Gerhard Riedmann Movies

For some reason, European filmmakers are irresistibly attracted to the notion of sex and betrayal under the big top. The Austrian/German Hippodrome stars Gerhard Riedmann as a circus tiger trainer, hopelessly in love with ballerina Margit Nunme. The girl plays up to Riedmann so that she can join his act. The trainer is transferred to another circus, so Margit takes up with sharpshooter Willy Birgel. When Riedmann returns, the jealous Birgel drugs his tigers, then kills himself when he's found out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

My Daughter Patricia Meine Tochter Patricia is a lightweight, romantic comedy by award-winning director Wolfgang Liebeneiner, with no particular pretensions other than to entertain. Patricia (Gerlinde Locker) has just finished her stay at a Swiss boarding school, and like other young women her age, her thoughts have turned to men. In fact, they have turned to one man in particular (Gerhard Riedmann). Unfortunately for Patricia, someone else has her sights set on the same young man -- but unfortunately for him, neither woman is very constant -- their affections go back and forth like a ping-pong ball. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The Beggar Student is based on Der Bettelstudent, the evergreen operetta by Carl Milloecker (previously filmed in 1936). Set in the 18th century, the story focuses in on the Countess Laura (Waltraut Haas), who has spurned the affections of wicked Colonel Ollendorf (Gustav Knath). Seeking revenge, the Colonel flimflams the Countess into marrying an impoverished student named Symon (Gerhard Riedmann). Little does he know that the beggar student is really of noble lineage (in this, he's three steps behind the audience). The Beggar Student is highlighted by the dancing of the Kessler Twins, a shapely duo then enjoying a vogue of popularity on American TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tomi Streiff directs this screwball road movie about a guy, a girl, and a cow. Country bumpkin Ela Thier (Isabella Parkinson) is a librarian journeying off for a new job in a remote German village. A trusting soul, she gets bilked out of all her money by a sleazy con man and is forced to hitchhike. She is lucky enough to be picked up by burly plumber Tim (Oliver Reinhard), who is driving his truck back to his black forest burg. He is set to get hitched in a couple of days -- his wedding gift, the titular bovine, is in the hauling bay -- and he is beginning to have second thoughts. With the appearance of Ela, Tim starts having third and fourth thoughts about his impending nuptials. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Germany (where it was released in 1954), Republic's Magic Fire is the life story of controversial 19th century composer Richard Wagner. Alan Badel comes off more as villain than hero as Wagner, which though historically accurate makes it hard for the audience to pull for the central character. Wagner's bizarre relationship with Ludwig II (Gerhard Riedmann), the "mad king" of Bavaria, is downplayed, while the composer's vitriolic anti-semitism is ignored altogther. The women in Wagner's life are played by Yvonne de Carlo, Valentine Cortese and Rita Gam, while Carlos Thompson does the "best friend/severist critic" bit as fellow composer Franz Liszt. Dramatically uneven, Magic Fire is rescued by Erich Wolfgang Korngold's orchestrations of Wagner's most famous operatic and symphonic works. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1955 drama was based - like Istvan Szabo's masterful Colonel Redl (1985) - on the life story of Alfred Redl, a Ukrainian man who worked his way up through the hierarchy of the Austrian army in the early 20th century, while concealing his own homosexuality. In time, when others learn of his gayness, Redl is blackmailed by the Russians into taking counter-espionage maneuvers against the Austrians, and is ultimately forced to commit suicide. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Literally translated as Flight into the Reeds, Flucht ins Schilf was released in England and the U.S. as Brutality. The film is a surprisingly neorealist exercise from the Austrian film industry, which in the early 1950s tended to specialize in escapist operettas. Location-filmed in a bizarre reed jungle on the Austro-Hungarian border, the film is populated with Swamp Water-type Slavic eccentrics who seem cut off from civilization. The main character is Alexander Riss (Alexander Kerszt), a constable who tries to learn the reasons behind the brutal killing of a local youth. Riss' girlfriend Elizabeth (Ilka Windisch, in her first major role) can provide an alibi for one of the accused, but her words will mean lasting unhappiness for the people the audience cares about. The last few reels are a maelstrom of flashbacks which either clear or exonerate suspects (these scenes are rather confusing in the heavily re-edited American version). Cheaply produced, and enacted mostly by local amateurs, Flucht ins Schilf has its own raw power. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide