Hans Brausewetter Movies

This 1943 film, produced at the UFA studios in West Germany, was refurbished by Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation to mark the 50th anniversary of that studio. The Nazi director of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, wanted a big internationally acceptable production to celebrate the studio's 25th anniversary, and the Münchausen story was chosen. It was thought suitable for Germans of the time, because of the ridiculous light in which it shows other nationalities. Baron von Münchausen (1720-97) was an eccentric figure in European history, whose tall tales about his adventures rival anything to be found in the legends of Paul Bunyan, or of the classical figure of Odysseus; they are similar in tone to the stories in Gulliver's Travels. The Baron's tales have been favored reading by the young-at-heart for centuries. This film recounts some of the episodes from the Baron's "autobiographical" stories, which are set in the world of the eighteenth century. In the story, the Baron's 1940s descendant narrates some of the Baron's famous tales; it gradually becomes clear that the original Baron attained immortality, and that his modern descendant is actually the original Baron. The American-born director Terry Gilliam made another film based on these tales in 1988, also titled The Adventures of Baron Münchausen. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Susanne im Bade (A Study in Suzanne) is all about art professor Peter (Hans Brausewetter), who while relaxing at the beach sketches a quick picture of bathing beauty Gussy (Manja Behrens). He redoes the sketch in oil in his studio, and in the process the girl on the canvas loses her swimsuit (Peter has a vivid, and surprisingly accurate, imagination). When the painting shows up at an exhibition, rumors spread that Gussy posed in the nude for Peter. An attempt to clear Gussy's name is scotched by Peter's jealous sweetheart Erika (Erika von Thelmann), leaving our innocent hero at the mercy of Gussy's far-from-understanding daddy (Max Guelstorff). One wonders if the harmless Susanne im Bade was the sort of German entertainment fare that such art experts as Hermann Goering and Paul Goebbels would deride as decadent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Hasenklein was based on a stage play by Hans Mahner-Mons. Arriving in the big city to visit his daughter, provincial dressmaker Jacob Tiedke finds himself attending a political meeting. Through a series of hilarious misunderstandings, our hero is elected a member of Parliament then is promoted to the Presidency. Tiedke wants nothing to do with all this, but the more he tries to disqualify himself, the more his followers are convinced that he's a legislative genius. After using his political clout to smooth the romantic path for his daughter and her sweetheart, Tiedke blissfully returns to the small-town dress shop whence he came. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Telegraph operator Hans Albers wins a fortune at the racetrack, immediately shooting his wad on a new wardrobe. It is Albers' hope to impress Kaethe Von Nagy, the daughter of a wealthy American banker. Even when he's lost all his money, our hero contrives to stay near the girl by hiring himself out as a gigolo in the hotel where she is staying. He ends up back where he started, manning the telegraph board -- and in this capacity he wins the girl by saving her father from financial ruin. Is it any surprise that the film's title translates as The Winner? (Incidentally, the film was ultimately released as Liebe ist Liebe). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this German farce translates loosely as The Slight Indiscretion. What makes the story all the more amusing is the fact that the indiscreet hero, Walter Heller (Herman Thimig), is a divorce attorney. When his affections are stolen by femme fatale Lona (Hilde Hildebrand), Heller's wife Erika (Renate Muller) gets even by "vamping" Lona's husband Dr. Eppman (Hans Brauseweiter). A dual divorce ceremony follows almost immediately, but everything is straightened out in time for the closing production number. German audiences were happy with Der Kleine Seitenspring, but American observers felt it was a shade overlong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The directorial career of Robert Siodmak continue to gain momentum with his third solo effort, Voruntersuchung (Inquest) When a prostitute is murdered, suspicion falls on Gustav Froelich, the son of a magistrate. A victim of circumstantial evidence, Froelich must endure the hell of a preliminary hearing, where he is subjected to the gloves-off approach of the deceptively avuncular prosecuting attorney Albert Basserman. Voruntersuchung was based on a novel by real-life Berlin lawyer Dr. Max Alsberg. It was filmed simultaneously by director Henri Chanotte (under Siodmak's supervision) in a French-language version, Auteur d'une Etiquette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

More formerly known as Das Floetenkonzert von Sanssouci, this German historical drama is set during the reign of Prussia's Frederick the Great (here played by Otto Gebuehr, who made a career out of the role). Forced against his will to go back to war by his enemies, the King stirs up the patriotism of his countrymen by staging the titular flute concert. At one point, Frederick rails against the iniquities of "peace treaties," an obvious -- and anachronistic -- swipe at the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. This propagandistic sidebar is quite surprising in a pre-Third Reich German film but should not be constituted as being pro-Nazi (indeed, director Gustav Uelcky was forced to flee Europe when Hitler came to power). Still, it cannot be denied that Floetenkonzert is a glorification of war and warfare, no matter how prettily it was put together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide