Willy Birgel Movies
- 1968
This erotic and violent story begins with a Nazi official celebrating his birthday in a small town. He freely espouses the virtues of the youth of Germany while one such young man seduces his daughter in the next room. Another youth notifies the Nazi, who witnesses the debauchery. Both the young man and the friend who told on him are thrown in jail at the order of the irate father. The two young men escape and go on a crime spree, leaving a hail of bullets and bodies in their wake. Their rendezvous with a girl named Monika proves to be ill-fated as the girl has tipped off their location to the police. William Berger and Helmut Foernbacher star as the gullible gun toters in this bloody but breezy action drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Berger, Helmut Foernbacher, (more)
- 1966
Two boyhood friends from different backgrounds reflect back on their childhood growing up during World War II. Both are nearly 30 years old and share a common mistrust of the older generation and their traditional expectations. One is from a wealthy family, while his friend has had to work all his life and now is a successful journalist. The two friends comment that they feel like foxes who look for the opportunity to escape. The wealthy man sees no alternative other than to move to Australia and start a new life. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helmut Foernbacher, Christian Doermer, (more)
- 1963
In this French drama, set upon the Riviera, a widow works a jewel thief on the side. She keeps this up until she meets a handsome gent. She soon cleans up her act. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Mrs. Cheney (Lilli Palmer) is a genteel widow whose outward appearances hide her involvement as a thief. With the help of her faithful butler, she steals diamonds from a wealthy matron. When she falls in love with a handsome international playboy, her thoughts quickly change from larceny to love in this light comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lilli Palmer, Carlos Thompson, (more)
- 1960
The focus of this standard drama is a group of singing boys from Vienna and a vacation they take in Hinterbiechle in the East Tyrolean Alps. The boys' teacher Mario Pucci (Teddy Reno) has a romance going with the lovely Hanna (Loni Friedl), which is challenging enough to keep him busy. One of the boys, Michael (Michael Ande) has his own challenge when he is accused of being a thief, though fortune smiles on him when evidence comes up to the contrary. The singing and the various subplots are set against the spectacular Alps and are enhanced by a good musical score. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willy Birgel, Ellen Schwiers, (more)
- 1959
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
- 1956
This German production tells the story of a man and his son that are after the same woman. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1955
This follow up to Heidi tells of her adventures with Peter and a flood that threatens their village. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heinrich Gretler, Elsbeth Sigmund, (more)
- 1954
Rittmeister Wronski (Cavalry Captain Wronski) features Willy Birgel in the title role. Set in the mid-1930s, the story finds Wronski spying on the Nazis on behalf of the nervous Polish government. This he does by romancing the birdbrained secretaries of the German officials. His downfall comes when he falls in love with one of the smarter girls (Elizabeth Flickenschidt). To save himself from the firing squad, Wronski agrees to work for the Germans by spying on Poland. By fadeout time, the disgrace becomes too much for Wronski to bear, and thus he does the "honorable thing." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willy Birgel, Elisabeth Flickenschildt, (more)
- 1952
Unlike previous adaptations of the Johanna Spyri children's classic, this 1952 English-language version of Heidi was lensed on location in Switzerland. Elsbeth Sigmund plays the title character, who endures all sorts of hardships and setbacks before finding happiness in the form of her ex-curmudgeon grandfather (top-billed Heinrich Gretler). Isa Gunther co-stars as the crippled girl whom Heidi befriends; with her twin sister, Guenther had previously starred in the successful German farce Two Times Lotte(1950), which served as the inspiration for the 1961 Disney film The Parent Trap. Thanks to the built-in popularity of the Spyri original, Heidi managed good international booking even before it was finished. The film was the fourth effort by Praesens Productions, which had previously struck box-office gold with Four in a Jeep(1951). It was directed by Italy's Luigi Comencini, a specialist in films featuring wise-beyond-their-years children. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heinrich Gretler, Elsbeth Sigmund, (more)
