Helmut Schmidt Movies

Helmut Schmidt, former Bundeskanzler, hosts this look at the history of Hansestadt Hamburg. German language only. ~ All Movie Guide

A combined force of Italian and American commandos are ordered to attack and take over an air base in North Africa with only two days to do it. The Italian film, dubbed into English, is also known as Sullivan's Marauders. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In this 1971 documentary travelog, Andre de la Varre films his travels to 11 countries visited in the span of 21 days. Among the highlights are Stonehenge in England, the walls of Dubrovnik in Yugoslavia, and the canals of Bruges in Belgium. Some of the events covered are the Oktoberfest in Munich and a Dior fashion show in Paris. The musical score by Helmut Schmidt backs this image-packed film very effectively. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

When the Nazis invade Prague, they sweep though the Jewish quarter to round up the "undesirables" in this compelling World War Il drama. Bozena (Jana Brejchova) is a young Czech girl who joins the resistance movement after witnessing Nazi atrocities. Soon she falls in love, but the Gestapo is on the trail of the members of the underground fighting against the Germans. When the film was rejected by the committee of the Cannes Film Festival in 1965, the public uproar in Germany caused even more people to see the film. This was not the only questionable rejection by the Cannes committee, as Satyajit Ray's drama Charulata was also inexplicably excluded that same year. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A successful gamble nets $5,000 and a portion of a cattle ranch, but self defense leads to the death of the previous owner by the gambler. ~ All Movie Guide

This ever-popular light comedy by Axel von Ambesser was preceded by two other cinematic versions of the same tale, a story about two twins who live in the countryside and are quite opposite in their appeal. Liesel (Liselotte Pulver, who plays both twins) is attractive, smart, and captivating while Susi is not. Obviously, since these are identical twins it is Susi's own predilections that have a negative effect on her appearance. When the first serious, handsome young man shows up on their doorstop and falls for Liesel it would seem that marriage is imminent. Yet the daughters have to bide by their mother's will -- Susi, the least attractive, must marry first. The suitor figures, why not? He can marry her temporarily and then change his mind -- that sounds easy enough. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Evil genius Dr. Mabuse hypnotizes the director of an insane asylum in this remake of Fritz Lang's 1933 cinematic landmark. Noted German actor Wolfgang Preiss stars. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This effective crime caper involves an attempted robbery of no one less than the U.S. Army, a heist which has its beginnings when Turpin (Stanley Baker) is drummed out of the service for his black-market activities. Apparently chaffing at this unjust treatment and also fueled by greed, Turpin enlists two cohorts -- Swavek and Fenner (Helmut Schmid and Tom Bell) to help him carry out his revenge. After much rehearsal of his plan, the three put on uniforms and walk into an army camp just before the troops are mustered out to the Middle East during a crisis over the Suez Canal. The trio's intention is to rob the payroll ($700,000), stash the cash in a spare tire, and drive out of there. That is the plan, but the reality turns out quite different, after one of the three gets a reaction to a vaccination and another is called up for KP duty ("kitchen police"). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In his last starring film (it was supposed to be his last film, but Ragtime came along in 1981), James Cagney plays Coca-Cola executive C.R. MacNamara. Assigned to manage Coke's West Berlin office, MacNamara dreams of being transferred to London, and to do this he must curry favor with his Atlanta-based boss, Hazeltine (Howard St. John). Thus, MacNamara agrees to look after Hazeltine's dizzy, impulsive daughter, Scarlett (Pamela Tiffin), during her visit to Germany. Weeks pass, and on the eve of Hazeltine's visit to West Berlin, Scarlett announces that she's gotten married. Even worse, her husband is a hygienically challenged East Berlin Communist named Otto Piffl (Horst Buchholz). The crafty MacNamara arranges for Piffl to be arrested by the East Berlin police and to have the marriage annulled, only to discover that Scarlett is pregnant. In rapid-fire "one, two, three" fashion, MacNamara must arrange for Piffl to be released by the Communists and successfully pass off the scrungy, doggedly anti-capitalist Piffl as an acceptable husband for Scarlett. MacNamara must accomplish this in less than 12 hours, all the while trying to mollify his wife (Arlene Francis), who has learned of his affair with busty secretary Ingeborg (Lilo Pulver).

Seldom pausing for breath, Billy Wilder's film is a crackling, mile-a-minute farce, taking satiric scattershots at Coca-Cola, the Cold War (the film is set in the months just before the erection of the Berlin Wall), Russian red tape, Communist and capitalist hypocrisy, Southern bigotry, the German "war guilt," rock music, and even Cagney's own movie image. Not all the gags are in the best of taste, and most of the one-liners have dated rather badly, but Cagney's mesmerizing performance holds the whole affair together. Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond adapted their screenplay from an obscure play by Ferenc Molnár. Watch for Red Buttons in an unbilled cameo as a military policeman, and listen for the voice of Sig Rumann, emanating from the mouth of actor Hubert Von Meyerinck (the Count von Droste-Schattenburg). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A new space project benefits when a veterinarian volunteers his talented dog. ~ All Movie Guide

A horror film of dubious taste, a least for the early '60s when it was released, this Gothic tale about transplanted heads comes from Germany and is directed by Victor Trivas. Prof. Abel (Michel Simon) has invented the miraculous "Serum X," and with it he successfully keeps a dog's head alive after the rest of the canine is quite dead. When the able Prof. Abel dies, his assistant, the odd Dr. Ood (Horst Frank), keeps Abel's head around -- but not for old times' sake. Dr. Ood is in love with a hunchbacked nurse (Karin Kernke) and he wants Abel's head to help him out with a novel transplant operation. Dr. Ood wants to take the body of a stripper (Christiane Maybach), snip off her head, and put the nurse's head in its place. Unfortunately, nothing goes exactly as he plans. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this routine, slow-paced circus thriller, Bimbo (Claus Holm) is an elephant trainer and a high-wire artist who suffers the tragic death of his wife Marianne (Marina Orachel) in an apparent accident. As time goes by, he rightfully becomes suspicious that the "accident" was anything but, and he starts to look for her killer. Meanwhile, the circus acts continue to entertain, while Bimbo eventually gets a confession out of the guilty party, made slightly more suspenseful because a big-top fire is starting to kindle at the same time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide