Franz Weber Movies

For some reason, there were a great many filmed operas on the international movie market in the immediate postwar years. This German adaptation of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is faithful to its source -- too faithful to fully succeed as cinema. The comic elements of Figaro's impending marriage and the many complications ensuing therefrom are surprisingly down-played. Put simply, the laughs are few and far between. The singing, however, is superb: Susannah (Angelika Hauff) and Figaro (Willi Domgraf-Fassbender) do their own vocals, while the rest of the cast is dubbed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The exotically titled Donogoo Tonka starts out in Paris, as hero Pierre (Viktor Staal) and heroine Josette (Anny Ondra) join forces to hatch a moneymaking scheme. For a generous fee, Pierre and Josette offer to guide a wealthy banker to the legendary African "golden city" of Donogoo Tonka. The possibility that this wondrous city may not exist has no effect on Pierre, who carries out the plan so meticulously that he actually stumbles upon the "mythical" land in the final reels -- whereupon the entire cast bursts into song! A French-language version of this German musical fantasy was filmed simultaneously by director Reinhold Schuenzel. It was released several months after the original, under the streamlined title Donogoo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Henrik Ibsen's 1877 play Samfundets Stotter (Pillars of Society) was the source for this German drama. The plot centers upon a flagrant case of municipal corruption, carried out by the town's "finest" people. The selfishness of the elite results in widespread tragedy, yet still the perpetrators hypocritically blame everyone but themselves. The director of Stutzen der Gesellschaft was Detlef Sierck, who as "Douglas Sirk" would later expose the peccadilloes of the rich and powerful in such American films as Written on the Wind. The Ibsen original was earlier adapted to the screen in 1915, with H. B. Walthall in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sedentary little German town is thrown into a tizzy when several trunks show up from Cairo, Egypt, all marked "O.F." This is followed by a telegram announcing that "O.F." is arriving soon and will expect accommodations. A newspaper reporter tells everyone that the mystery man is a millionaire. In preparation for his arrival, the town goes into a frenzy of construction, building a cinema, an opera house, a casino and several other moneymaking enterprises. It turns out that the reporter has no more idea of who "O.F." is than anyone else; he was simply tired of the village's backward attitude and wanted to improve its economy. Coda: An actress named Ola Fallon vents her anger upon discovering that her staff has inadvertently sent her luggage to the wrong town. A warmhearted German satire, Trunks of Mr. O.F. was fortunately completed just before the burgeoning Nazi movement declared such films as "inessential." The film served to introduce a young ingenue by the name of Hedi Keisler, who went on to Hollywood fame and fortune as Hedy Lamarr, and was also the third film of a wide-eyed stage comedian who was born Laszlo Lowenstein, but who billed himself as Peter Lorre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "Weekend in Paradise" of the title is predicated on an extended case of mistaken identity. Some of the gags and comic situations date back as far as Plautus, but this doesn't make them any less funny. It helps that the cast is filled to the brim with talented farceurs, from Julius Falkenstein on down. The direction is by Robert Land, who always managed to improve his material with above-average cinematography (courtesy of cameraman Willy Goldberger and Robert Lach) and sound recording (Carlo Paganini). Week-End im Paradies was adapted from the stage play of the same name by the original author, Ernst Neubach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide