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Hans Reiser Movies

1967  
 
This German version of the famed caper, not only examines the detailed planning and precise execution of the famed theft, it also looks at what happened to the robber gang after they robbed the British mail train. Soon after the heist, several gang members made fatal blunders causing their capture by the police. The criminal syndicate then rallies behind the incarcerated crooks and tries to spring them from jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Starring:
Horst Tappert
 
1966  
 
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Robert Goulet plays David March, an American traitor living in Germany during World War II. Allowed to travel freely within the Nazi hierarchy, March is privy to secrets that would spell his doom were he on "our" side. What the Nazis don't know (but we do) is that March is on our side: he's a secret agent, posing as a turncoat in order to relay Nazi war plans to the allies. His main goal is to destroy a secret weapons factory, but he still has time to romance German scientist Jo Ann Pflug and French chanteuse Christine Carrere. I Deal in Danger was comprised of three half-hour episode of the 1966 TV series Blue Light; the seamwork shows at times, but the film runs a lot more smoothly than most such pastiches. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Robert GouletChristine Carère, (more)
 
1964  
 
Three men plot to assassinate the dictator of their country, but their plan fails and one of them is captured and imprisoned. Even after considerable torture and interrogation, the revolutionary maintains his silence as to the names of his accomplices. Soon he is killed, though no one seems to know who is responsible for his death. Four years later another regime has been established, and a former inmate of the dead revolutionary finds himself in a position of power. He now intends to find out who was responsible for the man's death. After this German tale first took the form of a radio play and then a stage production, character actor Peter Carsten decided to produce this film version. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

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Starring:
Erik SchumannWolfgang Kieling, (more)
 
1963  
 
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The Great Escape is based on the true story of a group of Allied prisoners of war who managed to escape from an allegedly impenetrable Nazi prison camp during World War II. At the beginning of the film, the Nazis gather all their most devious and troublesome POWs and place them at a new prison camp, which was designed to be impervious to escapes. Immediately, the prisoners develop a scheme where they will leave the camp by building three separate escape tunnels. Richard Attenborough is the British soldier who masterminds the whole plan, and who commands his motley squad--featuring Charles Bronson as a Polish trench-digging expert, James Garner as an American with a talent for theft, Donald Pleasence as a masterful forger, and Steve McQueen as an American rebel--through the construction of the tunnels and, eventually, their escape. An epic adventure film, The Great Escape runs nearly three hours, featuring a rousing Elmer Bernstein score and exciting action sequences -- including a notorious motorcycle chase between McQueen and the Nazis -- the likes of which had never been seen before in Hollywood productions. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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Starring:
Steve McQueenJames Garner, (more)
 
1962  
 
Hampered by over-orchestrated music, smeary color photography and (in the English version at least) poor dubbing, this 1963 French/German adaptation of the Kurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht piece The Three Penny Opera nonetheless has its attractions. Not least of these is the central performance of Curt Jurgens as robber captain MacHeath, whose romance with Polly Peachum (June Ritchie), daughter of beggar king J. J. Peachum (Gert Frobe), puts his life in jeopardy. Hildegarde Neff has an effective cameo as whore-ish Pirate Jenny. For the film's American release, distributor Joseph E. Levine hired Sammy Davis Jr. to play the Ballad Singer, who narrates the story, introduces the scenes, and sings the opera's most famous song "Moritat (The Ballad of Mack the Knife)." Unlike the music in the rest of the film, Davis' rendition of "Mack the Knife" is rearranged in Bobby Darin "pop" fashion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Sammy Davis, Jr.Curd Jürgens, (more)
 
1962  
 
During the 1960s, there were two series of theatrical programmers based on the works of mystery maven Edgar Wallace; one group of films was lensed in England, the other shot in Germany. Secret of the Black Trunk is something of a cross-pollination; it was produced by Germans, and filmed in England! The story is the usual Wallace blend of scheming schemers, "perfect" crimes and workaday detectives who meticulously unravel the most confusing of mysteries. The setting of Secret of the Black Trunk is a popular hotel which suddenly becomes the site of several murders. Sensuous actress Senta Berger adds a bit of visual dynamics to the talky goings-on. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1955  
 
Despite its frivolous title, Eine Frau Genuegt Nicht? (One Woman Is Not Enough?) is a complicated romantic drama. Ernst Vossberg (Hans Soehnker) is married to Maria (Hilde Krahl), but their romance has soured and they haven't lived together in years. When Ernst's current girlfriend Renate (Helaine Bei) becomes pregnant, he intends to marry her. Unfortunately, Maria isn't willing to give him up just yet. Refusing to take sides through most of the proceedings, the film is sympathetic to the individual plights of all three protagonists. It is a shame, then, that the story is resolved in a tawdry, melodramatic fashion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Hilde Krahl
 
1951  
 
Nachts aut den Strassen (Detour) stars German film favorite Hans Albers as a middle-aged truck driver named Heinrich. Coming across a traffic accident, Heinrich finds a small bagful of money. Figuring that no one will miss it, he pockets the cash and in so doing, condemns himself to a Living Death. The dramatic thrust of Nachts auf den Strassen is not so much that Crime Does Not Pay, but that no man can ever escape his most diligent nemesis -- himself. The film represented the first postwar effort from producer Erich Pommer, whose name hadn't been seen on screen since the 1940 Hollywood production They Knew What They Wanted. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Hans AlbersHildegarde Neff, (more)