July 2020
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The plot plays out in Paris, in a typical apartment building, in which various parties live. There are interpersonal relationships --- and the fights which go along with that --- quarrels and delicate romances. Yet, there is an understanding among the tenants most of the time, especially where the landlady, Maret, is concerned. For one thing, she'd love to put starving artist Max Lescalier, along with his gossipy wife, Germaine, out to the curb. Since Max' sales of his paintings never cover the rent, the landlady is constantly having to browbeat his wife for the overdue rent. This time, however, the landlady's fed up: she's told the couple that by the end of the day, they need to pack and move out. Magical Therese Hochepot, on the other hand --- a young, slightly disabled woman --- is the epitome of kindness. She gives Madame Maret the rent for a more modest apartment on the sixth floor, where the Lescaliers can live, on the condition that the couple learns to keep quiet and stops gossiping.
Die Geschichte spielt in Paris, in einem typischen Mietshaus, in dem die unterschiedlichsten Parteien untergebracht sind. Es gibt Zwischenmenschliches und Techtelmechtel, Streitereien und zarte Amouren. Einigkeit zwischen den einzelnen Bewohnern herrscht vor allem bezüglich der Hauswirtin Maret. Die führt nämlich ein strenges Regiment. Als erstes würde sie liebend gern den Hungerkünstler Max Lescalier mitsamt seiner klatschsüchtigen Frau Germaine, die grundsätzlich ihre Nase in Dinge steckt, die sie nichts angehen, vor die Türe setzen. Denn mit seinen Gemälden verdient er nicht das nötige Geld, um die Miete regelmäßig zu bezahlen. Ständig fordert Germaine Madame auf, die Miete noch ein weiteres Mal zu stunden. Doch diesmal hat die Hausbesitzerin die Nase voll: sie kündigt den Lescaliers an, sie noch heute vor die Tür zu setzen. Die zauberhafte Thérèse Hochepot, eine junge, ein wenig gehbehinderte Frau wiederum ist die Gutherzigkeit in Person. Sie drückt Madame Maret die Miete für eine bescheidenere Unterkunft innerhalb des 6. Stocks, in der die Lescaliers auf ihre Kosten wohnen können, in die Hand – unter der Bedingung absoluten Stillschweigens gegenüber den Lescaliers.
Palestine, 1947/48: The British prepare to withdraw and end their mandate, at which time, the Jews will proclaim an independent state. For the British, their problems governing the multinational territory will end; but for the Jews, their problems are about to come to a head. Israel will be surrounded by hostile Arab nations intent on smothering the newborn state in its cradle. The Jews' underground army, the Haganah, has received intelligence, that Syrian forces are receiving the services of a former Panzer commander, General Gustav Schiller, who is training them in tank tactics. Schiller's former wife, Judith Auerbach Schiller, is a Jewess, who was betrayed by her husband and left to die in a camp. The woman's survived, however, and is out to locate the son Schiller took from her before she was arrested. The Haganah decides to find Judith and use her knowledge to locate the general, identify him and make him reveal the Syrians' attack plans. Smuggled into Palestine and hidden in a kibbutz, Judith is not in the slightest bit interested in the Jewish state or in finding her ex-husband, other than to exact revenge and find her son. Will the Haganah convince her that the future of the Jewish state is more important than her desire to kill General Schiller?
Cpl. John Leatherby, an American soldier stationed in West Berlin, is kidnapped after escorting his German girlfriend home. The Soviets deny involvement in the kidnapping through their intermediary Col. Lodejinski, who is secretly an American and British intelligence asset. Charles Leatherby, the corporal's father and a Toledo industrialist, attempts to expedite his son's retrieval by leveraging his ties to the Eisenhower administration and prominent senators. The elder Leatherby flies to West Berlin and attempts to bully State Department and military officials into quickly retrieving his son, demanding that they offer the Soviets a monetary bribe. Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Steve van Dyke, the eccentric provost marshal for the American sector, is contacted by his old flame and East German source "Hoffy" Hoffmeier. Hoffmeier implies Cpl. Leatherby has been kidnapped to exchange him for two West Berliners. Lacking viable alternatives, van Dyke allows Hoffmeir to facilitate the trade. After a tense meeting with Leatherby, van Dyke invites him to dinner at the Katacombe Restaurant, ostensibly to discuss the proposed exchange. Instead, van Dyke attempts to make Leatherby understand the human cost of the trade by revealing the restaurant's piano player and her husband, who was blinded by the Nazis, as the two West Berliners the Soviets desperately want.
THE TALE OF TIME LOST (1964) * with switchable English subtitles *
Petya Zubov is a lazy boy, who is continually wasting time. In the morning, when other children are getting ready for school, he walks around the city and couldn't care less when he arrives at his classes. Four evil wizards realize they're old and can't work like they used to. They decide to regain their youth by seizing time from young, lazy children, who spend their time in unproductive (capitalistic) ways. Once they steal the children's youth, the unproductive (non-socialist) children become old and (societally) useless. Will the affected children be able to foil the wizards in their plot and prove themselves to be socially-reliable and productive members of the workers' state?
LITTLE ALEXANDER (1981) * with switchable English subtitles *
1945. The Wehrmacht has been beaten and the war has come to an end. Now, new tasks await Captain Zvetov, who, in civilian life, was a professor of the German language in Leningrad. He's assigned to work at the Tagliche Rundschau, a new paper being put out in the Soviet Zone. On the way to his assignment in Berlin, he passes through a small town, whose recently-established orphanage needs help. The place is full to the brim and lacks everything. The Soviet soldiers help as best they can, finding medicines, covers, and shoes for the children. Among the children are a few agitators, who cling to the fascist ways taught to them in Hitler's Reich. Only after marauding bands from the old regime attack them, killing Soviet soldiers and some of the children, do the hold-outs begin to consider their old ways.
1945. Die faschistische Wehrmacht ist geschlagen, der Krieg geht zu Ende. Auf Hauptmann Zwetow, im zivilen Leben Dozent für deutsche Sprache in Leningrad, warten neue Aufgaben. Er wird zur Zeitung "Tägliche Rundschau" abkommandiert. Auf dem Weg dorthin macht er Station in einem kleinen Ort, dessen provisorisches Kinderheim Hilfe braucht. Es ist überfüllt, und es fehlt an allem. Die sowjetischen Soldaten helfen, so gut sie können, besorgen Medikamente, Decken, Schuhe. Unter den Kindern befinden sich einige Aufwiegler, die faschistischem Gedankengut anhängen. Erst nach Überfällen marodierender Banden, denen sowjetische Soldaten und auch Kinder zum Opfer fallen, beginnen sie, ihre Haltung zu überdenken.
NIGHT AT THE CROSSROADS (La Nuit du Carrefour) (1932) * with switchable English subtitles *
A dark night, missing diamonds, a shot in the dark and some very suspicious characters add up to a chilling mystery for the redoubtable Inspector Maigret. This time, the Inspector is called to investigate the mysterious murder of a diamond merchant. It all starts with a stolen car and it proceeds forward as a strangely flirtatious woman and her grim husband become the prime suspects. But everyone in this little crossroads town seems to have something to hide. And nobody is really who they claim to be. But which ones are guilty? Where are the hidden gems? How many people are in on it? Who shot the diamond merchant’s wife? And why was there cocaine in a car's spare tire? All the threads are deftly woven together by the relentless logic of Inspector Maigret.
ARAYA (1959) * with switchable English subtitles *
Benacerraf’s film portrays a day in the life of three families living in one of the harshest places on earth — Araya, an arid peninsula in northeastern Venezuela. For 450 years, since its discovery by the Spanish, the region’s salt has been manually collected and stacked into glowing white pyramids. Overlooking the area, a 17th-century fortress built to protect against pirate raids stood as a reminder of the days when the mineral was worth as much as gold and great fortunes were made in the salt trade. Benacerraf captures the grueling work of these salineros in breathtaking high-contrast black-and-white images. Her camera gracefully pans and glides to reveal the landscape and the people of the peninsula. All night, the Pereda family toils in the salt marshes. In the morning, the Salaz clan arrives to load and stack the crystals under the hot brutal sun. Down the coastline, the Ortiz family fish and tend their nets, while the youngest member, Carmen, collects seashells and coral.
