Wolfgang Wahl Movies
- 1963
The German The Squeaker is the third film version of the Edgar Wallace mystery novel of the same name. The title character is an omnipotent "fence" who has cornered the diamond-smuggling racket. The fence travels in polite society under the guise of a wealthy philanthropist. A Scotland Yard detective pretends to be an ex-convict in order to infiltrate the Squeaker's gang and to track down the stolen gems. The Squeaker was one of several German Edgar Wallace adaptations of the 1960s, ground out simultaneously with Britain's long-running Wallace B-picture series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heinz Drache, Barbara Rutting, (more)
- 1960
In this psychological thriller an Austrian nobleman tries to stay sane in the face of Nazi torture during World War II. The story is told in flashback after the protagonist is seen at a chess tournament with a champion. He is thrown into jail after the Nazis overran Austria. When he is not being mentally tortured into revealing important secrets, the man is in solitary confinement. To stay sane, he conceals a chess book in his cell. The intricacies of the game help him concentrate. Unfortunately his valiant attempts fail and he breaks down. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Claire Bloom, (more)
- 1960
The English title of this different type of wartime drama refers to a chess player's attempts to stay sane while Nazi interrogators mentally and psychologically torture him. Werner von Basil (Curt Jurgens) is an Austrian who has been helping the church by smuggling its art treasures out of the country to protect them from the Nazis. When the Nazis roll into Austria, he is on their hit list and after being spotted at a chess tournament, he is picked up and imprisoned. His brutal jailers subject him to long hours of interrogation meant to break down his hold on sanity and accept their own scenario as the truth. When not being brutalized in this manner, von Basil is kept in solitary confinement, with only a hidden chess book to keep his mind focused and logical. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Claire Bloom, (more)
- 1960
A man finds his peaceful existence thrown into turmoil when he recognizes the town's public prosecutor as the former Nazi who almost had him killed for stealing two chocolate bars in a concentration camp in this drama. Strangely the former inmate feels no hostility, nor holds a grudge against the man; instead he wants to put the whole nightmare behind him. Unfortunately, the attorney recognizes him too and is afraid that the man will expose him so he uses his power to try to get the man thrown out of town. As none of the other townsfolk will help him, the man steals some chocolate from a store so he will have to be brought to trial. Sure enough his theft causes the prosecutor to fly into a blind rage during the trial. He then leaves the courtroom and the man is at last free. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Held, Walter Giller, (more)
- 1959
This musical drama is not quite up to the level of its 1956 prequel, Die Trapp Familie -- the inspiration for the immensely popular The Sound of Music. Now the famous singing family, having survived World War II by escaping Austria, are in the U.S. and trying to make a go of it. Their voices are excellent and their talent is obvious, yet the Baroness Maria von Trapp (Ruth Leuwerik) and the Baron (Hans Holt) cannot figure out why they are not more popular. They can barely get an audience together. After much trial and tribulation, it hits them that maybe the fault lies in the songs they choose to perform, so a rehaul of their program is in order. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Leuwerik, Hans Holt, (more)
