" too much. She studied drama at the Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna, then began her German film career in 1957. The publicity folks said that Senta won her first English-language role in The Secret Ways (1961) when star Richard Widmark spotted her riding a bicycle. Most American film fans first saw the sensuous Senta on, of all places, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, in that 1963 TV series' two-parter "The Waltz King." Though an actress of more than average talent, Senta was regarded as just another European sex bomb by most Hollywood publicity flacks; her fine performance as an Israeli freedom fighter in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) took second consideration to the well-circulated still photos from that film, in which she was seen in form-fitting shorts. By 1970, Senta Berger evidently gave up any hopes of being taken seriously, agreeing to appear in the caveman spoof When Women Had Tails. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
One of Germany's most important female directors, Doris Dörrie chose the subject of the universal quest for happiness for the film Bin ich Schön?. Set in Spain and Germany, the film interlaces individual stories of broken hearts and broken dreams with aspirations of new beginnings. On a hot afternoon in Spain, Linda is standing beside the road wearing a thin summer dress and carrying a handbag. A car stops and Werner, a robust-looking German, picks her up. She shows him a note which says, "I am deaf-mute and in need of your help." Werner is touched. As they move off together, Linda throws her handbag out of the window. In a near-by motel, Klaus is on the phone to Munich trying to convince his reluctant girlfriend Franziska to come down to Spain. Linda and Werner have checked into the next room where Werner is asking Linda to hit him with his belt. Plots and subplots intertwine until the film reaches a climax during a religious procession. In an ironic way, the film celebrates life with a message that life is here today and then it's gone. No beginning, no end and enjoy it while you can. Bin ich schön? was screened as part of the New German Films at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Senta Berger, Gottfried John, (more)
- 1973
This Italian film is a searing indictment of the greed and ambition which warp the medical profession. It focuses especially on surgeons in the persons of Professor Valiotti (Gabriele Ferzetti) and Dr. Giordani (Enrico Maria Salerno). Many of the scenes are based on Italian news stories of the period ('70s) which recount the suffering and high costs of unnecessary or overly aggressive treatment motivated by academic ambitions or simple greed. Director Luigi Zampa's previous film about the medical system was a satire/comedy: Be Sick, It's Free. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
In a complex story of automotive intrigue, oil barons, corporate finance, and international villainy, the inventor of an environmentally friendly car powered by energy cells becomes the target of killers. After Ralph Korda (Jurgen Prochnow) has given his patented worldcar to a German automaker for testing, he is confronted by ominous men, eager to get their hands on his patent. Evil Arab petroleum lords also want to stop this threat to the gasoline market any way they can. Unable to disentangle himself from the women who keep him distracted, Korda is slow to realize that even his closest associates may be trying to send him six feet under. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jürgen Prochnow, Senta Berger, (more)
Cast a Giant Shadow is a big-budget, glossy action/adventure story set at the time that Israel became a nation. American Army officer Colonel David Marcus is recruited by the yet-to-exist Israel to help form an army. Marcus is conflicted because of his sudden appreciation for his Jewish heritage. Realizing that each of Israel's Arab nations has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country once the partition has been made, Marcus is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins. The all-star cast includes Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger and Angie Dickinson. Aldo Tonti provides the beautiful photography by Aldo Tonti, and Melville Shavelson directs. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1969
Collector's Edition is a 90-minute episode of the TV series Name of the Game. Tony Franciosa stars as Jeff Dillon, investigative reporter for Crime magazine. Guest star John Saxon plays photographer Peter Max (no relation, we assume, to the poster artist of the same name). Max had once saved Dillon's life when the two were on assignment in Vietnam. Now Max is accused of murder, and he's counting on Dillon's help in clearing his name. Collector's Edition first aired in October of 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Adapted from a novel by Rosamunde Pilcher, the two-part British miniseries Coming Home re-created the years between 1936 and 1941 as experienced by a brace of young and impressionable girls. Meeting in a boarding school, Judith Dunbar and Loveday Carey-Lewis became close friends, though they were miles apart in terms of social status. But when Judith's wealthy Aunt Louise perished during the 1940 London Blitz, Judith inherited a fortune, and was thus "acceptable" to Loveday's upper-crust family. Complications ensued when Billy Fawcett, the decadent middle-aged sweetheart of Loveday's married mother Diana, began to lust after the hapless Judith. Boasting a stellar cast of reliable British stage and screen actors including Peter O'Toole, former New Avengers co-stars Joanna Lumley and Patrick Macnee, and onetime Man From U.N.C.L.E regular David McCallum, Coming Home was seen through the facilities of ITV in the autumn of 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Joanna Lumley, (more)
A quote from Bertolt Brecht ends this bitter and angry war film by Sam Peckinpah: "Do not rejoice in his defeat, you men. For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again." Peckinpah's intense and belligerently non-commercial work, (based on the book by Willi Heinrich), is a World War II tale told from the German perspective, following a platoon of German soldiers in the Russia of 1943, when the German Wehrmacht forces had been decimated and the Germans were retreating along the Russian front. James Coburn is Steiner, a German corporal and recipient of the Iron Cross who feels that he owes his loyalty to his family and fellow soldiers and not to Hitler and the German war machine. But when a new commander, Captain Stransky (Maximillian Schell), takes over the platoon, Steiner and Stransky come into immediate conflict. Stransky is a career soldier, the complete opposite of Steiner, and a man who pledges himself heart and soul to Hitler and the war. But he envies Steiner for having been awarded an Iron Cross and deeply desires one himself. The problem is Stransky is a complete coward and recognizes that the only way he can be awarded an Iron Cross would be to get the bitter Steiner on his side. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, (more)
- 1969
Stefano (Ugo Tognazzi) and his wife Giovanna (Senta Berger) are tempted to shed their sexual inhibitions when they witness a couple making love atop the Eiffel Tower. He places an ad in a lonely hearts column, but the women he dreams about all seem to be hideous creatures. The swinging couple take on various bed partners in this sex satire about modern moral decay. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ugo Tognazzi, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1977
The protagonist in this film is a surgeon whose wife is running around with his young partner, and whose medical career is hampered by his need to find a way to perform a heart-valve replacement operation. His wife's lover plans to move to Hong Kong, with her in tow, to learn something of acupuncture (which might help with the operation). The wife is involved in an auto accident before their trip, and he goes on without her. On the way there, he meets a mysterious Russian-refugee doctor who has a set of wonder-working acupuncture needles. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Evil genius Dr. Mabuse hypnotizes the director of an insane asylum in this remake of Fritz Lang's 1933 cinematic landmark. Noted German actor Wolfgang Preiss stars. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Keir Dullea dives into a bevy of babes with an open wine bottle as the notorious Marquis de Sade in this low-budget debauch from American International Pictures -- purveyors of fine entertainment morsels for the connoisseur. The film takes place as an extended flashback after de Sade has escaped from a madhouse and taken refuge in the dilapidated mansion where he was reared. In his flashback, de Sade recalls how the Abbe de Sade (John Huston) used to have a maid whip him until he began to like it. Of course, after that, the next step down the primrose path was flagellation and orgies. Finally sent to a French jail for lewd behavior, de Sade begins to write anti-government creeds to while away the hours. After his release, he is compelled to marry the repulsive Renee de Montreuil (Anna Massey). De Sade goes along with the marriage in order to get closer to her sister Anne (Senta Berger). In spite of that, de Sade continues to seek out various forms of softcore sex. But then the Black Plague hits. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keir Dullea, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1972
Der Moral der Ruth Halbfass is based on a true story, but modifies the facts slightly for cinematic purposes. The mores of the patriarchal German haute bourgeoisie regarding women are satirized here. Ruth (Senta Berger) has grown weary of being dependent on her wealthy husband, a playboy in his own right. She has a lavish affair with an impecunious married art teacher. The affair is hard on her pocketbook, and her husband is growing suspicious, so the adulterous couple discuss doing away with Ruth's industrialist husband. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Wim Wenders' The Scarlet Letter (German title: Der scharlachrote Buchstabe) may well be the most fascinating of the many screen versions of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 19th-century novel. Though the story is set in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, the film was lensed in Spain. Senta Berger is surprisingly well cast as Hester Prynne, whose sexual indiscretions have compelled her to wear the letter "A" (for adultery) on blouse--a symbol of shame to her neighbors, but a strange source of pride for Hester. Lou Castel plays the tortured Reverend Dimmesdale, the man who impregnated Hester but whom has been sworn to secrecy by the self-sacrificing heroine for the "good of the community." Hans Christian Blech portrays Hester's long-lost husband, whose reappearance sets the stage for the wrenching climax. Wenders' interpretation of the customs, behavior and inbred bigotry of the early American immigrants is eye-opening, as only an "outsider's" perception of what we take for granted can be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
"Wunderbar" takes on a new meaning in this routine satire by Bernhard Wicki about a bar that is miraculously transported by God Himself to a nearby, new location on an island. The nature of the miracle is a bit strange, but it comes in answer to Pater Malachias' prayers to get the sin-ridden place out of the center of the city. The good and naive Malachias is subtly played by Horst Bollimann. Once this miracle of relocation has occurred, the sharks and entrepreneurs, who would bilk both the faithful and the curiosity-seekers alike, crop up like an unwanted epidemic. The mercenary and the sacred clash, as many try to find deeper meaning in what has happened, and Pater Malachias starts to doubt the wisdom of his original prayer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Horst Bollmann, Richard Münch, (more)
In his last film effort (he was killed in a car accident shortly after its completion), veteran French filmmaker Julien Duvivier manages to spin gold from dross in Diabolically Yours. Alain Delon stars as an amnesiac, unable to remember he is man of wealth, or where he keeps his wealth. The doctors are flummoxed by Delon's total blackout. On the other hand, Delon's wife Senta Berger doesn't believe it, nor does the family's best friend. This fitfully entertaining puzzler succeeds in leading the audience--and the characters--down several garden paths. A French/Italian/German coproduction, Diabolically Yours was originally titled Diaboliquement Votre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Senta Berger, Alain Delon, (more)
- 1957
This fictional story tells of a small village that builds a new steamship dock in hopes of getting lots of tourists. Only one shows up, but she manages to save the village from financial ruin. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1963
As young and penniless Rik roams about Rome, he finds lady luck on his side for a spell. Not only does he receive a bounty of coins from a weighing machine, but he also wins cash from a restaurant which awards him as its 10,000th customer. Not to mention the car. And the job. And the women. Before long, however, his luck changes, but not before he finds true love with a journalist. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Fritsch, Alexandra Stewart, (more)
