Charles Regnier Movies

In this tense espionage drama set in 1942, William Holden plays Eric Erickson, an American-born Swede who is put on the Allied blacklist for trading oil with the Nazis. Collins (Hugh Griffith), a British intelligence agent, offers to expunge Erickson's name from the blacklist after the war in return for information on the Nazis. Erickson agrees to the plan and proceeds to make it look as if he is pro-Nazi. This subterfuge causes him to be branded a traitor, and his wife, believing Eric to be a Nazi, walks out on him. Nevertheless, Eric continues with his deceit and makes the Germans think that he is planning to construct an oil refinery in Sweden to serve as a fuel supply for Germany. As a result he is allowed entrance to four German oil refinery, and he passes on the information to Collins. But Eric is being put under surveillance by the Nazis. They discover that Eric's lover, Marianne (Lilli Palmer) is working for the Allies. Suddenly both Marianne and Eric are arrested and thrown into Moabit Prison -- with dire consequences for both of them. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Adorable Julia, by director Alfred Weidenmann, is perhaps a little too provincial or out-moded for most audiences in spite of the sophisticated allure of Lili Palmer and Charles Boyer in the lead roles. Palmer plays the title character Julia, the philandering wife of Michel (Boyer), a very understanding husband. At the moment, the aging Julia is involved in an affair with Tom (Jean Sorel), a younger man more interested in climbing up the social ladder via this liaison than in any real romantic commitment. For several different reasons, Julia finally begins to see the light and starts to reconsider her long and well-established relationship with her husband. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This drama is a remake of Pabst's famed 1929 film Die Buechse Der Pandora/Pandora's Box. It tells the story of a 14 year-old girl who is caught while trying to pick a doctor's pocket. The doctor ends up taking her in and turning her into a sophisticated lady whom he marries off to a wealthy man. Her new husband really likes to watch her dancing naked. Later, when he catches her 'dancing' with a young artist, the husband drops dead of a heart attack. She then marries the artist, but he soon commits suicide. After that she marries her doctor, but when they get into a fight over a pistol, she accidentally shoots him. She is sent to prison, but is later freed by the doctor's son, and his lesbian pal. The threesome head for gay Paris. In the end, she ends up a streetwalker in London where she becomes a victim of Jack the Ripper. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This standard melodrama by director Robert Siodmak, active in Germany, France, and the U.S., is nuanced with shades of film noir and tells the story of some underhanded corporate execs and their Nazi past. A big-name engineering company in West Germany is involved with high-rollers in the industrial business who are getting together a lucrative package for investing in the development of Third World countries. Along comes an enigmatic figure who finds out that the executives in the engineering company are ex-Nazis with murky pasts to conceal, and he uses his knowledge as leverage to take over the development project. In the meantime, his personal life is a shambles. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This Man in a Black Derby needs more than a bowler approach to comedy, it needs a bolder approach as well. Feeble and flatter than any hat, the Swiss tale is about an insignificant male of the species who has fallen for a significant female, at least, a significantly rich female. He is convinced he cannot win her affection unless he has some way to outdo her pocketbook. The only way he can devise to overcome his disadvantage is by turning to a particularly gutsy robbery, certain that he has to steal some cash before he can steal his lady love's heart. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The two romantic leads in this standard but well-acted political drama renew a famous pairing that began with The King and I in 1956. Deborah Kerr is Lady Diana Ashmore, caught at the wrong side of the Hungarian-Austrian border in 1956, and Yul Brynner is Major Surov, a Russian commander who works at the border crossing. With the outbreak of the 1956 rebellion, the Budapest airport is shut down and Diana, along with other international travellers, are forced to reach Vienna by bus. Along for the ride is one of the Hungarian dissenters hunted by the police, Paul (Jason Robards, Jr. in his screen debut). Diana and Paul are in love and she is determined to protect his secret. Major Surov suspects a rebel is hidden on the bus, but he does not know which passenger is the guilty one. As interaction continues at the border, Diana is attracted to the Major and his complex character, even against her will. Their developing relationship and strong personalities carry the story from start to finish. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this war drama, three Nazi survivors are rescued after their battleship sank. Initially they are given heroes' accolades for their courage, but then it becomes apparent that these men actually jumped ship three hours before the boat sank. The men are tried and subsequently executed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Ruth Leuwerik plays the regal title character in the lavish German historical drama Koenige Louise (Queen Louise). The wife of Prussian monarch Friedrich Wilhelm III (Dieter Borsche), Queen Louise quickly becomes one of the most popular women in all Europe. She also convinces her husband to stop squandering his time and talents and to actively participate in the politics of his kingdom. As a result, Wilhelm and the Czar of Russia (Bernhard Wicki) agree to form a united front against the incursions of Napoleon (Rene Deltgren). Alas, this strong political stand proves to be Wilhelm's undoing, and Queen Louise, feeling herself responsible for the political debacle, literally dies of a broken heart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this German espionage film, made after WW II, the life of Admiral Canaris, the former head of Nazi counterintelligence, is profiled. Much of the focus is upon the Admiral's gradual disenchantment with Hitler's vision. As the war progresses, Canaris begins looking into anti-Hitler organizations. It is only in 1944 that he grows angry at the destruction of Germany and commits himself to overthrowing Hitler. He fails and ends up losing his rank and being sentenced to a concentration camp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

O.E. Hasse stars in this "retro" German historical biography as Admiral Canaris, who during WW2 was the man in charge of Germany's home defenses. The film takes great pains to point out the Admiral's essential dislike of Nazism, suggesting that he was sympathetic to the aims of the German underground, even though he himself could not participate. In 1944, Canaris joins the plot to overthrow Hitler, ending up in a concentration camp when the military coup fails. The villain of the piece is Obergruppenfuehrer Heydrich (Martin Held), whose assassination in Czechoslovakia prompted the German high command to order the liquidation of the town of Lidice--thereby thoroughly souring Admiral Canaris on the Hitler regime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide