Pinkas Braun Movies

A black comedy set at a retirement home, Comedian was a big hit at the 2000 Locarno Film Festival. Roni Beck (Beat Schlatter) is an aspiring comic whose inability to make even his mother laugh poses a major career stumbling block. His mother lives in a retirement home, and after the home's director, Serge (Patrick Frey), discovers Beck sleeping in her room, he puts him to work as an orderly and also tries to promote the hapless young man's entertainment career. Unfortunately, Beck's stand-up routine proves to be a huge disaster, and catalyzes a series of funerals among the home's residents. To top it all off, a triangle develops between Beck, Serge, and Serge's neglected girlfriend (Brigitte Beyeler) that mirrors the rivalry of two geriatric lotharios for Beck's mother. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Marie (Marlene Jobert) is a pretty female physician who attracts the strong romantic interest of two brothers during World War I in this uninspired drama by Gérard Vergez. The brothers meet her when she is on duty in Turkey -- one brother is stationed there and the other becomes her ambulance driver. Since Marie has just lost her husband in combat, she is not at first open to another relationship but finally begins an affair with the older brother. Jealousy rears its ugly head, and the younger and older brother start to compete for her favors. She is eventually separated from the two brothers after the oldest -- imprisoned for supposed sympathy with the Russians -- is sprung from jail. Marie is later imprisoned herself, and it will be a long time before she is able to find out the fate of those she knew during the days of combat, including the two brothers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this convoluted crime drama, a conniving nurse conspires to marry and kill a wealthy professor. To do the deed, she, who has already killed the rest of his family, enlists the aide of the professor's assistant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Bloodline, a thriller based on a mystery novel by Sidney Sheldon and directed by Terence Young, is the story of Elizabeth Roffe (Audrey Hepburn), who inherits a huge pharmaceutical company and then discovers that some of her family members may be plotting her death in order to gain control of the company. Despite an all-star cast including the usually excellent James Mason, Irene Papas, Ben Gazzara, the lovely Romy Schneider and Omar Sharif and wonderful locations, this thriller just doesn't generate much suspense despite numerous likely suspects and plot twists. Director Young gets only an average performance from Audrey Hepburn and manages to do little with his distinguished cast. The film while not particularly suspenseful is aided by the lovely color photography of Freddie Young and a lively, original score by Ennio Morricone. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Captain Lee Mitchell (Stuart Whitman) is the American officer who joins the British in an attempt to smuggle scientist Von Heinken (Pinkas Braun) out of Germany. The group also assists refugees trying to escape the wrath of the Nazis. Mitchell must quickly mold an inexperienced unit of British soldiers into an effective unit before the Russian tank squadron invades Munich. SS troops and Allies engage in fierce combat as both sides try to capture the noted scientist in this routine World War II drama. The film was made in 1968 but not released until 1970. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Bill McLean (Van Heflin) is a former CIA agent living in London. He had been fired when he stuck up for one of the men in his command who turned out to be branded a Russian defector. The embittered ex-agent combines forces with another operative to deliver a top Russian secret police official for a price. Before he can deliver the Russian, a trail of corpses and double crosses changes his plans. When his partner who concocted the scheme is murdered, McLean returns the check to the CIA. They offer him his old job back, but the proud man refuses in this suspenseful spy yarn with plenty of intriguing twists and turns. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this espionage adventure, the "Super Dragon," a notorious secret agent, is assigned by the CIA to stop a Venezuelan drug lord from spiking U.S. gum and candy with a powerful hallucinogenic drug in order to take over the United States. The evil czar had already tested it in a Michigan college town and found it works, rendering its victims helpless. Now the Dragon must stop him before he spreads the stuff all over. The Dragon must also find the antidote for those already drugged. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama a Canadian journalist heads for Hungary to do a story when he meets a man who asks him to bring a package containing "medicine" for his niece. The reporter agrees but accidently loses the niece's phone number. He decides to have the message of the packet's arrival broadcast on the radio. He is approached by someone claiming to be the one the package is meant for. Soon the journalist finds that the package has two passports that would have helped a scientist get to Austria. The "recipient" of the package turns out to be a police spy. So was the man who gave him the package. They two agents had planned to arrest the Canadian as a spy too, and use him as a bartering chip for the Americans. They would trade him, for one of their agents. Fortunately, the courageous Canadian disarms a border guard and escapes to Austria with the scientist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A fortune in cash is the bait that draws some would-be criminals into a feeding frenzy in this offbeat but stylish crime drama. Lylle Corbett (Cameron Mitchell) and his girlfriend, Darlene (Jayne Mansfield), have just pulled off the heist of a lifetime, stealing one million dollars in American currency as it's being transported from Europe back to the United States. Hiding out in a small, run-down hotel on the Mediterranean coast, Lylle and Darlene plan to hire a boat and make their way back to the States, where they can start spending some of their loot. However, Darlene's abundance of enthusiasm and lack of common sense cause Livio Morelli (Aldo Camarda), the manager of the hotel, to suspect that she and Lylle are responsible for the robbery that's been all over the news. Livio quickly hatches a plan to steal the fortune from Lylle and cover his tracks, but Livio's hardly the only one looking for the loot, with his spinster sister, Sandra (Dody Heath), greedy butler Dolph (Ivor Salter), and eccentric heiress Madame Benoit (Isa Miranda) all conniving to get their hands on the cash. Dog Eat Dog (aka La Morte Vestita di Dollar) was released in the United Kingdom as When Strangers Meet, the title of the novel that was the basis for its screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Curse of the Yellow Snake is a riproaring entry in Germany's series of low-budget films based on the works of Edgar Wallace. This time the filmmakers have borrowed a page from "Fu Manchu" creator Sax Rohmer, spinning a yarn about an Oriental cult's revolt against the white race. The names in the cast list are decidedly Teutonic, indicating that the "orientals" seen throughout are literally skin-deep. Heading the cast is Jochim Fuchsberger, a regular participant in the German Edgar Wallace series. Curse of the Yellow Snake establishes mood and tension early on, seldom letting up throughout its 98 minutes (much longer than usual for a Wallace film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Wunderbar" takes on a new meaning in this routine satire by Bernhard Wicki about a bar that is miraculously transported by God Himself to a nearby, new location on an island. The nature of the miracle is a bit strange, but it comes in answer to Pater Malachias' prayers to get the sin-ridden place out of the center of the city. The good and naive Malachias is subtly played by Horst Bollimann. Once this miracle of relocation has occurred, the sharks and entrepreneurs, who would bilk both the faithful and the curiosity-seekers alike, crop up like an unwanted epidemic. The mercenary and the sacred clash, as many try to find deeper meaning in what has happened, and Pater Malachias starts to doubt the wisdom of his original prayer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide