Rolf Wanka Movies
- 1973
- PG
James Coburn stars as Robert Eliot, an opportunistic entrepreneur destined to become a key Presidential advisor -- if his murky past isn't brought to light first. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Captain Sindbad was based on an Arabian Nights story, was filmed in Germany, and starred an American leading man (Guy Williams), a German leading lady (Heidi Bruhl) and a Mexican villain (Pedro Armendariz). How's that for cultural diversity? Anyway, the story involves Sindbad's (Williams) efforts to enter the impenetrable castle where the evil El Kerim's (Armendariz) heart is being kept. So long as his heart is outside his body, El Kerim is invulnerable, enabling him to be as wicked and despotic as he chooses. Sindbad comes to the rescue just seconds before the heroine (Bruhl) is about to be crushed to death by an elephant. Despite the mortality rate on both sides, Captain Sindbad is pure kiddie-matinee stuff, adroitly put together by director/cinematographer Byron (War of the Worlds) Haskin and boasting top-notch special effects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Williams, Heidi Bruhl, (more)
- 1960
Although from Czechoslovakia, director Frantisek Cap has worked both in German and Yugoslav productions and demonstrates his talent in this fast-paced, effective spy drama set during World War II. Cap generates suspense throughout the story as his main character, a spy for the resistance fighters, insinuates himself into the confidence of the occupying German forces. Once they are convinced he is loyal to the Nazi cause, they send him to spy on the partisans. Thanks to his double-agent status, he is able to provide valuable information to the partisans -- but the threat of discovery always hangs over his head. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dusan Janicijevic, Stevo Zigon, (more)
- 1957
Financed in the U.S. and filmed in Spain, Day of Fear was one of the first films to be directed at a bilingual audience. Essentially an American gangster melodrama with a Latino accent, the film stars Fernando Rey as a Madrid mobster who forms an uneasy alliance with a young doctor (Ruben Rojo) and a nurse (Elena Barrios). The doctor needs the mobster's aid in stemming a deadly epidemic, which rages unchecked because of the crooked activities of a dishonest medico (Rolf Wanka). His sense of humanity aroused, the gangster strong-arms his associates into releasing the rare drugs necessary to stem the epidemic. Day of Fear comes to a particularly exciting climax at a deserted amusement park. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruben Rojo, Elena Barrios, (more)
- 1951
Having previously portrayed Adolf Hitler in 1951's The Desert Fox, Luther Adler once more dons the postage-stamp moustache of Der Fuhrer in The Magic Face. This time, however, Adler essays a dual role, playing both Hitler and a famed theatrical impersonator known as Janus the Great. While performing in Vienna, Janus attracts the attention of Hitler, who makes a play for Janus' wife Vera (Patricia Knight). When Janus protests, he is beaten and thrown into prison by the gestapo. Janus escapes and vows to destroy Hitler and to that end poses as the German leader, the better to bollix up the Nazi war plans. Predicated on a story than many people would like to believe is true, The Magic Face is given credence via the opening narration by Third Reich chronicler William L. Shirer. The film was lensed on location in Austria and distributed by Hollywood's Columbia Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luther Adler, Patricia Knight, (more)
- 1938
The Czechoslovakian Die Sextanerin was released in the U.S. under the title The College Girl. Ellen Schwannecke plays the eponymous heroine, a bright-eyed coed named Inge. She really begins to buckle down to her studies when she falls in love with handsome professor Storm (Rolf Wanka). What she doesn't know is that Storm is a famous poet, hiding out from his throngs of female admirers within the ivy-covered walls of academia. Meanwhile, lady teacher Miss Volmar (Iris Arlan) also sets her cap for the charming Storm. Filmed in both Czechoslovakian and German versions, Die Sextanerin was completed in 1936, reportedly the first Czech talking picture ever made. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rolf Wanka
- 1938
While filming Laurel & Hardy's Atoll K in 1950, Leo Joannon spent an entire week shooting atmosphere shots on an island, allegedly because he fell in love with the ocean. Twelve years earlier, Joannon likewise filled the screen with oceanic shots in Alerte en Mediterranee (Alert in the Mediterranean). The story concerns an uneasy alliance involving the French, German and English navies. A band of pirates has stolen a freighter containing a deadly cargo of poison gas, threatening to kill everyone on a hostage ocean liner. The three rival navies give chase, racing against the clock as the pirates' deadline approaches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadine Vogel, Pierre Fresnay, (more)
- 1937
The World's in Love is one of several film versions of Franz Lehar's operetta Clo Clo. Marta Eggerth is cast as musical-comedy favorite Ilona Ratkay, who has made the mistake of hiring ambitious press agent Anton (Hans Moser). Figuring that any publicity is good publicity, Anton insists upon spreading rumors of Ilona's alleged sexual peccadilloes. Her career in tatters, our heroine wonders if anyone will ever truly fall in love with her. She doesn't have to wonder long -- not with handsome farmer Peter von Waldenau (Rolf Wanka). But even this moment of bliss is exploited by Anton, who plants a newspaper story claiming that Ilona is the illegitimate daughter of Peter's wealthy father! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marta Eggerth, Leo Slezak, (more)
Fritz Lang's classic early talkie crime melodrama is set in 1931 Berlin. The police are anxious to capture an elusive child murderer (Peter Lorre), and they begin rounding up every criminal in town. The underworld leaders decide to take the heat off their activities by catching the child killer themselves. Once the killer is fingered, he is marked with the letter "M" chalked on his back. He is tracked down and captured by the combined forces of the Berlin criminal community, who put him on trial for his life in a kangaroo court. The killer pleads for mercy, whining that he can't control his homicidal instincts. The police close in and rescue the killer from the underworld so that he can stand trial again in "respectable" circumstances. Some prints of the film end with a caution to the audience to watch after their children more carefully. Filmed in Germany, M was the film that solidified Fritz Lang's reputation with American audiences, and it also made a star out of Peter Lorre (previously a specialist in comedy roles!). M was remade by Hollywood in 1951, with David Wayne giving a serviceable performance as the killer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, (more)
