Helen Vita Movies

In this standard, stereotypical, youth-oriented film, Mona (Claudia Demarmels) has just received the awful news that she has to move out of her apartment because her landlady plans on turning it over to her son -- and so the impossible quest for an affordable place begins. As Mona goes from door to door looking for her ideal new home, she encounters one adventure after another -- and unconsciously or not, seems headed toward a knight in shining armor and another good apartment all in one package. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Things run steadily downhill for Maxmilian (Towje Kleiner), a divorced journalist who is trying to sell a novel he has written. On the very day his divorce is finalized, he meets a divorced woman and begins an affair with her. At the same time he learns that he is about to be fired from his newspaper job, he discovers that the one publisher expressing interest in his novel wants him to write some sex scenes for it. Meanwhile, his new girlfriend has moved into his two-room apartment with all her furniture, practically crowding them out of it, and she is urging him to move to the countryside with her. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Angela is the crippled daughter of two separated but still-feuding parents. In this Rainer Werner Fassbinder film, the wealthy parents are both induced to come to their country vacation house with their lovers in tow. For years, they have tried to make Angela feel guilty for having driven them to seek comfort outside their marriage, though ironically there is some indication that their dalliances may have had a hand in the accident that caused her condition. In this unpleasant milieu, they begin playing a truth-telling game called "Chinese Roulette," which leads to even more distasteful revelations and recriminations.. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Originally a 1966 Broadway musical, this groundbreaking Bob Fosse musical was in turn based on Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin, previously dramatized for stage and screen as I Am a Camera with Julie Harris as Sally Bowles. Fosse uses the decadent and vulgar cabaret as a mirror image of German society sliding toward the Nazis, and this intertwining of entertainment with social history marked a new step forward for the movie musical. Michael York plays a British writer who comes to Berlin in the early 1930s in hopes of becoming a teacher. He makes the acquaintance of flamboyant American entertainer Sally Bowles, played by Liza Minnelli. Sally works at the Kit Kat Klub, a George Grosz-like Berlin cabaret where each night the smirking, androgynous Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey) introduces a jazz-driven "girlie show" to his debauched audience. Virtually all the film's musical numbers are staged within the confines of the Kit Kat Klub, and each song comments on the plot and on Germany's "progression" from hedonism to Hitlerism. Most of the Broadway score by John Kander and Fred Ebb was retained, with the welcome addition of "The Money Song." Although it lost Best Picture to The Godfather, Cabaret won eight Oscars, including awards to Minnelli, Grey, and Fosse. A heavily expurgated 88-minute version of Cabaret has been prepared for commercial TV presentations, regarded by many as dramatically inferior to the full cut. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Willie (Heinz Erhardt) is a sympathetic tax collector nearing the end of his career and looking forward to retirement. He champions the cause of the needy and poor by losing the tax information that allows the government to collect the money. His boss is angry with Willie who is in danger of losing his pension over the incident. Pretending to be insane to escape punishment, his actions win the sympathies of a high ranking tax official. Willie's story endears him to the man and the general population and he is promoted to a high paying job in this delightful comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Paul (Gert Froebe) is a gangleader who gives the former safecracker Georg (Mario Adorf) a job as a pimp after he is released from prison. Georg discovers his sweetheart Nelly (Karin Baal) has joined the joy girls he oversees. Jealousy among other mobsters cause them to make plans to eliminate Georg, who is more than willing to give up his job as flesh pedlar in this offbeat crime comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Originally Das Madchen Rosemarie, this German "musical tragedy" has a lot in common with the Bertold Brecht/Kurt Weill theatrical pieces The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny; in fact, the music heard throughout was taken from Weill's backlog. Austrian beauty contest winner Nadja Tiller plays the prostitute heroine, based on a real-life call girl whose predilection for blackmailing her high-profile customers ended with her mysterious death in 1957. The film was advertised as a "satire," with the satirical level exemplified by a chorus of capitalist businessmen rhythmically opening and closing their briefcases. The "frivolity" of Rosemary is punctuated by moments of chilling horror, including the film's bleak denouement. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Der Pfarrer von Kirchfield (The Parson of Kirchfield) is based on the popular German "folk play" by Ludwig Anzengruber. Bearing a strong resemblance to several other stories -- notably The Atonement of Gosta Berling -- the film stars Claus Holm in the title role. Holm's spotless reputation as village priest is compromised when he befriends unwed mother Anna Birkmaler (Ulla Jacobsson). Throwing caution to the winds, the priest falls in love with the "soiled" but basically decent Anna. Ultimately, however, he realizes that his covenant with God is stronger than his carnal desires. Previously filmed in 1930, Der Pfarrer von Kirchfield was challenged at the box-office in 1955 by an Austrian version of the same Anzengruber play. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

German director Paul May affects a non-judgemental approach -- the tale is filmed from neither a pro nor an anti-military stance -- in presenting this fascinating, finely crafted and farcical look into life in a German military barracks shortly before WW II erupts. The story of a rebellious young trainee who launches a mutiny against his superiors is based on a best-selling novel by H.H. Kirst and was followed by two sequels. Though most of the narrative centers on the trials and tribulations of new-recruit Vierbein, it is still largely an ensemble piece, and the lives of other soldiers, officers and civilians, most of whom are played by non-professional or unknown actors, are interconnected. The film's title refers to a particular type of German military pistol. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi