Paul Richter Movies

Paul Becker stars as Carl Tiempe, a lovable old village "schustermister," or shoemaker. Despite his spotless reputation and scores of friends, Carl is accused of stealing a valuable set of spoons. When he finds that no one will listen to his side of the story, the old cobbler decides to play detective and track down the thief himself. Told in a light-hearted fashion, the film is heavily reliant upon puns and convoluted sentences, both comic specialties of the veteran leading man Becker. As a result, Wackere Schustermeister lost a great deal in translation when it was released in the United States. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A best-selling novel by Ludwig Ganghofer was the source for Der Jaeger von Fall (The Hunter of Fall). Paul Richter heads the cast as pure-of-heart rice farmer Friedl. Falling in love with an unwed mother (Marie Sra), Friedl ignores her unsavory past and offers her shelter and comfort. He then sets out to capture notorious poacher Burgl (Rolf Pineger), who happens to be the father of the heroine's child. Burgl meets a sad but very timely end, lifting the shame of out-of-wedlock pregnancy from the mother's shoulders. Critics in 1936 felt that director Peter Ostermyer stuck too close to the original Ganghofer novel, sacrificing excitement for the sake of fidelity. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Der Hexer was based on The Sorcerer, a detective story by workhorse British author Edgar Wallace. The original story was a thrilling, intricately plotted murder mystery involving a master criminal and a wily detective. According to contemporary reviews, however, the film version threw out much of the suspense and excitement in favor of dull dialogue passages. This is surprising, in that its director was the usually reliable Karl Lamac. Of the actors, only Karl Ettlinger, playing what amounted to the comedy-relief character, was singled out for any praise. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Case Van Geldern is an excellent detective thriller with some genuinely surprising plot turns. Co-adapted by Hans Hyan from his own novel, the story concerns a lawyer who is accused of murdering his wife. The only person who knows the truth is a former client of the lawyer, a career criminal currently serving a lengthy prison term. Out of sympathy for the lawyer, the crook breaks out of jail just long enough to prove his old friend's innocence and track down the genuine killer. Reviewers in 1932 enjoyed Case Van Geldern but felt that the film's song numbers were extraneous. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This lushly produced UFA production from Fritz Lang was adapted from the Norse sagas, and also from the Wagner operas Siegfried, Gotterdaemmerung, and Lohengrin. There is also a sequel -- Kremhilde's Revenge (Kriemhild's Rache). Siegfried (Paul Richter), son of King Siegmund, masters the art of forging a sword at the shop of Mime (George John). On his journey home, he hears tales of Kriemhild, the princess of Burgundy (Margarete Schoen). En route to Burgundy, Siegfried slays the dragon Fafnir, and bathes in his blood. This mades him invulnerable to attack -- except for one spot on his shoulder blade which he has missed. After finding the treasure of the dwarfs, Siegfried arrives in Bergundy. He meets the beautiful Kriemhild and accompanies King Gunther (Theodor Loos) to Iceland. The king wins the powerful Brunhilde (Hanna Ralph) as his wife, and Siegfried weds Kriemhild. Brunhilde plots to have Siegfried killed and makes up lies about him to the King. Gunther's uncle, Hagen Tronje (Hans Schlettow), finds Siegfried's weak spot and pierces it with a spear. After confessing that she made up stories about Siegfried, Brunhilde kills herself. An interesting side note: Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels both claimed this film as one of their favorites. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Even though Americans embraced The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, they seemed a bit puzzled by this fanciful German-made melodrama. Three Oxford graduates -- Robert Allen (Paul Richter), Carl Langland (Olaf Fonss) and Indian Prince Ayan (Conrad Veidt) -- pledge to remain devoted to one another. It doesn't take long for the oath to be broken, as the prince believes that his wife, Princess Savitri (Erma Morini), has been unfaithful with Allen. He decides to bury his wife alive and has Yogi Ramigami (Berhard Goetze) travel to England to fetch Langland. But when he orders his old pal to build him a tomb, he refuses. The prince holds him prisoner, and his fiancee, Laura Valmy (Mia May), comes looking for him. She too is captured and Ayan, with Ramigami's help, subjects all of them -- Langland, Allen and Laura -- to cruel torture. Finally Langland tries to rescue Savitri from the prince's troops by carrying her across a suspension bridge, but she sacrifices herself by cutting the bridge's ropes and falling to her death. Meanwhile, the prince renounces his religion, damning him to a fate worse than death. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi