Adele Sandrock Movies
- 1938
Eva is a German "inventory" musical, stitching together several popular Franz Lehar tunes into a coherent storyline. Playboy Georg (Hans Sohnker) is ordered to take charge of one of his family's porcelain factories. Reasoning that the workers might be intimidated by his presence, George assumes a false name and takes a job as a humble assembly-line worker. While in this guise, he falls in love with beautiful co-worker Eva (Magda Schneider, the mother of 1960s leading lady Romy Schneider). Anyone who's ever seen a musical before will be able to guess the outcome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Magda Schneider, Hans Söhnker, (more)
- 1937
Per its title, the plotline of this film is motivated by a counterfeit $50 bill. The funny money is passed to shopgirl Christa (Lucie Englisch), who, fearful of being arrested, hides it in a baby's piggy bank at her home. In dire need of money, Christa's sister "robs" the bank and puts the bill into circulation. Eventually, the faux banknote falls into the hands of Frau Lehmann (Kathe Haack), the mother of a banker (Theo Lindgren); the banker just happens to be in love with Christa. The plot alone is enough to induce chuckles, but the producers of Ein Falscher Fuffzinger felt the need to truckle to the lowest common denominator by throwing in a whole bunch of gratuitous slapstick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theo Lingen, Kaethe Haack, (more)
- 1936
Flitterwochen (Honeymoon) is based on The Dangerous Ingeborg, a comic novel by Else von Steinkeller. It all begins when spoiled newlywed Anny Ondra insists upon bringing her huge pet dog along on her honeymoon. Finally, her husband Han Sohker can stand no more; he plants a firm but gentle slap on her cheek and storms out of the bridal chamber. Heading home herself to lick her wounds, the bored Ondra talks her waitress friend into finding her a job at a fancy mountain resort. The laughs begin piling up when our heroine is forced to wait on her own husband. Much of the action takes place during a real-life winter carnival, which in its own way is more interesting than the plotline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anny Ondra, Hans Söhnker, (more)
- 1936
Ein Walzer Fuer Dich (A Waltz For You) once again combines the talents of singer Louis Graveure and the ethereally beautiful Camilla Horn. Graveure plays Antonio, a prince-in-exile who gains success as a tenor on the concert stage. Comes the revolution, and Antonio returns to the throne, marrying the equally musical Princess Stefanie (Horn), whose regime has been overthrown. Much to the surprise of their subjects, Antonio and Stefanie both give up their royal raiments to resume their singing careers! Ein Walzer Fuer Dich is so typical of its genre that it borders on self-parody. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Camilla Horn, Heinz Rühmann, (more)
- 1936
Several of Germany and Austria's most popular screen personalities, including Magda Schneider, Leo Slezak and Georg Alexander, are teamed up in the tuneful Rendezvous in Wien (Rendezvous in Vienna). Wolf Albach-Retty plays Franz Lenhardt, a talented but impoverished composer. In love with true-blue Gusti (Schneider), Franz would like to support her in the manner to which she is accustomed, but he can't seem to make a sale. Putting their heads together, Gusti and her all-wise aunt Hofrat (Adele Sandrock) pull a few strings to ensure Franz' ultimate success. Some chucklesome moments are provided by Slezak as a self-important singer and Alexander as a libidinous music publisher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adele Sandrock, Leo Slezak, (more)
- 1936
I Am Longing for You is the English-language title of this lugubrious German musical drama. Real-life concert singer Louis Grauvere stars as famed tenor Fritz Brockman. At the height of his success, Fritz leaves wife Katahrina (Adele Sandrock) in favor of a younger bride, Yvonne (Camilla Horn). Quickly tiring of married life, Yvonne eventually breaks Fritz's heart -- but the show must go on! In addition to Grauvere's splendid vocalizations, there are a couple of lively dance solos by Mary Tamara, cast as a mousy secretary with a great set of stems. The American release print of Ich Sehne Mich Nach Die is rather choppily edited, suggesting that originally there was more to this than meets the eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adele Sandrock, Camilla Horn, (more)
- 1936
