Mathias Wiemann Movies
- 1964
The love of two Swiss peasants is interrupted when the girl's greedy father (Max Haufler) plans to sell her to a wealthy, elderly neighbor (Ruedi Walter) in this maudlin romantic melodrama. When the father dies in an accident, the two lover's are brought together again by the young man's dying mother. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1957
17th century author Daniel Defoe is assisted by a group of children in this drama. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1955
Roberto Rossellini directs his then-wife Ingrid Bergman in the suspenseful drama La Paura (Fear), based on the book by Stefan Zweig. Guilt-stricken Irene Wagner (Bergman) is forced to hide her secret affair with Erich Baumann (Kurt Kreuger) from her husband, Professor Albert Wagner (Mathias Wieman), a scientist in the midst of a serious breakthrough. However, Erich's ex-girlfriend, Joanne (Renate Mannhardt), finds out and threatens blackmail. This throws Irene into a fit of homicidal and suicidal rage. La Paura is an atypical entry in the Bergman-Rossellini film canon because of its German expressionist style and psychological plot twists. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Bergman, Mathias Wiemann, (more)
- 1954
Koenigliche Hoheit (His Royal Highness) was adapted from a novel by Thomas Mann -- who, according to all reports, was pleased with the film version. Ruth Leuwerick stars as an American heiress raised in Europe. She falls in love with Dieter Borsch, a handsome but shy German prince. Their romance seems doomed when Borsch is obliged to enter into a marriage of convenience to save his country from bankruptcy. A fortuitous 11th-hour plot-twist prevents the film from being merely another variation of The Student Prince. Contemporary viewers felt that Koenigliche Hoheit might have benefited from a lighter directorial touch than the one displayed by Dr. Hans Braun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dieter Borsche, Ruth Leuwerik, (more)
- 1954
In this German drama, a mediocre actress is quite happy to have a steady stream of bit movie roles. Unfortunately, an egocentric director sees her and vows to make her a star whether she wants to be one or not. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1943
This German only video tells the story of Paracelsus nefarious activities after quarantining the city of Basel from the plague and using unusual means of healing, saves a man. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1937
Filmed in German by a Swiss production firm, The Eternal Mask (Die Ewige Maske) was adapted by Leo Lapaire from his own novel. Mathias Weimann plays an idealistic doctor who believes he has discovered a cure for meningitis. Ordered not to experiment with this serum, Weimann does so anyway, utilizing the supposed wonder drug on a terminal patient. When the man dies, Weimann is reprimanded by his superiors, and wanders out of the hospital, believing himself a failure. His depression deepens into delirium, and soon the doctor is wandering through a Caligariesque world of distorted shapes and distended shadows, where he finds it impossible to separate illusion from reality. Meanwhile, Weimann's superiors determine that the meningitis serum is indeed effective; now they must snap the doctor out of his nightmare in order for him to reveal the formula. One of the very few successful attempts to convey madness on screen, The Eternal Mask has been surprisingly overlooked by many otherwise thorough reference books on horror films. Perhaps some scholars have been put off by the lethargic pace of the film, which seems to go on far longer than its 74 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Petersen, Mathias Wiemann, (more)
- 1937
Patrioten was released in English-speaking regions as I Love My Country, a sentiment which prevailed in Hitler's Germany -- much more so than after WWII. The story is set in the First World conflict, as a courageous group of German soldiers defend themselves from relentless attacks by the French. Unlike All Quiet on the Western Front, no pacifism is preached here. The soldiers fight and die for a noble cause, just as they'd be willing to do so in any and all future wars (one of which was only two years away). The inclusion of a romantic subplot and endless shots of Bavarian music festivals added immeasurably to the film's box-office appeal in Germany. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mathias Wiemann, Lida Baarova, (more)
- 1936
Das Verlorene Tal (Lost Valley) is based on the best-selling novel of the same name. Set in the German Alps, the plot focuses on a naïve young girl (Marie Louise Claudius) who is left all alone when her sweetheart (Mathias Weisman) is called away on business. Not long afterward, the girl succumbs to the seductive charms of a city slicker (Olaf Bach). The results are disastrous, resulting in guilt, renunciations, recriminations, and at least one suicide. Excellent location photography helps the viewer forget the film's many narrative shortcomings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mathias Wiemann, Marieluise Claudius, (more)
- 1935
