Hilde Weissner Movies
- 1979
- R
The West German Just a Gigolo has little to do with the popular song of the same name. Its central character, played by David Bowie, is a World War I-era Prussian aristocrat. Living by his wits throughout Europe, Bowie uses his sexual prowess with beautiful women (and powerful men) to advance himself. The leering lothario eventually comes to grief in the decadent Berlin of the 1920s. We don't know how he did it, but director David Hemmings managed to corral some of the most stellar sex goddesses in film history to play cameos in Just a Gigolo: Kim Novak, Maria Schell, and even Marlene Dietrich. The film was originally released as Schoner Gigolo, Armer Gigolo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Bowie, Sydne Rome, (more)
- 1966
Siegfried's wife Kriemhild (Maria Marlow) seeks vengeance after she learns of her husband' death. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karin Dor, Herbert Lom, (more)
- 1966
Director Harald Reinl takes this epic sword-and-sorcery fantasy from the 12th-century Teutonic legend and from the 1924 Fritz Lang silent classic. Siegfried (Uwe Beyer) is a heroic warrior who bathes in dragon's blood to become nearly invincible. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uwe Beyer, Rolf Henniger, (more)
- 1952
Originally released in Europe as simply Tromba, this German melodrama was distributed in the U.S. by Lippert Studios. The title character, played by Rene Deltgren, is a circus tiger trainer. To keep his beasts in line, Tromba utilizes hypnotism. This works so well on the job that Tromba begins mesmerizing women to do his bidding. To do this, he employs a special drug, a fact that proves to be his undoing when one of his castoff mistresses wreaks a terrible revenge. Most of Tromba was filmed through the auspices of the Krone Circus of Germany. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rene Deltgen, Angelika Hauff, (more)
- 1937
- Add Der Mann, Der Sherlock Holmes War to QueueAdd Der Mann, Der Sherlock Holmes War to top of Queue
The English-language title of this German musical satire is The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes. That immensely popular German star Hans Albers plays Morris Flint, a slaphappy private detective who enjoys pretending to be Holmes; likewise, Flint's assistant, Macky McPherson (Heinz Rühmann), gets a charge out of posing as Dr. Watson. During the 1936 World Exposition in Paris, "Holmes" and "Watson" come to the aid of two young ladies in their efforts to retrieve a valuable stamp. Morris Flint is arrested in the course of his investigation, on a charge of impersonating Sherlock Holmes (evidently a grave offense in Paris, given the solemnity of the subsequent trial). Our hero is saved at the last minute by a mysterious "Laughing Man" who has been weaving in and out of the picture. The mystery man turns out to be Arthur Conan Doyle, who jovially gives Flint permission to continue impersonating Holmes -- so long as he makes it clear that he's an impostor. Interestingly enough, The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes was filmed without any permission of any kind from the Conan Doyle estate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Albers, Heinz Rühmann, (more)
- 1936
Viktor de Kova plays Hans Werner, a clerk in his aunt's liquor store. His responsibilities really begin mounting up when Hans unofficially adopts cute little Lilly (Petra Unkel), the daughter of his late brother and sister-in-law. Our hero really becomes a hero when he saves Lilly from being victimized by greedy relatives. A goodly portion of the film takes place during an actual circus performance, to establish the fact that Lilly's doomed mother is an aerialist. Despite its somber overtones, Pappi is a comedy, replete with gratuitous slapstick and outrageous facial mugging. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viktor de Kowa, Hilde Weissner, (more)
- 1936
The "Castle in Flanders" of the title is where six aristocratic British officers are billeted during WWI. To pass the time, they play a scratchy old record on a ramshackle gramophone, eventually falling in love with the female voice heard on the recording. Meanwhile, the selfsame girl, a Parisian revue artiste named Gloria Delamare (Marta Eggarth) must fend off the attentions of her many ardent suitors. When she finally falls in love, it is of course with one of those six British officers, a man who has gone broke and is now a "suitable" beau for the low-born Gloria. The lucky swain is played by Paul Hartmann, one of Germany's most popular leading men of the 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marta Eggerth, Paul Hartmann, (more)
- 1936
Professor Niemeyer (Emil Jannings) is known to his students as "Traumulus," or "The Dreamer," in referring to his easygoing nature. Hoping to cushion his charges from the harsh realities of life, Niemeyer allows them to run roughshod over him, refusing to impose any sort of discipline in his classroom. But when his best student commits suicide after getting mixed up in a local scandal, Niemeyer realizes that he's done a disservice to his boys by letting them get away with murder. Without sacrificing his essential decency or humanity, Niemeyer vows to be a stricter taskmaster from this day forward. Keeping his tendency to overact in check, Emil Jannings delivers one of his best and subtlest performances in this film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emil Jannings, Hilde Weissner, (more)