The titular "fugitive from Chicago" is Michael Nissen (Gustav Froelich), who arrives in Germany to take charge of an automobile-manufacturing plant. Nissen, however, is operating under false pretenses: he's posing as the genuine auto heir, who's been detained in the Windy City on a murder charge. Despite his utter lack of knowledge of the motorcar business, Nissen manages to carry the day with several moneymaking schemes, proving as worthy of his position as the man he's impersonating. Popular German leading lady Lil Dagover is surprisingly wasted in a minor role. Der Fluehctling Aus Chicago is pure escapism, with no reference whatever to the current Nazi regime in Germany (but with plenty of barbed comments about Chicago gangsterism!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gustav Froehlich, Hubert Von Meyerinck, (more)
- 1935
Der Stoerfried (The Troublemaker) was adapted from a popular turn-of-the-century German stage play. The title character, played by Adele Sandrock, is the gorgonlike mother-in-law of hapless hero George Alexander. Moving in on her daughter and son-in-law, Sandrock quickly makes a shambles of the household, stirring up dissention, aggravation and misunderstanding. Saving the day is Alexander's father Paul Henckel, who offers a logical but mirth-provoking solution to the dilemma. The material is rather obvious stuff, but Adele Sandrock commendably avoids the usual clichés in her well-rounded performance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Georg Alexander, Paul Henckels, (more)
- 1934
This Hungarian musical comedy (English title: Spring Parade) was produced by Joseph Pasternak, who later remade the picture in Hollywood as a Deanna Durbin vehicle. The original 1934 version stars Franciska Gaal as a Hungarian serving girl who heads to Vienna to visit a relative. Stopping over at an outdoor carnival, Gaal is told by a fortune teller that she will enjoy a happy marriage with a handsome and wealthy stranger. Later on, she finds herself at a fancy dress ball, where a good-looking aristocrat, assuming that our heroine is a countess masquerading as a peasant, falls in love with her. Delighted that the fortune-teller's prophecy seems to be coming true, Gaal finds herself in a dilemma when she falls in love with poverty-stricken soldier Wolf Albach Retty. But things turn out OK when Retty, the regimental drummer, composes a hit song which brings him fame and fortune, thereby neatly fulfilling that prophecy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franziska Gaal, Tibor von Halmay, (more)
- 1933
This German language film illustrates the worship of military endeavor which was to become a staple of the Hitler regime. It centers around life on a German submarine in WWI. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolf Forster, Adele Sandrock, (more)
- 1932
The "terror of the garrison" referred to in the title is diffident Army private Felix Bressart, who simply can't follow the curriculum of the military with discipline. Somehow, Bressart's inability to follow orders makes him extremely popular with his superior officers -- and if one can believe that, the rest of the story will be easier to swallow. In love with Lucie Englische, owner of a small photo gallery, Bressart proves his devotion by presenting her with a basket of fruit, which he's stolen from the garden of royal princess Tamara Desni. As it turns out, this theft somehow patches up Desni's relationship with her own sweetheart, thus Bressart is freed from jail, presumably to continue breaking all the rules and getting away with it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Felix Bressart, Adele Sandrock, (more)
- 1932
Writer Emeric Pressburger is best known for his 1940s British film collaborations with producer/director Michael Powell. In a previous life, however, Pressburger toiled away in the German film industry. Beautiful Adventure was adapted by Pressburger and director Reinhold Schuenzel from a French stage play by Etienne Rey and Robert DeFlers. Ida Wuest stars as a lovely fraulein engaged to a corpulent man of wealth. She runs off on the day of her wedding with the man she really loves, sparking a merry chase throughout Europe. This was the sort of frothily foolish fare that German film fans ate up both before and after the advent of Hitler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Abel, Kurt Vespermann, (more)
- 1932
The full title of this German musical was Ich Will Nicht Wissen Wer Du Bist, which translates as I Care Not What You Are. Gustav Froelich stars as Bobby, an impoverished baron who takes a job as a chauffeur. Alice (Liane Haid), the niece of Bobby's employer, falls in love with the handsome car jockey, but Uncle will have none of it; he insists that Alice marry someone on her same social level. Amused by the situation, Bobby doesn't reveal his true identity until he is certain that Alice loves him for himself and not his lineage. Originally running 95 minutes, Ich Will Nicht Wissen was cut by a full reel before its American premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liane Haid, Gustav Fröhlich, (more)
