Paul Henreid Movies
Some sources list actor Paul Henreid's birthplace as Italy. In fact, at the time of his birth, Henreid's hometown of Trieste was still part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Of aristocratic stock, Henreid felt drawn to theatrical activities while attending college. He briefly supported himself as a translator before Max Reinhardt's assistant Otto Preminger officially discovered him and launched his stage career. Still billed under his given name of Von Hernreid, he made his film debut in a 1933 Moroccan production. Relocating to England in 1935, he was often as not cast as Teutonic villains, most memorably in the 1940 melodrama Night Train.In 1940, Henreid became an American citizen--and, at last, a leading man. Henreid's inbred Continental sophistication struck a responsive chord with wartime audiences. He spent his finest years as an actor at Warner Bros., where he appeared as Jerry Durrance in Bette Davis' Now Voyager (1942), as too-good-to-be-true resistance leader Victor Lazslo in Casablanca (1942), and as troubled medical student Philip Carey in the 1946 remake of Of Human Bondage (1946). Henreid exhibited a great deal of vivacity in such swashbucklers as The Spanish Main (1945), Last of the Buccaneers (1950) and The Siren of Bagdad (1953); in the latter film, the actor engagingly spoofed his own screen image by repeating his lighting-two-cigarettes bit from Now Voyager with an ornate water pipe. He was also an effective villain in Hollow Triumph (1948, which he also produced) and Rope of Sand (1949).
Henreid's star faded in the 1950s, a fact he would later attribute (in his 1984 autobiography Ladies Man) to the Hollywood Blacklist. He turned to directing, helming such inexpensive but worthwhile dramas as For Men Only (a 1951 indictment of the college hazing process) and A Woman's Devotion (1954). One of his best directorial efforts was the 1964 meller Dead Ringer, starring his former Warners co-star (and longtime personal friend) Bette Davis. In addition, Henreid directed dozens of 30- and 60-minute installments of such TV series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Maverick. His last on-camera appearance was as "The Cardinal" in Exorcist 2: The Heretic (1977).
Henreid married Elizabeth Gluck in 1936, with whom he had two daughters, Monica Henreid and Mimi Duncan. On March 29, 1992, he died of pneumonia, following a stroke, in Santa Monica, California. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Writer, director, and interviewer Bernhard Frankfurter also takes up a lot of camera time as he introduces and questions a series of professionals -- writers, directors, actors, and composers -- on how they survived the Hitler years (some went to Hollywood, others escaped elsewhere). Among those interviewed are actress Lotte Stein, composer Fred Spielman, and director Walter Henreid. Interviewee Paul Reisch may have survived Hitler, but then he ran into five years of blacklisting during the McCarthy era -- in spite of being an entrenched monarchist. A few stories like his make for an interesting commentary on this period and its aftermath. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolph Cartier, Paul Falkenberg, (more)
Four years after her bout of demonic possession, Regan MacNeil seems at peace as she enjoys a privileged but lonely adolescence. Her actress mother, absent on-location, leaves her in the care of her childhood nanny, Sharon, who feels inextricably bound to her young charge despite the terror she endured during the girl's possession. Regan attends frequent counseling sessions with Dr. Gene Tuskin, an unorthodox psychologist who believes Regan remembers more of her ordeal than she admits. Meanwhile, Father Lamont, a protégé of the priest who died exorcising Regan, is called to investigate the death of his mentor. The Church is divided over the teachings of Father Merrin and wants to gather documentation of his views about demonic existence. Father Lamont himself is conflicted -- haunted by images of a possessed woman he could not save. As he and Dr. Tuskin become convinced that the demon still exhibits a hold on Regan, the priest sojourns to Africa in search of Kokuma, who as a boy was possessed by the same demon and exorcised by Father Merrin. Learning the true name and ancient origins of his supernatural foe, Lamont returns to America to stage a climactic battle for Regan's soul. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Blair, Richard Burton, (more)
- 1975
Canadian actress Kate Reid plays a lady p.i. in Death Among Friends. Kate is hired to solve the murder of a multimillionaire financier. As tipped off by the title, she need look no farther than the dead man's circle of friends. Refreshingly, both the heroine and her police contact, John Anderson, are well into middle age, rather than being depicted as mindless hunks of cheese- and beefcake. Intended as the pilot for a weekly series, Death Among Friends was first telecast May 20, 1975. The film was later syndicated as Mrs. R-Death Among Friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Jane Wyman makes her TV-movie debut in The Failing of Raymond. She plays a middle-aged schoolteacher on the verge of retirement. Just before packing up and heading out, she is terrorized by former student Dean Stockwell. Having flunked out of her class ten years earlier, the demented man intends to kill his ex-teacher unless she changes his grade. Talk about your "permanent record"! The Failing of Raymond debuted November 27, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
A currency smuggling ring was the death of one of its members and her boyfriend diplomat avenges her death by cracking the ring. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1969
Taken from the popular play by Jean Giraudoux, The Madwoman Of Chaillot has an international all-star cast, but the final result falls short despite the talents of the celebrated thespians. The madwoman in question is the extremely eccentric Countess Aurelia (Katherine Hepburn). Roderick (Richard Chamberlain) is the peace-loving activist who, along with a local rag picker (Danny Kaye), warns the Countess of a plot to destroy the city. A quartet of villains led by the Chairman (Yul Brynner) are after the oil reserves that bubble under the water supply. Along with the Broker (Charles Boyer), the Commissar (Oscar Homolka), and the Prospector (Donald Pleasence), the evil developers plan to secure the oil rights to the region with or without the consent of the unsuspecting public. The Countess invites Josephine (Dame Edith Evans) to judge the villains, who are locked in the Countess's cellar for their crimes against the people of Paris in this lethargic film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 1967
Paul Henreid narrates this one-hour documentary about Peking, China in the days before the communist takeover. As all Italian roads lead to Rome, so do all roads in China lead to Peking. Here, peasants train pigeons to steal rice from the royal grain reserve to avoid starvation, and stories of the royal family are peppered with juicy gossip about the sex life of the Dowager Empress and other tales of the Forbidden City. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Originally titled Blues For Lovers, Ballad in Blue was the last of actor Paul Henreid's theatrical-film directorial efforts. R&B legend Ray Charles plays himself, attempting to help a newly blinded British boy adjust to sightlessness. Charles is no actor, but he has a natural ease and grace that many "real" movie stars might envy. As a bonus, we get to hear him perform such favorites as "What'd I Say?" and "I Got a Woman". Monika Henreid, the daughter of the director, can be seen in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Charles, Tom Bell, (more)
- 1966
Ed Begley Sr. makes a return visit to Bonanza in the role of proud old Ponderosa wrangler Dan Tolliver. Sensing that Dan is getting too old for his work, Ben Cartwright arranges for the stubborn ranchhand to take on an easier job. Infuriated, Dan quits the Ponderosa and falls in with two outlaws who have a long-standing hatred for the Cartwrights. Others in the cast include Audrey Totter as Beth Riley, Sherwood Price as Sand, Renny McAvoy as Flint and former B-western star Don "Red" Barry as Temple. Written by Frank Chase and directed by movie leading man Paul Henreid, "A Time to Step Down", was originally seen on September 25, 1966, then rebroadcast on New Years' Eve, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
This big-budget, big-studio espionage film is set in the last years of World War II. George Peppard, Tom Courtenay and Jeremy Kemp parachute into Germany, with orders to destroy the Nazis' V-1 rocket base at Peenemunde. Given the order of billing, guess which special operative survives the longest. This being an MGM production, Peppard has time to commiserate with Sophia Loren, the wife of the Nazi collaborator whom Peppard is pretending to be. If you're wondering about the film's outcome, remember who won the war. Operation Crossbow failed badly in its first release; MGM, deciding that the title misled moviegoers into thinking that the picture was a "Robin Hood" derivation, cleared up matters by renaming the film The Great Spy Mission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, George Peppard, (more)
Though he's most famous for his portrayal of Victor Laszlo in 1942's Casablanca, actor Paul Henreid took a few turns behind the camera as evidenced by this 1964 thriller starring Bette Davis as twins Margaret DeLorca and Edith Phillips. After landing the beau they both sought after by falsely claiming she was pregnant, Margaret lives a life of luxury as the wife of a wealthy man. Now, 20 years later, a broke and lonely Edith has returned for revenge. After killing the recently widowed Margaret, Edith assumes her identity with plans of living the life she feels she's deserved all along. But in order to pull it off, she'll have to play the role of Margaret connivingly enough to fool her servants as well as a local playboy and the police. Dead Ringer was remade in 1986 as Killer in the Mirror, a made-for-television movie starring Ann Jillian. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Karl Malden, (more)
- 1962
Inasmuch as this episode was scripted by Robert Bloch, one shouldn't be surprised by its echoes of Bloch's suspense classic Psycho. The titular Annabel (Susan Oliver) is the former girlfriend of nerdy chemist David Kelsey (Dean Stockwell), who obsesses over the girl day and night. Having spent a great deal of money to purchase a "dream home" for Annabel and himself, David is startled to learn that the girl is now married and wants nothing to do with him. Refusing to believe that he has lost Annabel forever, David immediately goes into denial -- which in his case proves to be a lethal affliction. "Annabel" was adapted from a story by Patricia Highsmith, the author of another classic Hitchcock film, Strangers on a Train. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Having suffering a crippling injury while on his honeymoon, Joe Drake (Paul Comi) is none too pleased when he is visited by Ralph Morrow (John Lupton), former boyfriend of Joe's wife, Madeline (Peggy Ann Garner). Convinced that Ralph has set his sights for Madeline again, Joe gets carried away by his paranoia and concludes that Ralph is also responsible for three recent murders in his neighborhood, in which all the victims were young women. Ultimately, however, both Joe and Ralph launch desperate searches for Madeline when she fails to come home on time -- and it is at this point that the murderer's true identity is revealed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Prison warden Bragen (Edward Asner) can't understand why former convict and recent parolee Fred Riordan (R.G. Armstrong) would commit a minor crime which lands him back behind bars. Thinking that Fred simply isn't psychologically capable of living in the outside world, Bragen asks the man to tell him his story. It turns out that, once sprung, Fred had been ordered to commit a murder by a gangster named Tony Wando (Steven Peccaro) -- and the only way Fred could solve his dilemma was to give up his freedom again. Of course, there is a bit more to the story...but Fred will reveal all when the time comes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Ned Malley (Gene Evans) is devoted to his pet dog, a Kerry blue named Annie. Tired of playing second fiddle to Annie, Ned's long-suffering wife, Thelma (Carmen Mathews), makes no secret of her disdain for the dog. Thus, when Annie dies, Ned accuses Thelma of poisoning the pooch -- and intends to wreak vengeance for this "murder most foul." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
There's a rumor that the MGM executive who thought that Glenn Ford could fill Rudolph Valentino's shoes in the 1962 remake of Valentino's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse would have been arrested had it been sufficiently proven that he was competent to stand trial. The World War I setting of the original Blasco-Ibanez novel has been updated to World War II, but the basic plot remains the same. A well-to-do Argentinian family, rent asunder by the death of patriarch Lee J. Cobb, scatters to different European countries in the late 1930s. Before expiring, Cobb had warned his nephew Carl Boehm that the latter's allegiance to the Nazis would bring down the wrath of the titular Four Horsemen: War, Conquest, Famine and Death. Ford, Cobb's grandson, has promised to honor his grandfather's memory by thwarting the plans of Boehm. At the cost of his own life, Ford leads allied bombers to Boehm's Normandy headquarters. As unsuited as Glenn Ford was for his role, co-star Ingrid Thulin was even worse: her Swedish accent proved so impenetrable that MGM was obliged to have Angela Lansbury dub Ms. Thulin's voice. A major misfire for director Vincente Minnelli, The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse was an expensive flop, forcing MGM to hope and pray that their upcoming epic How the West Was Won would save the studio's hindquarters (it did). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, (more)
- 1961
Retired professional assassin Frank Burns (Richard Conte) has told his new wife, Loretta (Sara Shane), that he used to be an engineer. Unfortunately, a man named Cullen (Stacy Harris) knows the truth about Burns, and he threatens to tell all unless he is paid off. Not one to be threatened, Frank briefly comes out of retirement to deal with Cullen -- which proves to be, shall we say, a fatal error. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Hoodlums Phil (Walter Matthau) and Davey (Glenn Cannon) stage a daring daylight robbery of a bank messenger, whom hotheaded Davey shoots and kills. It turns out that there was a witness to the murder, a young woman (Carol Grace) now in police custody. Scheming to knock off the witness before she can identify Davey, Phil disguises himself as a policeman and worms his way into the woman's confidence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
DA Rudolph Cox (Leslie Nielsen) hopes to use the testimony of stoolie Lou Heinz (Bernard Kates) to put mobster Mac Davis (Harold J. Stone) away for keeps. Unfortunately, Heinz's cover is blown and he is marked for death. Even more unfortunately, the most important official in town seems to be in Davis' pocket -- which means that Cox's dreams of becoming a major political figure are in just as much danger as the hapless Heinz. This is the final episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents' sixth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Although storekeeper Mrs. Gruber (Jesslyn Fax) has purchased a gun for protection, she finds herself incapable of pulling the trigger when she is robbed by a teenager named Jimmy Philips (Bob Paget). Not so timorous is Mrs. Gruber's customer Gerald R. Clarke (George Nader), who grabs the gun, chases Jimmy down, and shoots the boy to death -- managing to avoid arrest himself by claiming "self-defense." This leads to a fateful confrontation between Gerald and the dead boy's mother (Audrey Totter). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Nightclub singer Crystal Coe (Polly Bergen) is less than thrilled when her former husband, Tony (Joe Maross), shows up. It seems that Tony has served a lengthy prison sentence for a crime that Crystal had committed. Now Crystal must find a way to divest herself of Tony for good -- never suspecting that in doing so, she will end up a very, very sorry young lady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
A skeleton in a museum collection of Native American artifacts catches the eye of a man named Newton Clovis (Myron McCormick). Curator Clay Hollister (Larry Gates) insists that the skeleton is that of an Indian, but Newton suspects otherwise. In flashback, we learn that Newton is absolutely right, and that Hollister had once been on somewhat intimate terms with the skeleton's owner, thanks to a sensational murder case involving Hollister's late son, Ben (Bert Convy). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Third-rate escape artist Joe Ferlini (Keenan Wynn) hopes to make the big time with a particularly dangerous stunt, in which he will be manacled hand and foot and locked into a submerged trunk. Both Joe's wife Wanda (Jan Sterling) and his manager Phil (Dennis Patrick) try to talk Joe out of this stunt, but only Phil is sincere; the faithless Wanda intends to use Joe's big escape as a cover for her plan to murder him. As things turn out, Wanda "wins" -- at least until the day of Joe's funeral, that is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
New in town, bank clerk Billy Weaver (Dean Stockwell) rents a room from a slightly daffy old woman (Patricia Collinge). After a few days, Billy begins to wonder why he never sees any of the lady's other tenants. While he doesn't get any answers right away, he does find out that his landlady is rather fond of stuffed domestic animals -- and exotic beverages. This merrily macabre episode was given the full "Hitchcock" treatment by both its original author Roald Dahl and its adaptor Robert Bloch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
This episode marked the first of several Hitchcock contributions by future Columbo and Murder, She Wrote creators Richard Levinson and William Link. Steve Dunne plays a young man who suffers total amnesia after sustaining a blow to the head. Rummaging through his wallet, the man finds two possible clues to his true identity: a 1,000-dollar bill and a card bearing the name of Dr. Ralph Mannix (Hugh Marlowe). But when he catches up with Mannix, the doctor insists he has never met the man in his life -- though he makes a fateful suggestion as to how our hero can restore his memory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
