Geza von Radvanyi Movies
Hungarian director Geza von Radvanyi is best known for his film It Happened in Europe (1947). He has made other films, but most of them are of average quality. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1980
Director Geza Radvanyi returns to his native Hungary to finally film this WW II story of espionage and resistance activities that he had intended to do years earlier. The unlikely venue for the subversive, underground support needed to smuggle Jews, communists, and army deserters out of a Nazi-ruled Hungary, is a circus. The circus is run by a dedicated, brave woman who has also taken on the task of safely introducing German and Hungarian spies into Yugoslavia. The real activities of the circus are found out in Yugoslavia, but the woman and her workers are protected for awhile from any reprisals. As the end approaches, the circus seems to be in danger once again, this time from another sector of the Yugoslavian population. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gábor Máté, Gabor Reviczky, (more)
- 1965
Walter Slezak plays a guide in a Vienna wax museum in this fantasy. When the tourists get to the figure of Chancellor Metternich, they are magically transported back in time to the Viennese Congress of 1814. The aristocrats are much more interested in parties and social affairs than the affairs of state, leading to a series of amorous escapades. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lilli Palmer, Curd Jürgens, (more)
- 1965
Set in Kentucky during the slavery days of the Old South, this adaptation of the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe tells of the workings of the underground railroad, a secretive system formed by whites and blacks which allowed slaves to escape into the northern states. This drama, directed in Yugoslavia by Hungarian Geza Radvanyi, tends to stray from the original story and contains many contradictions to historical fact. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Kitzmiller, O.W. Fischer, (more)
- 1959
A wife attempts to help her escaped convict husband and his two cohorts evade capture, but is stopped by love and several twists of fate. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Hannes Messemer, (more)
Christa Winsloe's novel Maedchen in Uniform was first filmed in Germany in 1933. The story, about a sensitive schoolgirl's lesbian attachment to her headmistress, was handled tastefully, albeit with remarkable frankness for its period. The 1958 remake is somewhat toned down and the material directed in a routine fashion, though technically the production has fewer frayed edges than the 1933 version. Romy Schneider stars in the old Hertha Thiele role as the student, while Lili Palmer takes over from Dorothea Wieck as the older woman. Made in 1958, the remake of Maedchen in Uniform was not released in the U.S. until 1965, possibly because it went against the production code edict concerning "suicide as a plot solution." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lilli Palmer, Romy Schneider, (more)
- 1958
Der Arzt von Stalingrad (The Doctor of Stalingrad) was one of four films directed in 1958 by the prolific Hungarian-born helmsman Geza von Radvanyi. Set in a Russia POW camp during WII, the film concentrates on an imprisoned German doctor, played by O.E. Hasse. Denied sophisticated surgical tools, the doctor relies solely upon his medical skill to pull his patients through. He manages to win the confidence and respect of his Soviet captors when he removes a brain tumor from the son of the commandant. Less happy are the results of a wartime romance between the doctor and a female Russian physician. Though not altogether sympathetic to the Russians, neither can Der Arzt Von Stalingrad be considered 100% pro-German. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- O.E. Hasse, Eva Bartok, (more)
- 1954
Having escaped the clutches of a white-slavery ring in They Were So Young, Johanna Matz is back in the "mannequin" business in Ingrid--Die Geshchichte Eines Fotomodel (Ingrid--Story of a Model). A wartime refugee, Ingrid (Ms. Matz) secures a job as a seamstress, working her way up to fashion model. Soon success becomes more important than anything else, nearly costing Ingrid the love of her sweetheart Robert (Paul Humschmid, who acted in the US as Paul Christian). Though the "reunion" finale is conventional, the lovers' method of perpetuating their romance is most daring for a mid-1950s film. Ingrid was directed by Geza Radvanyi, who'd previously helmed the well-received "displaced person" drama It Happened in Europe (1947). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Johanna Matz, Paul Hubschmid, (more)
- 1953
Michel Simon plays the title character in L'Etrange Desir de Monsieur Bard (The Strange Desire of Mr. Bard). Employed as a bus driver in Monte Carlo, M. Bard is told that he only has a short time to live. Retiring from his job, Bard finds no comfort at home, where he is deluged by relatives who can't wait to get their hands on his insurance money. Turning his back on these vultures, Bard decides to "create" a person who will love him for himself; in other words, he wants to father a child. After a run of good luck at the casino gaming tables and a chance meeting with equally lonely dancer Donta (Genevieve Page), it looks as though Bard will get his wish. The outcome is predictable, but Michel Simon can make practically anything work. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1949
Femmes sans Nom is the second film in a proposed trilogy conceived by Hungarian director Geza Radvanyi (the first was Somewhere in Europe). In each of these three films, Radvanyi hoped to dramatically convey the plight of those left homeless and destitute by WW II. Femmes sans Nom is set in a relocation camp in Trieste, where hundreds of disenfranchised European women are huddled together. Prominent among these unfortunate souls is a former aristocrat, played by Francoise Rosay; a woman of loose morals, portrayed by Simone Simon; and an expectant mother, essayed by Valentine Cortese. After the lukewarm response to Femmes sans Nom, Geza Radvanyi dropped his plans for the third film in his "displaced persons" series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simone Simon, Françoise Rosay, (more)
Valahol Europaban (aka Somewhere in Europe and It Happened in Europe) was the second directorial effort from Hungarian filmmaker Geza Radvanyi--and, in the eyes of many film historians, his best work. Drawing his inspiration from the wreckage left behind by WW II, Radvanyi weaves a fascinating yarn about a group of orphaned and/or stranded European children. Left without homes or families, the kids form a gang, robbing others for food and clothing. The gang takes refuge in a bombed-out castle, intending to live there permanently. When it turns out that the castle is occupied by an elderly, shell-shocked musician (Arthur Somley), the kids' first impulse is to rob him too, but the gang's leader (Miklos Gabor) prevents this. Out of the gratitude, the musician "adopts" the children, protecting them from the prying eyes of the local authorities. Filmed entirely on location, Valohol Europaban has a raw vitality and refreshing spontaneity that many of Radvanyi's later films sorely lack. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Artur Somlay, Miklos Gabor, (more)
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