This German period piece is a relatively faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit. The title character, a seamstress named Amy Dorrit, is played by former Hitchcock leading lady Anny Ondra then better-known as the wife of heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling. Loyally living with her father (Gustav Waldau) in debtor's prison, Amy falls in love with wealthy Arthur Clennam (Mathias Wiemann). Alas, Arthur's parents have forbidden the romance, and the poor boob is too ineffectual to do something about it. The plot is resolved by Amy' father, who turns out not to be as helpless as he seems. Klein Dorrit manages to tell its story in 71 minutes; the 1988 British remake covered the same ground in six hours. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gustav Waldau, Anny Ondra, (more)
- 1933
Dorothea Wieck and Herta Thiele, the stars of the popular and controversial Maedchen in Uniform, were reunited in Frank Wisbar's Anna und Elisabeth. Anna (Thiele) is a peasant girl who suddenly finds she has the power to heal the sick. Soon her shabby rural cottage becomes a shrine for every crippled person in the county -- much to Anna's dismay, because she refuses to believe that she possesses any special gifts and wishes that people would leave her alone. She is eventually invited to live with Elisabeth (Wieck), a wealthy and reclusive invalid. Upon failing to save one of Elisabeth's friends from dying, Anna becomes more withdrawn than ever, refusing to perform any more "miracles" -- a decision that has a devastating effect on Elisabeth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothea Wieck, Hertha Thiele, (more)
- 1932
In this mythical fantasy, the evil queen of Atlantis lives in a magnificent palace, the halls of which are filled with the mummified remains of former lovers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm
- 1932
Mensch Ohne Namen (Men Without Names) is a modernized adaptation of Honore de Balzac's Colonel Chabert. Long believed dead, WWI captain Heinrich Martin (Werner Kraus) returns to Berlin after a 16-year absence. Suffering from amnesia, Martin suddenly remembers that he has a wife and that he used to run a successful auto-manufacturing business. Not surprisingly, his wife has remarried, and his business is now the property of her second husband. Vainly, Martin battles the bureaucracy to regain ownership of his business but is forced to give up the fight. He starts life anew in a poor, provincial community, finding happiness with a pretty typist. Thanks to his new wife's business savvy, Martin is able to regain his status in the manufacturing world and becomes a millionaire all over again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Werner Krauss, Mathias Wiemann, (more)
- 1932
Brigette Helm stars as a disillusioned movie extra who makes a speedy exit from a Viennese movie studio while still wearing her elegant costume. She heads off to a resort in Monte Cristo, where she poses as a wealthy countess (she's certainly dressed for it!) Jewel thief Gustaf Gruendgens and swindler Rudolf Forster help Helm carry off her masquerade for larcenous reasons of their own, but Forster spoils everyone's plans by falling in love with the girl. Graefin von Monte Cristo served as the basis for the 1934 Universal comedy The Countess of Monte Cristo, with Fay Wray in the starring role. The property was remade in 1948 as a musical vehicle for skating-star Sonja Henie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Rudolf Forster, (more)
- 1932
The Blue Light (Das Blaue Licht) is widely regarded as the best of the German "mountain" films of the early 1930s. Leni Riefenstahl both directed and starred in this film, playing a free-spirited gamine who dares to climb a precipitous mountain peak. Because she is the only member of her community to accomplish this, she is regarded as something of a witch. When she discovers a hidden crystal cave, the villagers change their tune and follow her up the mountain, stripping the cave of its riches. She responds to this symbolic rape by killing herself. It was The Blue Light which impressed Hitler and Goebbels enough to engage Leni Riefenstahl to direct the Nazi party's subsequent propaganda films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leni Riefenstahl, Beni Fuehrer, (more)
- 1932
Also known as Die Herrin von Atlantis, this expansive G. W. Pabst production is a remake of the 1921 Jacques Feyder film of the same name. Like the earlier film, the remake was largely shot in the Sahara Desert and cost a fortune to put together. Based on the best-selling novel by Pierre Benoit, the original story of adventure, sacrifice, fantasy and mysticism is largely dispensed with as Pabst focuses on the pivotal character of Anitnea, played by the always fascinating Brigitte Helm. Still, plenty of time is afforded the narrative of a group of French soldiers literally stumbling upon the underground city of Atlantis, their efforts to escape, and the ultimate destruction of the lost metropolis. Though Feyder's film is still the superior of the two versions, there is still much to recommend Pabst's L'Atlantide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Helm, Pierre Blanchar, (more)
- 1930
Rosenmontag (U.S. title: Carnival's End) was based on the novel of the same name by Otto Erich Hartlebein. Thanks to ugly gossip, a young Army lieutenant is convinced that his sweetheart is an unfaithful trollop. He becomes engaged to another woman then marches off to war, having promised to forsake all other women. Eventually, he discovers that the stories about his first love were all lies. He returns to her and rekindles the romance, whereupon he remembers vowing eternal devotion to his present fiancee. Rather than sacrifice his honor, the lieutenant resorts to extreme and tragic measures to keep his promise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gertrud Arnold, Eduard von Winterstein, (more)
