Gerhard Lamprecht Movies
As a director, German filmmaker Gerhard Lamprecht is best remembered for his 1931 adaptation of a popular story by Erich Kiistner, Emil and the Detectives. In 1937 he also directed a well-regarded version of Madame Bovary. Lamprecht started out in 1914 as a screenwriter and became a director in the early '20s. Perhaps because he did not make expressionist films back then, his films never garnered much attention outside of Germany. Lamprecht did make an impressive contribution to German cinema when he compiled an exhaustive catalog of German silent film titled Deutsche Stummfilme 1903-1931. He has also donated a vast amount of private collected material from German cinema's beginning to the Kinemathek archives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Filmed on location in the bombed-out titular city, Somewhere in Berlin details the horrendous plight of postwar German citizens, who were as much victims of Hitler's Third Reich as any conquered nation. The film concentrates on a gang of street kids who stumble across a cache of black-market fireworks. As the homeless children play soldier, the rest of the populace suffers from malnutrition, poverty and severe shortages. A few rays of hope emanate from the reunion of a returning soldier and his family. Director Gerhard Lamorecht manages to evoke sympathy for his characters, though the film might have been more effective had not some of the leading actors appeared so healthy and well-fed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1938
Die Gelbe Flagge (The Yellow Flag) was based on a novel by Fred Andreas, which gained a huge audience when it was serialized in German newspapers in 1937. The immensely popular Hans Albers stars as devil-may-care aviator Peter Diercksen. When a deadly plague breaks out, Diercksen risks his neck on a near-hourly basis to fly in much-needed medicine and supplies. Somehow he pauses long enough to get mixed up with a hostile cannibal tribe -- and even more frightening, a bevy of desirable females. Dorothea Wieck, another top German screen attraction, is cast as a dedicated nurse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Albers, Dorothea Wieck, (more)
- 1937
This German adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary seldom appears in the standard movie source books (certainly never as often as the 1949 Vincente Minnelli version!), but it might well be worth seeing again. This time, the magnificent Pola Negri is cast as Emma Bovary, the unhappy bride of bourgeois Charles Bovary (Arlbert Wascher). Bored with her husband's narrow-minded attitudes and provincial lifestyle, Emma dreams of great wealth and a "perfect" romance with a young lover. When she gets the chance to escape her boredom, it is with handsome Roudolphe Boulanger (Ferdinand Marian). Alas, Madame Bovary's dreams of lasting happiness are doomed from the start, not so much by fate as by her own inner demons. The German Madame Bovary was consummately produced and acted, yet failed to strike a responsive chord with the public, possibly because Negri was too dynamic a performer for the limits of her role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pola Negri, Ferdinand Marian, (more)
- 1936
Ein Seltsamer Gast (A Strange Guest) was based on a novel by Kurt Heuser. The story concerns the theft of a valuable necklace, which leads to a baffling murder. Alfred Abel heads the all-star cast as Bruneaux, a mysterious art dealer whose connection with the robbery and murder are made clear only in the final reels. Most of the action takes place in a "respectable" Parisian hotel room, which by film's end has more traffic than the Champs Elysses. Given the methodical nature of mid-1930s German films, it's no surprise that the country turned out so many above-average murder mysteries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Abel
- 1936
Set during the Napoleonic era, Der Hoehre Befehl (Higher Command) nonetheless manages to accommodate huge heaping helpings of pro-Nazi propaganda. The story concerns the breakup of the alliance between France and Prussia, galvanized by the imprisonment of an English envoy. The prisoner is set free by a young German officer who despises Napoleon and realizes that the only hope for Prussia's future lies in independence -- and if that independence is won through a betrayal of trust, so be it. Box-office favorite Lil Dagover adds a touch of glamour as a slinky French spy. Director Gerard Lamprecht, one of Germany's most conventional and least adventuresome filmmakers, does his usual perfunctory job with Der Hoehre Befehl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Ludwig Diehl, Lil Dagover, (more)
- 1935
As indicated by its title, Baracole is adapted from The Tales of Hoffman. Gustav Froelich stars as Colloredo, who enjoys nothing more than boasting about his sexual conquests. A friend wagers that Colloredo will be unable to seduce the beautiful Giacinta (Lida Baarova). It so happens that Giacinta's wily husband Zubaran (Willy Birgel) overhears the wager, thereby setting in motion a counter-wager that will ultimately result in Colloredo's downfall. The ultimate winner in these sordid surroundings is Giacinta, who is never made aware that she has become a pawn in a dirty game of sexual one-upmanship. Though set in Venice, Baracole was shot entirely within the confines of Germany's UFA studios. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lida Baarova, Edwige Feuillère, (more)
- 1933
A Certain Mr. Gran is the English-language title of this fast-paced espionage drama. Things literally start with a bang when a car is forced off an Alpine road and the driver is killed in a fiery crash. The assailant grabs a suitcase stuffed with secret papers from the wreckage, and the chase is on. The head villain, international spy Tschernikoff (Albert Basserman), manages to cover his tracks by posing as a harmless antiques dealer. But Tschernikoff ultimately proves to be no match for "a certain Mr. Gran" (Hans Albers), an undercover secret-service agent. Albers' portrayal of Mr. Gran as a wisecracking fashion plate with an eye for the ladies is a fascinating precursor to the James Bond school of spydom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Germaine Aussey, Olga Tschechowa, (more)
- 1931
No less a scrivener than Billy Wilder adapted the Erich Kastner novel Emil and the Detectives for its first film version. The story concerns a young boy named Emil who has been packed off to visit relatives in Germany. While en route on the train, Emil's money is stolen by a penny-ante thief. The boy enlists the aid of a group of pre-teen youths who fancy themselves ace detectives. The kids get in deeper than expected when it turns out that the thief is part of a criminal gang planning a big heist. The 1931 Emil and the Detectives is perhaps the best of the four film versions of the Kastner story, benefitting from some cheerful glimpses of a sunshine-drenched Berlin that disappeared forever during World War II. Subsequent versions of Emil would be filmed in England in 1935, in West Germany in 1954, and by Walt Disney (who couldn't resist the temptation to "Americanize" the characters) in 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fritz Rasp, Kaethe Haack, (more)
- 1931
Zwischen Nacht und Morgen (During Night and Morning) was based on Dirnentragodie, a play by Wilhelm Braun. Aud Egede Nissen plays an aging prostitute who falls in love with a young, wealthy scapegrace. Soon her new swain leaves her in favor of a younger tart, compelling Nissen to murder her rival. Whether or not this will have any redemptive effect on the young man is left to conjecture; it is certain, however, that Nissen will pay for her crime. The film is a remake of a 1925 silent picture which starred Asta Nielsen and was directed by Bruno Rahn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aud Egede Nissen, Oscar Homolka, (more)
- 1930
Zweierlei Moral (Different Morals) was adapted from Pearls' Comedy, a play by Bruno Frank. A string of pearls figures into the plotline in which the sexual double-standard separating men from women is elaborated upon. Critics familiar with the original stage play found the film version inferior, complaining that the direction was slow and ponderous and the acting over-emphatic. Also attacked were the costumes worn by the actors, which were described variously as ill-fitting and in bad taste. Only leading players Aribert Waescher and Ida Wuerst were singled out for any other praise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Rilia, Aribert Waescher, (more)
