Paul Biensfeldt Movies
- 1932
The title translates as A Tremendously Rich Man, which indeed describes the financial condition of hero Curt Bois. Actually, all of Bois' assets are in his stomach: a jeweller's assistant, he has accidentally swallowed a valuable diamond. All sorts of misadventures befall the poor fellow until it is discovered that he hasn't ingested the gem at all, but instead a piece of rock candy. Leading man Curt Bois later emigrated to Hollywood where he appeared in dozens of small movie roles, most memorably the pickpocket in Casablanca. His career extended well into the 1980s, when he made his final film appearance in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curt Bois, Dolly Haas, (more)
- 1932
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Richter, Ellen Richter, (more)
- 1932
Sincere but klutzy bank employee Ernest Dumcke is in love with the wealthy and beautiful Maria Meisner. When Meisner and her father head off to a summer resort, Dumcke worshipfully follows after them. Unable to convince the father that he'd be a worthy son-in-law, our hero gets his chance when he finds out that a rich American with whom the father hopes to go into business is actually a penniless swindler. Dumcke pretends to befriend the fraudulent millionaire, then exposes him as a phony at just the right psychological moment. The music for Mein Freund der Millionaer was provided by Hans J. Salter, later a mainstay of Universal Pictures, where he wrote the unforgettable background score for Son of Frankenstein (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hermann Thimig, Maria Meissner, (more)
- 1931
Student Sein (To be a Student) once again musically paints a picture of campus life that has precisely no connection with reality. The students of Wurzberg University spend most of their time singing, drinking and flirting mit der pretty frauleins. Things take a serious turn when the BMOC hero (Franz Baumann), the son of a wealthy man, falls in love with a poor girl. Separated by their stations in life, the boy and girl finally come together when the hero's bankrupt father commits suicide, putting him on the same economic level as the heroine. Though Franz Baumann was far too old to convince as an undergrad, his singing could not be faulted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fritz Alberti
- 1930
More formerly known as Das Floetenkonzert von Sanssouci, this German historical drama is set during the reign of Prussia's Frederick the Great (here played by Otto Gebuehr, who made a career out of the role). Forced against his will to go back to war by his enemies, the King stirs up the patriotism of his countrymen by staging the titular flute concert. At one point, Frederick rails against the iniquities of "peace treaties," an obvious -- and anachronistic -- swipe at the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. This propagandistic sidebar is quite surprising in a pre-Third Reich German film but should not be constituted as being pro-Nazi (indeed, director Gustav Uelcky was forced to flee Europe when Hitler came to power). Still, it cannot be denied that Floetenkonzert is a glorification of war and warfare, no matter how prettily it was put together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Gebuhr, Renate Mueller, (more)
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler is the eight-reel version of Fritz Lang's twenty reeler, two-part silent thriller, Dr. Mabuse. Mabuse (Rudolph Klein-Rogge) a sinister mesmerist/psychiatrist, toys with the weaknesses of the rich and influential. He worms his way into the confidence of wealthy men, plays cards with them, hypnotizes them into cheating at their businesses, then puts them in a position to be blackmailed so that he can corner the stock market. A devilishly ingenious plan-but Mabuse is up against the plodding, methodical police detective Wrenk, whose subconscious is not so easily swayed...at least, not at first. In 1932, Lang directed a talkie sequel to Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede Nissen, (more)
- 1922
While he was working in his native Germany, Ernst Lubitsch directed a number of historical pictures -- although this one is not that well-known today, it was one of the most spectacular. Emil Jannings stars in the title role of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Samlak, the king of the Ethiopians (Paul Wegener) plans to give his daughter Makeda (Lyda Salmonova) in marriage to Pharoah Amenes (Jannings), thus joining the two countries in friendly relations. However, the Pharaoh has fallen in love with Theonis, a slave girl (Dagny Servaes), who has run away from Samlak with the help of Ramphis (Harry Liedtke), the son of Egypt's main architect (Albert Bassermann). The Pharoah separates Theonis from Ramphis and forces her to marry him. Because of the rejection of their princess the Ethiopians declare war on Egypt. But Theonis does not love the Pharoah and he locks her away. Ramphis finds her, then when the Pharoah has been wounded in battle, he leads the Egyptians to victory. Ramphis now becomes ruler of Egypt and he takes Theonis as his bride. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emil Jannings, Harry Liedtke, (more)
One Arabian Night is the inadequate American title bestowed upon director Ernst Lubitsch's brilliant German drama Sumurun. In what turned out to be his last on-camera appearance (he was a former slapstick comedian), Lubitsch stars as Yeggar, a hunchbacked clown who works with a travelling carnival. Arab sheik Paul Wegener demands that the troupe's dancing girl Pola Negri be sequestered in his harem. Yeggar faithfully follows along, and is a horrified witness as Wegener kills Negri for presumed unfaithfulness. The wizened clown vows revenge on the wicked Sheik. Inspired by the popular stage pantomime "The Arabian Nights", Sumurun is the film that encouraged Hollywood to invite Lubitsch into its fold-whereupon the director abandoned melodrama for good and all and concentrated instead on elegant sex comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pola Negri, Ernst Lubitsch, (more)
Fritz Lang was a stickler for realism in his American films; not so his German silents, which were fanciful to the point of being fairy tales. Der Müde Tod, Lang's first big critical success, is an allegorical tale of love, fidelity and death. The heroine (Lil Dagover), who in her dreams is confronted by Mr. Death, argues for the life of her beloved, but is unable to make the personal sacrifices that Death insists upon. Originally presented in three parts, Der Müde Tod was often boiled down to a single film for its non-German showings. Its English-language titles range from The Weary Death to Between Two Worlds to Beyond the Wall to Destiny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen, (more)
- 1921
A father-son conflict set against the tumultuous background of the First World War lies at the center of this high-class soap opera. S.I. Rupp (Emil Jannings) is a former butcher who has been elevated to the pinnacle of success in postwar Europe, by virtue of having made a few correct decisions about business during the recently ended world war. Now he is one of the wealthiest men on the continent, and beloved of the press and public for his charitable work, his beef company feeding thousands every day who would otherwise starve; and he has in his employ, at his beck-and-call, numerous members of the former aristocracy, reduced to penury by the dissolution of countries and governments. Rupp is a decent man but also a crude man, given to acting on his impulses, and like many a self-made man he also has a tendency to brook no contradiction or interference when he thinks he's right, which is most of the time. The one person in the world whom he loves and respects is his son, Fred (Hermann Thimig), by his first marriage, who, among his other attributes, is a champion-level racing-car driver. Rupp's personal life explodes, however, when he agrees to marry a beautiful former aristocrat; through a misunderstanding, Rupp thinks his son is also interested in his bride-to-be, and father and son end up estranged, just when Rupp's enemies and rivals are preparing to destroy him and his empire. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emil Jannings
- 1919
Before he became world-famous for his sophisticated sex farces, Ernst Lubitsch was primarily a director of outsized German "spectaculars." One such was Madame Du Barry, an operatic version of the life, loves and death of the legendary 18th-century French courtesan. Pola Negri plays DuBarry, who sleeps her way to the court of King Louis XV (Emil Jannings), ultimately becoming his mistress. Comes the revolution, and the rabble demands DuBarry's head. This gives Negri plenty of opportunity for strenuous histrionics as she's led to the guillotine. Small wonder that this film was retitled Passion for its American release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emil Jannings
- 1919
O-Take-San (Lil Dagover) is a beautiful young woman pursued by an evil Buddhist monk (Georg John) who wants to make her one of his many geishas. She has an affair with the Danish officer Niels Prien (Olaf J. Anderson) who leaves her alone and pregnant. O-Take-San considers ritualistic suicide when she is abandoned in this tragic melodrama directed by Fritz Lang. A nitrate print of the 1919 silent classic was found in the Dutch Film Museum and restored in 1988. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lil Dagover, Paul Biensfeldt, (more)
- 1918
World-renowned European actress Marguerite Sylva joined the legions of top female personalities who played Merimee's tragic gypsy heroine Carmen on the silver screen in the pre-1920 era. Less star-driven than the recent American versions of Carmen, this Italian production concentrates primarily on the intrigues of the storyline. Curiously, while the hot-and-heavy love scenes between Carmen and Don Jose were left intact in the American prints, Escamillo's bullfighting scenes were extensively trimmed, presumably because of their blood-and-gore content. Critics were duly impressed by Sylva's bravura performance in the title role and were especially bowled over by her death scene. Unfortunately, the film's impact was lessened by the English-language subtitles, which seemed to have been written by someone who had never seen a production of Carmen before. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
