Laszlo Vajda Movies

In this mythical fantasy, the evil queen of Atlantis lives in a magnificent palace, the halls of which are filled with the mummified remains of former lovers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker G.W. Pabst's adaptation of Bertoldt Brecht and Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera (Die Dreisgoschenoper) is every bit as good as the stage original, and sometimes even better. Filmed in both German and French versions with different casts (a planned English-language version was abandoned), Threepenny is most readily available today in its German incarnation. Rudolf Forster stars as robber captain MacHeath -- aka Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife -- who falls in love with Polly (Carola Neher), daughter of beggar king Peachum (Fritz Rasp). Despising MacHeath, Peachum plots the thief's downfall with his best friend, corrupt police official Tiger Brown (Reinhold Schunzel). The satirical "happy ending" of the original -- MacHeath, en route to the gallows, suddenly and without motivation promoted to knighthood! -- is altered somewhat by Pabst and his scenarists to accommodate a swipe against Depression-era bankers. Lotte Lenya, Weill's wife, brilliantly repeats her stage role as Pirate Jenny. Stylistically, Threepenny Opera is a Georg Grosz drawing come to life; despite its 1890s London setting, the film's calculatedly tawdry veneer is clearly meant to represent the wide-open Berlin of the 1930s. For the record: the French version of Threepenny Opera starred Albert Prejean as MacHeath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kameradschaft is set in a mining community on the French/German frontier, where several French miners are trapped in a cave-in. Their only hope for rescue lies in a long-abandoned underground tunnel, buried since the First World War. Ignoring the ethnic and political differences that have long separated the two countries, a group of German miners pick their way through the old tunnel to save the entombed Frenchmen. They do this despite the reluctance of the mine owners, who'd rather keep the nationalistic lines drawn, no matter how many lives it costs. When asked why they're willing to rescue the same people who'd forced their country into bankruptcy after the war, the German workmen reply "Miners are miners." Once the Frenchmen are brought to surface, however, the owners see to it that the borders knocked down by the Germans are quickly replaced; everything has changed, yet nothing has changed. Ironically, the German public, whose decency and humanity is celebrated in Kameradschaft, tended to avoid the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "two neckties" referred to in the title are all that separates the gentlemen from the bums, at least so far as the script is concern. Required to wear a black tie on the job, temporary waiter Jean (Michael Bohnen) is accosted by a gentlemen thief, who, hoping to elude the cops, offers to pay 1,000 marks if Jean will exchange ties with him. Upon donning the crook's white neckwear, Jean is immediately mistaken for a man of means, whereupon he enters into a whirlwind romance with wealthy American Mabel (Olga Tshekova), who spirits him away to Florida. Upon realizing that he's way out of his league, Jean hotfoots it back to Europe, where he settles down with his longtime sweetie Trude (Trude Glieske). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ladislaus Vajda adapted the screenplay for The Woman Men Yearn For from the book Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt by Czech writer Max Brod. This German romantic thriller marked the last silent film for director Kurt Bernhardt and the first leading role for Marlene Dietrich. Shot in Berlin in 1928, the story follows Stascha (Dietrich), the femme fatale who seduces a recently married man on a train. Viennese actor Fritz Kortner plays her homocidally obsessive lover Dr. Karoff. Dietrich refused to speak about her silent film career, preferring to think of her first film as The Blue Angel with Josef von Sternberg. The Woman Men Yearn For, her 15th silent film, proves that she played dangerous women before becoming an international star. This film was also the first time Dietrich's character was killed on screen. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

This G.W. Pabst production was know by many titles, both in Europe (where it was alternately released as Abwege and Begierde) and the U.S. (where it was shipped out as Byways, Crisis and Desire). Brigitte Helm, of Metropolis fame, stars as Irene, the wife of self-absorbed Robert (Gustav Diessl). Feeling neglected, Irene strays from the marital nest, leading to a series of horrendous suppositions and misunderstandings. Critics in 1928 felt that Abwege was far below the standards of Pabst's best-known film Secrets of a Soul. If the film is forgotten today, it is probably because it was followed by the director's masterpiece, Pandora's Box (1929). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This epic Austrian production was credited to Michael Kertesz, who became better known as Michael Curtiz. It was also the screen debut of Walter Slezak. Mary Conway (Lucy Doraine) agrees to marry the wealthy Jackson Harber (George Reimers) to save her mother (Erika Wagner) from a forgery charge. She's really in love with Harry Lighton, a poor sculptor (Kurt Ehrle). At the engagement party, Lighton shoots himself, and Mary turns vindictive and cynical. She decides to make Harber's son, Edward (Slezak), fall in love with her and she succeeds. In an attempt to save Edward, his tutor (Michael Varkonyl) tells him the story of the queen of sin, who he compares to Mary. When this doesn't work, he goes to Mary and relates the story of Lot's wife. When Mary falls asleep, she dreams, in vivid cinematic detail, about the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which Lighton is Lot and she is his wife. When she wakes up, she calls off the wedding and goes to Lighton, who is recovering from his wound. Haber and his son reconcile. In its European release, this picture was 18 reels long; it was cut down to eight for release in the States, but the severe editing made the story disjointed and confusing. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide