Rudolf Prack Movies

Toward the end of 1918, soldiers in the Austrian army were well aware that things were not going well. In this story, an army cadet arrives to serve in Belgrade and receives orders to serve in a regiment which is accompanying a Hanoverian princess on her return to Vienna. While in Belgrade, the young man and the princess are able to meet, and they fall in love. The cadet knows that it is foolish to expect the Slavs, who have been drafted into the army, to fight very hard for an empire they would happily see dissolved, but his superior officers are oblivious to this simple fact, and as a consequence, they suffer serious military reverses. Inspired by their ancient code of military honor, the regiment's officers fight and die to preserve the regiment's battleflag, which comes into the keeping of the cadet. He is entrusted with the task of returning it to the Hapsburg royal family. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Karl May chronicles the life of the extremely popular 19th-century German novelist who lived from 1842 to 1912. Karl May's copious output included dozens of adventure novels set in the American Wild West; they are distinguished by their sympathetic portrayal of Native Americans, and many feature the beloved Native American character Winnetou. May was among the most popular novelists ever to have written in the German language, and the idyllic simplicity of the rustic life portrayed in his works is thought to have inspired the early Nazis, who would probably have horrified May. In the last 12 years of his life, he was involved in a series of lawsuits to clear his name from a number of libelous assaults. These charges came after he had achieved prominence as a cultural figure and his prior conviction and imprisonment for petty theft was discovered. The movie catches up with him in the midst of his fight against these slanders. This film is the second in director Hans-Jurgen Syberberg's German Trilogy, consisting of Ludwig, Karl May and Hitler - Ein Film Aus Deutschland. In order to highlight the continuity between May's vision and the Hitler regime, all the actors in the film were either prominent during the Nazi era, or began their careers then. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Susanne (Terry Torday) is the erotic hostess who gives comfort to the visitors to her hotel. All of the vices in the country are heavily taxed, including drinking and making love. Susanne and a group of nude women try to give some relief to the beleaguered and overtaxed clientele. The feature is plagued by lowbrow humor and suggestive dialogue. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Die Junge Suenderim is a teen-centered drama about Eva Reck (Karin Baal), a nineteen-year-old woman born into a kind of respectable poverty, with a working-class father as the head of the family. Because she is beautiful, Eva tends to attract all manner of men, most of whom do not have innocent, romantic love on their minds. When she does fall in love with a student, she gives him up because one of her best friends is also in love with him. Eva continues on with her pure-hearted existence as yet another possible husband comes into view, and this time her chances of marriage and happiness look good. As might be deduced from the plot alone, there is not much depth of character in this film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this remake of the 1932 musical, the lead actor plays a dual role of a Czar and his look-a-like as they do business deals and make love in Vienna, circa 1814. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Heimatland (Homeland) is based on Krambambuli, a novel by Maria von Ebner-Eschenbachs. Krambambuli is the name of the pet dog owned by hero Thomas Helmberg (Rudolf Frack). As Thomas pursues his romance with Helga Sonnleithner (Marianne Hold), he is thwarted at every turn by his rival for Helga's hand, Hans Bachinger (Adrian Hoven). In a parallel development, Krambambuli likewise battles for the affections of a female pooch. So important is the dog to the proceedings that the animal portraying Krambambuli--whose name, believe it or not, was Hatti von Fernstein--is given special billing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide