Olga Tschechowa Movies
The "Grande Dame of German Film," blonde, dignified Olga Tschechowa (born Von Knipper) hailed from a family of painters, singers, and authors that included the famed Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, her uncle. A student of Konstantin Stanislavski, she was briefly married to her cousin, the actor Michael Chekhov, but her ambitions were not fulfilled until after escaping the Bolshevik revolution in favor of Berlin. Discovered by Ufa boss Eric Pommer, Tschechowa became a major international star in F.W. Murnau's Haunted Castle (1921; aka Schloss Vogelöd) and only cemented her status in the incredibly popular Die Drei von der Tankstelle (The Three From the Gas Station; 1930). The following year she did the German-language version of Malcolm St. Clair's The Boudoir Diplomat in Hollywood but preferred to work in Europe. Max Ophüls' early masterpiece Liebelei (1933), for which she earned the best reviews of her long career, was made shortly before the Nazis took over control of the German film industry and nothing would ever be the same again. Although apolitical and quite publicly expressing her fondness for American-style comedies and musicals, Tschechowa could not escape appearing in several of the so-called "Friedrich-Filme," heavy-handed sturm-und-drang melodramas glorifying 18th century Prussian ruler Frederick the Great and much beloved by the political hierarchy. She survived such less-than-savory screen assignments and the inevitable fall of the Third Reich and remained successful through the immediate postwar era -- where she augmented her fortune by establishing a cosmetic empire -- retiring solely "because I didn't want to spoil the illusion of all those people who admired me." A chance to work with her famous niece Vera Tschechowa led to an appearance in the 1971 television series Duell zu Dritt (Duel for Three) and renewed popularity with a postwar generation for whom she had become little more than a dim memory. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1964
Senta Berger plays retail clerk Jenny who falls for painter Jack (Brett Halsey). Between their quarrels and reconciliations, however, Jenny marries a wealthy businessman but eventually divorces him when the two go their own ways. It isn't until after a second marriage to a divorced playboy, that Jenny realizes her deep love for Jack. This unsuccessful comedy from director Victor Vicas was based on the novel Early to Bed by Anne Piper. Russian-American Vicas directed several features in Germany during the early '60s, though only a couple decades before, he had escaped from a German POW camp. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brett Halsey, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1958
This WW II drama chronicles the adventures of a German U-boat commander who launches a successful attack on a battleship in a Scottish bay and becomes a hero. Unfortunately, the British fight back and sink his submarine. The hero is then captured by the English. Their ship is then sunk by a different German U-boat which is in turn sunk by a British bomber. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
This delightful presentation is a variation of the "Ugly Duckling" theme. The wallflower and the actor both decide to change their lives in this German film. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1938
Hans H. Zerlett was pretty near the whole show in the German Es Leuchten die Sterne (The Stars are Shining): producer, director, screenwriter. Zerlett, however, was not the star, that honor went to German musical-comedy star La Jana. What story there is concerns a pretty movie extra who is mistaken for a famous dancer, requiring her to head the cast of a star-studded musical revue. Among the guest performers in this glorified vaudeville show are tap-dance king Paal Roschberg and former heavyweight boxing champ Max Schmeling. Incidentally, the "Paul Verhoven" providing comedy relief is not the same-named contemporary director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1937
According to the English-language translation of the film's title, "The Ways of Love are Strange." Presumably this proverb refers to Captain Costali (Carl Ludwig Diehl) and the beautiful Antonia Delvarez (Olga Tschechowa). After a revolution in a South American banana republic, Costali is condemned to death, forcing him to take refuge in the home of his sweetheart Antonia. Posing as the family butler, Costali is safe until he is betrayed by the chauffeur of police-chief Montefranca (Edwin Jurgensen). Arriving at Antonia's home ostensibly to arrest Costali, Montefranca proves to be an ally of the Captain, determined to join forces with him to organize a counter-revolution. So what does all this have to do with the ways of love being strange?? Well? -- if Montefranca hadn't suspected that Costali was hiding in Antonia's home, the whole story, and its twist ending, might never have taken place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Ludwig Diehl, Olga Tschechowa, (more)
- 1937
Filmed in German by a Swiss production firm, The Eternal Mask (Die Ewige Maske) was adapted by Leo Lapaire from his own novel. Mathias Weimann plays an idealistic doctor who believes he has discovered a cure for meningitis. Ordered not to experiment with this serum, Weimann does so anyway, utilizing the supposed wonder drug on a terminal patient. When the man dies, Weimann is reprimanded by his superiors, and wanders out of the hospital, believing himself a failure. His depression deepens into delirium, and soon the doctor is wandering through a Caligariesque world of distorted shapes and distended shadows, where he finds it impossible to separate illusion from reality. Meanwhile, Weimann's superiors determine that the meningitis serum is indeed effective; now they must snap the doctor out of his nightmare in order for him to reveal the formula. One of the very few successful attempts to convey madness on screen, The Eternal Mask has been surprisingly overlooked by many otherwise thorough reference books on horror films. Perhaps some scholars have been put off by the lethargic pace of the film, which seems to go on far longer than its 74 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Petersen, Mathias Wiemann, (more)
- 1937
This all-too-typical Austrian operetta combines elements from several previous musical successes. The heroine, played by Gusti Huber, is the adopted daughter of wealthy widow Sylvia von Polonska (Olga Tshechowa). The latter is in love with much-younger cabdriver (with a college degree) Dr. Hartenegg (Wolf-Albach Retty), but he rather prefers the daughter. After a cluster of complications, true love prevails and the widow philosophically moves on to other sexual conquests. Leo Slezak, the opera-star father of Walter Slezak, steals the show as the cab driver's wheeler-dealer best buddy. And just in case there was any doubt, the title translates as Waltz Around the Stefanstower. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olga Tschechowa, Gusti Huber, (more)
- 1936
The title of the German domestic drama translates as His Daughter is Peter, which makes sense only in context. Female child-star Trudi Stark plays the son of a divorced couple, who ends up in the custody of her remarried father. It's all due to the selfishness of Stark's mother, Olga Tschechova, who characterizes herself as "the woman whom no man can understand." Her inscrutability not only loses Tschechova her child, but also any hopes of future happiness. Much of the film is gorgeously location-photographed in the winter resort community of Kitzbuehl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Ludwig Diehl, Olga Tschechowa, (more)
