Leopold Lindtberg Movies
A native of Austria, Leopold Lindtberg was the most important filmmaker in Switzerland during the 1940s winning the Cannes Peace Prize in 1945 for The Last Chance. Lindtberg started out in 1924 as a theatrical actor. In 1928, he became a director and moved to Switzerland shortly after the Nazis came to power. His 1951 film Four in a Jeep won first prize at the Berlin Film Festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This color production of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger Von Nuernberg is over four hours long and features the Hamburg State Opera Chorus and the Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra. Leopold Lugwig is the conductor. The color process is not credited for this major musical feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Georgio Tozzi
- 1953
The Swiss-English The Village strives for accuracy by having each cast member speak in his or her own native tongue, a la The Longest Day. Set during WW II, the film concerns itself with 200 Jewish war orphans, living out the war in a Swiss "children's village." Having been traumatized by their experiences, the kids have trouble responding to kindness and generosity. It is up to the village supervisors (John Justin and Eva Dahlbeck) to restore the orphans' faith in humanity. And along the way, the two adults happen to fall in love. Considering recent revelations about Switzerland's true role in WW II (which was not always neutral, and sometimes not very altruistic), The Village can be viewed today as a relic of a more innocent filmmaking era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Justin, Eva Dahlbeck, (more)
- 1951
It's a lucky thing that Four in a Jeep was bankrolled by a Swiss production company; if ever a movie needed a neutral approach, this is the one. The scene is postwar Vienna, a city sliced up into four United Nations sectors. Viveca Lindfors, a recent escapee from a Soviet prison camp, tries to win freedom for her husband. American MP Ralph Meeker attempts to help Lindfors, and to avoid falling in love with her himself. Filmed on location, Four in a Jeep was released in the US by United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viveca Lindfors, Ralph Meeker, (more)
- 1950
Cornell Wilde serves as "box office insurance" in this Swiss-filmed romantic comedy. Wilde plays American sailor Stanley Robin, who while vacationing in Switzerland falls in love with Suzanne (Josette Day), the daughter of a local watchmaker. Their romance is threatened by the arrival of French femme fatale Yvonne (Simone Signoret). Those not interested in the amorous entanglements will be amused by Cornel Wilde's antic attempts at learning to ski. Wilde's navy buddies include such TV stars-to-be as Alan Hale Jr. (of Gilligan's Island) and George Petrie (of Dallas). Among the screenwriters for Swiss Tour was Curt Siodmak, who adapts to comedy as well as he did to Gothic horror in the 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Josette Day, (more)
- 1947
If any one man is responsible for the rejuvenation of the postwar Swiss film industry, that man was director Leopard Lindtberg. Matto Regiert (Madness Rules) was co-adapted for the screen by Lindtberg from a novel by Friedrich Stauder. Heinrich Gretler stars as Sergeant Detective Stuber, the hero of several of Stauder's most popular works. This time, Stuber must solve the murder of the director of an insane asylum -- and it's not (surprise, surprise) the most likely suspect, manic-depressive patient Olaf Kubler. For box-office purposes, Matto Regiert stresses a romantic subplot involving Kubler and nurse Elizabeth Muller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heinrich Gretler
- 1945
One of the few Swiss-produced films of the 1940s to gain an international release, Last Chance was distributed in the US by MGM. The film stars E.G. Morrison, John Hoy and Ray Reagan as three American officers who come to the aid of a group of Italian refugees. Tension mounts as the officers do their utmost to see their charges safely over the Alps. If the names of the leading actors seem unfamiliar to you, that's because they weren't actors, but genuine Allied pilots who'd been shot down near Switzerland and who agreed to appear in this film before being mustered out. Similarly, the refugees are the genuine article. Last Chance's enthusiasm and sincerity compensates for any lack of polish or skill among the amateur performers. The dialogue is spoken in several languages, requiring the film to be subtitled in every country where it was released. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hoy
- 1945
Marie-Louise was the first Swiss film production to gain a widespread release in the United States. It was also the fifth directorial effort of Leopold Lindtberg, an Austrian Jew who was forced to flee to Switzerland at the outbreak of WW II -- and in so doing became the tiny country's foremost filmmaker. The titular Marie-Louise (Joslane) is a young French lass who is evacuated to Switzerland when her country is overrun by the Nazis. Suffering a nervous breakdown, she is given comfort and shelter by a wealthy family. Unfortunately, living in the lap of luxury turns Marie-Louise into a spoiled brat, so much so that she refuses to return to her newly-liberated homeland. Eventually the girl comes to her senses, but it isn't easy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heinrich Gretler