- 1932
Telegraph operator Hans Albers wins a fortune at the racetrack, immediately shooting his wad on a new wardrobe. It is Albers' hope to impress Kaethe Von Nagy, the daughter of a wealthy American banker. Even when he's lost all his money, our hero contrives to stay near the girl by hiring himself out as a gigolo in the hotel where she is staying. He ends up back where he started, manning the telegraph board -- and in this capacity he wins the girl by saving her father from financial ruin. Is it any surprise that the film's title translates as The Winner? (Incidentally, the film was ultimately released as Liebe ist Liebe). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Albers, Kaethe von Nagy, (more)
- 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
No Ceremony With a Mayor is the English-language title of this provincial German farce. Siegfried Arno is typecast as Siegmund Meyer, the owner of a combination marriage bureau and divorce service. Hoping to impress his future father-in-law, Siegmund adopts the pose of a millionaire. Meanwhile, he nearly loses his sweetheart by inadvertently matching her up with his best friend. All of this sounds a lot like Bachelor Bait, a Stu Erwin comedy filmed in 1934 by RKO Radio. Chances are, however, that neither RKO nor director George Stevens were aware of the existence of Kein Feier Ohne Meier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sig Arno, Ralph Arthur Roberts, (more)
- 1932
Ein Toller Einfall (A 'Phantastic' Idea) features comic actor Max Adelbert as a "poor rich man," who in spite of his magnificent mansion and priceless possessions hasn't a penny in the bank. Heading to England to negotiate the sale of his mansion, he leaves the place in the care of his nephew Willy Fritsch. In Adelbert's absence, Fritsh transforms the mansion into a hotel, packing in the customers with an elaborate floor show. Naturally, this helps to put Adelbert back on his feet, leading inexorably to a happy ending. Dorothea Wieck and Ellen Schwanecke, previously teamed in the controversial Maedchen in Uniform, portray entirely different characters in Ein Toller Einfall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willy Fritsch, Jacob Tiedtke, (more)
- 1931
Die Schwebende Jungfrau (The Gliding Virgin) is based on the venerable stage comedy by Arnold and Bach. The humor is predicated on the deflation of dignity and pomposity, as the most moralistic characters are shown to be the ones who will succumb the soonest to temptation. Virtue triumphs at the end, but only after Vice has had a roaring good time. Among the talented farceurs participating in the festivities is Szoeke Szakall, who went on to Hollywood fame as S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall. To judge by the scathing reviews, no one liked Die Schwebende Jungfrau but the public. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Szoke Szakall, Fritz Schulz, (more)
- 1931
Seitensprunge (Dodging) stars Oskar Sims and Gerda Maurus as a married couple accustomed to taking each other for granted. Thus, when both husband and wife find romance outside their marriage, it's a shock to everyone -- especially them. Sims and Maurus break up to elope with their respective lovers, only to be thrown together again when they show up at the justice of the peace. Realizing what fools they've been, hero and heroine now realize that they're more in love than ever. The lever of humor of Seitensprunge is brought down a few levels by leading lady Gerda Maurus, an actress better suited to the heavy-breathing melodramas of director Fritz Lang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oska Sima, Gerda Maurus, (more)
- 1931
Die Koenigen einer Nacht was based on a novel by Alfred Machard. The title translates as Queen of a Night, which is the lofty status thrust upon heroine Friedl Haerlin. Despite the fact that she is not in the least bit queenly, Haerlin manages to convince her fans that she is indeed a beautiful regent, forced into a marriage of convenience which unexpectedly blossoms into love. That superlative singer Walter Janssen shows up in a supporting role designed to allow him full scope to display his remarkable vocal skills. The best acting performance in Die Koenigen einer Nacht is rendered by Carl Ludwig Diehl as the queen's adjutant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Friedl Haerlin, Adele Sandrock, (more)