AEROGRAD (1935) * with switchable English subtitles *
A Soviet outpost in eastern Siberia comes under threat of attack by the Japanese in this patriotic film from 1935. Aerograd is a new city with a strategically located airfield of vital interest to the government. Work on the new outpost is complicated when tensions develop between workers and members of a religious sect, who fled east after the Revolution. The sect threatens to give their support to a band of marauding Samurai warriors, who intend to conquer the region for the Japanese Empire. The Old Believers have sent delegates to the Emperor of Japan to enlist his aid in keeping the Red Star from flying over the East. But is the invincibility of the Red Army ever in doubt?
ZUCKERBROT UND PEITSCHE (1968) * with switchable English subtitles *
Roger is a model particularly in demand by the advertising services of the cigarette industry. Yet, behind the facade of the narcissistic, beautiful boy lurks a criminal; an unscrupulous bastard who'll walk over corpses, if need be. And because Roger is always looking for a kick in his predictably normal life, he robs banks and jewelry stores in Munich and is far from squeamish in carrying out his plans. If someone doesn't follow his instructions to the letter, he'll simply shoot the offender. If someone speaks back during a robbery, he'll be shot, too. If someone doesn't do as he's told or makes a move at the wrong moment, yep: he's shot. When Roger's cheated by a fence for his jewelry, he simply shoots the cheat. During one of his raids, he meets Helga and loses his harmonica. Helga takes it and the next day, they meet at a fashion store. Roger's aware Helga has his harmonica and starts playing a cat-and-mouse game with the girl, so that she knows exactly whom she's dealing with. Not impressed with him at first, Roger's intrigued by her blase attitude and falls for her. Eventually, however, Helga becomes more and more fascinated by Roger's wild and uninhibited lifestyle; his outlaw existence.
Roger ist ein männliches Model, der als Dressman vor allem als Werbefigur der Zigarettenindustrie gefragt ist. Doch hinter der Fassade des selbstverliebten Schönlings, dessen Aktivitäten nur noch reine Routine verheißen, lauert eine Verbrecherseele, ein skrupelloser Schweinehund, der über Leichen geht. Denn Roger will seinem Leben immer einen Kick verschaffen und deshalb raubt er in München Banken und Juweliergeschäfte aus und ist in seiner Vorgehensweise alles andere als zimperlich. Folgt jemand seinen Anweisungen nicht: wird dieser erschossen. Gibt jemand während des Überfalls Widerworte: wird dieser erschossen. Muckt irgend jemand auf oder bewegt sich im falschen Moment: wird dieser erschossen. Soll Roger von einem Hehler betrogen werden: wird dieser erschossen. Bei einem seiner Raubzüge stößt er auf die hübsche Helga und verliert auch noch seine Mundorgel. Helga nimmt diese an sich. Einen Tag später begegnen sich beide in einem Modegeschäft wieder. Roger weiß, dass Helga seine verlorene Mundorgel hat und spielt nun in ihrer Anwesenheit fast beiläufig auf einer anderen herum, so, als wolle er, dass sie weiß, mit wem sie es zu tun hat. Zeigt sich Helga von Roger anfänglich nicht sonderlich beeindruckt, so verliebt sich der Gangster sofort in die Zeugin seiner Verbrechen. Schließlich beginnt Helga von Rogers wildem, ungezügelten und völlig enthemmten Lebensstil, dieser Outlaw-Existenz, mehr und mehr fasziniert zu werden.
THE PRICE OF LOVE (1984) * with switchable English subtitles *
The film takes place in Corfu at the beginning of the 20th Century. There, the wife of an alcoholic and mother of four works in a factory. A nobleman, who's fallen on difficult times, wants to marry the woman's eldest daughter and take advantage of the family's meager earnings. The girl is more than willing to marry him, but that's no excuse for him to kidnap her and then argue with her mother about the dowry. The girl, however, changes her mind about marrying him, when she realizes the so-called marriage will only be about him looking out for his own interests. By this time, however, the girl is pregnant and she decides to get a job, in order to raise the child on her own.
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KREUZER EMDEN (1932) * with switchable English subtitles * Louis Ralphs Kriegsfilm, in dem er selbst den Kapitän der "Emden" spielt und nachvertonte Aufnahmen aus seinem Stummfilm "Unsere Emden" von 1926 einsetzt, singt ein Hohelied auf deutsche Soldaten, die im Ersten Weltkrieg gegen Engländer und Russen kämpfen: Oberbootsmaat Mertens wird als Reservist einberufen und heiratet schnell noch seine Verlobte Grete. Auf der Hochzeit kommt es zu einem Konflikt mit dem Matrosen Petzold, der früher mit Grete verlobt war. Zufällig wird Mertens auf das Schiff versetzt, auf dem auch Petzold dient: die "Emden". Bald befindet sich das Schiff im Kriegseinsatz, versenkt im Indischen Ozean englische Handelsschiffe und im Hafen von Penang einen russischen Kreuzer. Ein Angriff auf die englische Funkstation "Keeling Island" auf den Kokosinseln wird der "Emden" zum Verhängnis.
Louis Ralph’s war film, in which he plays the captain of the “Emden” and in which he overdubbed recordings from his silent film “Unsere Emden” from 1926, including a German soldier song sang in WWI against the English and Russians. Oberbootsmaat Mertens, a naval reservist, is called up for duty and quickly marries his fiancée Grete. At the wedding, a fight breaks out with the sailor Petzold, who was previously engaged to Grete. Bt chance, Mertens is placed on the same ship as Petzold, the Emden. Soon, the ship finds itself at war, sinking English merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and a Russian cruiser in the harbor of Penang. But an attack on an English transmitter at “Keeling Island” on the Cocoa Islands turns out to be Emden’s undoing.
KUHLE WAMPE (1932) * with switchable English subtitles *
Berlin 1931. Vater Bönike und sein Sohn sind wie hunderttausend andere auch arbeitslos, Tochter Anni hat eine schlecht bezahlte Anstellung in der Fabrik. Als ihr Bruder sich das Leben nimmt und die Familie kurz darauf ihre Wohnung räumen muss, zieht sie in die Zeltkolonie "Kuhle Wampe" vor den Toren Berlins. Anni überwirft sich mit ihrem Freund Fritz, von dem sie schwanger ist, und zieht zu ihrer Freundin Gerda, die gerade ein großes Arbeitersportfest organisiert. Bei der Veranstaltung finden Anni und Fritz wieder zueinander und auf der Heimfahrt kommt es zum berühmten Schlussdialog. "Wer soll denn die Welt verändern?", fragt ein offensichtlich gut situierter Herr. Antwort Gerda: "Die, denen sie nicht gefällt."
Anni, the family’s daughter and the only family member who still has a job, becomes pregnant and engaged to her boyfriend, Fritz, who that very evening describes that their marriage was demanded of him because of her pregnancy. Anni leaves Fritz and moves to her friend Gerda’s apartment. She later takes place in a worker’s sporting event where she meets Fritz again, who has recently lost his work, and they reunite. The climax of the film depicts their return home by train. Anni and Fritz as well as a handful of workers argue with middle-class and wealthy men and women over the situation of the worldwide financial crisis. One of the workers notes that the well-off will not change the world in any case, to which one of the wealthy asks quizzically, “Who else, then, can change the world?” Gerda replies, “Those who don’t like it.”
Das kommt dem Versicherungsbevollmächtigten Harry Peters verdächtig vor: Zuerst begegnet er im Winterurlaub in den Bergen einem Mann, der versucht, sein Gesicht zu verbergen. Dann erfährt er später im Hotel, dass dort oben gerade ein Mann bei einem Unfall ums Leben gekommen sein soll. Als Harry am nächsten Morgen mit einem Bergführer nach der Leiche des Verunglückten sucht, werden sie überfallen, der Bergführer stürzt ab und Harry entkommt nur mit knapper Not. Harry forscht weiter nach der Wahrheit. Er hat den Verdacht, dass der vermeintlich Verunglückte noch am Leben ist und die Versicherung um eine hohe Summe betrogen werden sollte. Als mehrere Hotelgäste, die ihm verdächtig erscheinen, abreisen, folgt er ihnen. In den Bergen kommt es zu einem Kampf auf Leben und Tod.
While enjoying his winter holiday in the mountains, the insurance investigator Harry Peters meets a man, who is desperately trying to hide his face. He later learns back in his hotel room, that a man lost his life up in the mountains. When he and a mountain guide depart the next day to find the corpse, they are attacked. The guide plunges to his death and Harry barely escapes with his life. He soon suspects that the supposedly dead man really is alive and has faked his death for the insurance money. He also suspects that some of the other hotel guests are in on the act. Once again, someone tries to kill Harry during his investigations. When he later chases the criminals fleeing towards the border in the mountains, a battle of life and death takes place in the ice and snow.
UND ES LEUCHTET DIE PUSZTA (1933)
A combination of glorified travelogue, musical comedy romance and Magyar patriotic propaganda labeled "Und Es Leuchtet Die Pustza" ("And the Pustza Gleams") was a joint German-Hungarian venture. Basing the action upon a standard Hungarian piece by Koloman Mikszath. the director, Heinz Hille, has used the practically unlimited technical resources of the big German film concern and the willing cooperation of the Hungarian Government to turn out a charming production which likely brought more visitors to the great Hungarian plains and to the Budapest of song and romance. Here, Hungary puts her best foot forward and life with the herds of blooded horses and cattle, in the vineyards and in the capital is well worth living, even for an irredentist. Rose Barsony, the pretty blonde Magyar dancer and singer, who, with the likely young Wolf Albach-Retty, occupies the centre of the screen most of the time, is excellent. For real acting, however, the honors are with Karoly Sugar, as the old manager of a spendthrift nobleman's estate who saves the patrimony of the latter's daughter. Although many of the actors are Magyars, they speak German with fluency. The photography is clear and the musical numbers are catchy.
DAS MADCHEN JOHANNA (1935) * with switchable English subtitles *
While not the most accurate portrayal of historical events, as we purport to know them, this film nevertheless shows a historical viewpoint, which may not be too far from the truth. Neither the French, nor the British, come out looking too good in this film ... and why should they? Nazi Germany had no interest in wooing either of their future enemies. Yet, in spite of fascist Germany's abhorrence with all religions, which placed God above man, this film resembles the Passion of Christ more closely than it does historical events and therein lays the discomfort: the betrayal of the servant of God; the mocking of the same; even the request of the British soldier, who asks her to remember him in Paradise, just like the criminal at Jesus' side who asked the same at the crucifixion. King Charles of France, so often portrayed as weak-minded, indecisive and incompetent is shown here as weak and apparently malleable by his nobles; but eventually, the film shows him to be rational, cold-blooded, manipulative, calculating and politically savvy. In the end, he, too, will abandon the "tool" which saved France and brought him to power. The film is less an anti-British and anti-French propaganda piece -- for it happened 500 years past and the Nazis were hardly the ones to point the moral finger at anyone without turning red-faced -- than it is a commentary on how untrustworthy all people are and how those who do good are usually rewarded so poorly. In this, the film is significantly more successful than it ever could be in showing the corruption of two peoples only doing what the Nazis themselves would do over and over again half a millenium later.
DER KAMPF MIT DEM DRACHEN (1935)
Gräfin von Drachenstein, Inhaberin der traditionellen Drachensteinschen Schlossbrauerei, in der seit 300 Jahren das berühmte Drachenbräu hergestellt wird, weigert sich hartnäckig, einem Zusammenschluss der Drachen- mit der Sonnenbrauerei zuzustimmen. Trude, die Nichte, und Fritz, der Sohn des Leiters der Sonnenbrauerei, versuchen vergeblich, Bachmeier, den Bräumeister der Drachenbrauerei, abzuwerben. Aber dann verliebt Trude sich in Bachmeier, und Fritz in Komtesse Helene, die Nichte der Gräfin von Drachenstein. Und so kommt es doch noch zu einem Zusammenschluss der Familienunternehmen.
Countess von Drachenstein, the owner of the traditional Drachenstein Castle Brewery, in which the famous Dragon Brew has been made for the last 300 years, stubbornly refuses to merge the Drachenstein Brewery with the Sonnen Brewery. Trude, her niece, and Fritz, the son of the owner of the Sonnen Brewery, try in vain to lure the master brewer, Bachmeier, away from the Drachenstein Brewery. But then, Trude falls in love with Bachmeier and Fritz in the Comtesse Helene, the niece of the countess von Drachenstein. And thus, the two breweries end up merging after all as a joint family venture. Exciting, huh?
ICH WAR JACK MORTIMER (1935) * with switchable English subtitles *
Der Taxifahrer Ferdinand Sponer entdeckt eines Tages einen erschossenen Fahrgast in seinem Wagen. Aus Angst, für den Täter gehalten zu werden, lässt er die Leiche verschwinden und nimmt die beiden Koffer des Toten an sich. Seine Braut Marie, der er alles erzählt, vermutet, dass der Tote noch mehr Gepäck hatte und dieses schon im Hotel ist. Also muss Jack Mortimer, so heißt der Tote, auch im Hotel ankommen. Ferdinand geht als Mortimer dorthin. Gerade angekommen, will ihn eine Dame sprechen. Sie ist mit Mortimer verabredet und findet statt des Freundes einen Fremden vor, als sie sein Zimmer betritt. Sie ahnt, dass Mortimer etwas geschehen sein muss. Aufgeregt verlässt sie das Zimmer und läuft ihrem eifersüchtigen Ehemann in die Arme. Sponer erzählt nun beiden, dass Mortimer erschossen wurde und verlässt dann das Zimmer, um zu fliehen. Als er von einer Vorladung der Polizei erfährt, besinnt er sich eines anderen und will ins Hotel zurückkehren, um den wahren Sachverhalt zu berichten. Dort hat sich das Ehepaar inzwischen ausgesprochen, wobei der Mann den Mord gestand. Er benachrichtigt nun selbst die Polizei.
The jealous star conductor Monte Mayor knows that his beautiful younger wife, Winifred, is cheating on him with an American named Jack Mortimer. After the concert rehearsal, he takes a taxi to the train station, sees Mortimer and shoots him at an intersection from the backseat of his taxi. The shot is not heard during the traffic noise. The taxi driver, Sponer, sitting in his car with the now-dead Mortimer, goes into a panic. He tells his boss about the incident; but he thinks no one will believe that he is innocent of the murder. So, he places the corpse in a different place and takes the murdered man's luggage to the deceased's wife, Marie Mortimer, and tells her about the incident, too. He comes up with the idea to play the role of Mortimer, so he will not be missed, because some other luggage of his has already been delivered to his hotel in advance. In the hotel room, Winifred Montemayor is looking for Mortimer. He sees that the taxi driver is not Mortimer and suspects him of killing Mortimer.
OBERWACHTMEISTER SCHWENKE (1935)
In seinem Viertel in Berlin ist der junge Oberwachtmeister Schwenke überaus beliebt und immer gern gesehen. Zu jedem ist er charmant, freundlich und hilfsbereit, was den Polizisten zum Schwarm so manchen Mädchens macht. Dies gilt besonders für das Blumenmädchen Maria, Schwenke aber hat ein Auge auf die schüchterne Erna Zuwade geworfen. Doch Erna ist in dunkle Machenschaften verwickelt. Der betrügerische Karl Franke benutzt sie, um den Bankier Wenkstern und dessen Devisenschiebereien auszuspionieren, damit er ihn erpressen kann. Schwenke kommt dem Bankier zwar auf die Spur, doch von der Erpressung und der Beteiligung Ernas ahnt er noch nichts.
Oberwachtmeister Schwenke is universally loved in his district. Mary, the flower girl, especially has an eye on him. Schwenke is in love, however, with Erna, who is employed as a maid for the banker, Wenkstern. Wenkstern is being blackmailed by the crook Karl Franke, who, in turn, is receiving confidential information from Erna about Wenkstern's business affairs. When the police catch onto his dirty dealings and conduct a search of his home, Wenkstern flees and commits suicide. Erna, Franke's accomplice, but who was in love with Schwenke, is found murdered on the banks of the Spree near the Reichstag. The search is now on for Franke, who is found by Wenkstern's former driver, who breaks a few of Franke's ribs in the ensuing struggle. Franke is arrested by Schwenke after a chase and he accuses Schwenke of breaking his ribs in the arrest attempt. Sergeant Schwenke is then suspended for abuse of power during the arrest.
NEUNZIG MINUTEN AUFENTHALT (1936)
In Lisbon, criminal investigator Harry Winkler from Berlin and Conny Steven of Scotland Yard meet on their way to a boxing competition in Buenos Aires. They have a 90 minute break before their ship leaves for South America. They end up meeting a young woman and through her become part of a criminal mystery. The young woman's uncle is murdered and Harry Winkler is quickly able to determine that the man who murdered her uncle is the exact same man who murdered his father a few years earlier.
The German engineer, Bernd Geldern, is visiting New York in connection with a planned, grand construction project. There, he gets to know a newspaper vendor named Ju-Ju. She wants to become a singer and she performs in a bar the song, "Dreams of Love". When the boxer, Sicki -- where DO these Germans come up with these so-called American names?!?! -- insults Ju Ju, Geldern knocks him on his ass with a KO-punch. But during the fight, the lights mysteriously go out in the bar and when they come back on again, it's determined that someone has stabbed Sicki (no doubt to put him out of his misery of having to live with such a name). Sicki's manager, George Derbrock, apparently the only American in the film to have a somewhat normal name, ensures that Geldern gets out of that bar tout suite with Ju Ju. Now on the run, Ju Ju and Geldern travel to Berlin. Derbock follows them. His intention is to blackmail Geldern, but he's found stabbed in his apartment later on (really: are you SURE Geldern doesn't have a thing for knives?! That's twice,now). The police arrest Geldern, but the head investigator is sure he's innocent. He's right: the real criminal is in the train with Ju Ju.
MONIKA - EINE MUTTER KAMPFT UM IHR KIND (1937)
Ein deutscher Ingenieur nimmt das gemeinsame nichteheliche Kind, auf das die Frau, eine Sängerin, wegen ihrer Karriere verzichtet, aus Sao Paulo mit in die Heimat. Acht Jahre später kehrt die Mutter als Filmstar und Ehefrau eines Chirurgieprofessors nach Deutschland zurück und verlangt ihre Tochter, der sie zufällig bei einer Filmaufnahme begegnet.
The daughter of a German engineer and a singer, born out of wedlock and rejected by her mother for reasons of career, is taken from San Paolo back to Germany by the father. Eight years later, the mother returns to Germany as a film star and the wife of a professor of surgery and demands custody of her daughter, whom she meets by chance at a movie theatre.
Jan Karsten ist der neue Pilot des etwas exzentrischen Großbankiers Miller-Mylius. Bei einem Flug nach London müssen sie wegen schlechten Wetters notlanden. Wenig später trifft Karsten in London ein, aber ohne Miller-Mylius – der ist laut Karsten bei dem Zwischenstopp verschwunden. Niemand will ihm glauben, und auch das Gericht, vor dem Karsten sich verantworten muss, ist davon überzeugt, dass Karsten seinen Chef ermordet hat, zumal zwei Patronen aus dessen Pistole fehlen. Karsten wird zu drei Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt. Nach seiner Entlassung beauftragen verschiedene Banken, die durch das Verschwinden des Großbankiers hohe Geldbeträge verloren haben, Karsten, sich an die Fersen eines mysteriösen Amsterdamer Kollegen des Verschollenen zu heften. Sie sind überzeugt, dass es sich bei Müller-Mylius in Wahrheit um einen Betrüger handelt. Karsten nimmt den gefährlichen Auftrag an, wobei er nicht nur seine ehemalige Verlobte Joana wieder trifft, sondern auch einige höchst merkwürdige Entdeckungen macht.
The grand banker Hendrik Mylius has a new pilot for his private plane and that’s Jan Karsten. Mylius is known as the “Green Emperor”, because years ago, he discovered diamonds in the green Hell of the Amazons. However, Mylius leads a double-life as Henry Miller at a hacienda in the Brazilian jungle. He is able to swindle other top bankers and transfer their money to the account of Henry Miller. But before anyone can catch onto his little game, he fakes his own death with the help of his new pilot, who is unaware he's being dragged into the fraud. Eventually, the decption leads to Karsten's arrest and it's only a matter of time -- about 90 minutes of so by the timer on my DVD player -- before the mystery is cleared up and Karsten is set free .... or is he?!
Ein NS-Militärfilm, der als Wehrertüchtigungsmaßnahme die Kameradschaft unter Soldaten beschwört: Deutschland, Frühjahr 1939. Die drei befreundeten Unteroffiziere Kohlhammer, Struve und Rauscher unterscheiden sich zwar im Wesen, doch der Stolz auf ihre Kompanie verbindet sie über die privaten Vorlieben hinweg. Als Rauscher sich in die junge Schauspielerin Gerda verliebt und in der Folge seine Pflichten vernachlässigt, springen die anderen beiden an seiner Stelle ein. So nehmen sie selbst disziplinarische Strafen auf sich, um den Namen des Freundes zu schützen. Am Ende erkennt Rauscher sein Fehlverhalten und meldet sich aus freien Stücken beim Hauptmann, der sich vor allem über den Zusammenhalt unter seinen Untergebenen freut.
Director Werner Hochbaum hated making films for the Nazi government to glorify the German military. Indeed, so much did he hate it that this 1939 film had quite the opposite effect, despite being made with story elements which were designed to satisfy his superiors, and as a consequence, Hochbaum was banned from making theatrical films for the duration of the War. He managed to escape a worse punishment for his disrespect by enlisting in the army and making military newsreels. Before he died in 1946, he gave interviews in which he was unsparing in his criticism of the Nazi film industry. For this film, Hochbaum was given the use of actual military units. Despite appearances, therefore, the military units' struttings before the camera are not parodies of German military behavior at the time, but are simply an accurate record of it. The film's story concerns two junior officers who are friends. When one of them begins to shirk his military duties in order to pursue a love affair, the other one covers for him.
Lisa und Martin haben sich auf einer Bahnfahrt nach München kennengelernt. Doch aus dem verabredeten Wiedersehen wird nichts; man verliert sich im Faschingstrubel aus den Augen. Nach einigen Verwechslungen und Mißverständnissen man ist schließlich maskiert schafft erst der allgemeine "Kehraus" am Aschermittwoch das ebenso glückliche wie absehbare Happy-End für alle Beteiligten herbei.
Lisa is going to Munich On the night train, to start training for a career in fashion; Martin is a young artist. They talk, and romance is in the air. Arriving at Munich station they agree to meet later that day in the Marienplatz, the central square. Comes the time, and the square is full of thousands of people: they didn't realise that today is Fasching, the Bavarian carnival. They miss one another in the crowd, and all seems lost. They try to trace each, with only small scraps of information, and at first their efforts seem to make things worse, in a series of near misses when they are close to meeting up.
Der bisher als pflichttreu und tadellos geltende Kassierer Jürgen Borb entpuppt sich als gewiefter Verbrecher, der eines Tages mehr als eine Million Mark unterschlägt und damit verschwindet. Borbs Stiefschwester Mette glaubt nicht an seine Schuld und verliebt sich in den Hamburger Kriminalkommissar Hans Forst, der die Spur ihres Stiefbruders bis auf ein Schiff nach New York verfolgt. Borb, der sich als südamerikanischer Weltmann Machin maskiert, verliebt sich in die Hochstaplerin Norah, die jedoch gemeinsam mit ihrem Komplizen Ramon nur versucht, an das gestohlene Geld zu kommen. Bei einem Showdown mit der Polizei wird Borb erschossen. Forst kehrt zurück nach Hamburg. Mette erwartet ihn bereits.
The cashier, Jurgen Borb, has already worked for 10 years at Dadag in Hamburg and is an example for customer service and company loyalty. His loyalty and professionalism are matched by the trust of his employers, who, while relating to him in an acceptable manner professionally, desire no closer contact with him outside of the workplace. When Borb suddenly disappears one day, Dadag's directors and Borb's colleagues are surprised. They become even more surprised when they soon discover that Borb has embezzled well over a million Marks from the firm. His stepsister, Mette, doesn't believe that her stepbrother is an embezzler. In the meantime, she has fallen in love with a criminal investigator, who, she believes, is simply exploiting her affections to get to Borb. Then one day, the criminal investigator finds a body in the cellar of a house Borb rented under a false name and this man created a phony ID card for Borb, identifying him as a resident of a South American country. But are things really as they seem?
Der Sägewerksbesitzer Ramin verschwindet von einem auf den anderen Tag. Seine Familie ist beunruhigt und erfährt von der Bank, dass er einen Scheck auf einen Agenten namens Frisch ausgestellt hat. Er wollte angeblich damit ein Gut kaufen. Das jedoch ist nicht geschehen. Als Ramins Leiche gefunden wird, stößt die Polizei bei ihren Ermittlungen auf Ursula von Tweel, die den Toten kannte. Sie wird des Mordes verdächtigt und beteuert vergebens ihre Unschuld. Kommissar Weigelt findet aber den wahren Täter: Ein Bankangestellter, der Ramin zur Kontofälschung überredete, wollte mit diesem Scheck seine Unregelmäßigkeiten verschleiern. Deshalb musste Ramin sterben.
The sawmill owner Ramin has suddenly disappeared without a trace. His worried family hears from his bank, that he wrote a check out to an agent to purchase some landed property for him. The problem is, he never commissioned such a purchase. The police are called in and a short time later, Ramin's bullet-ridden corpse is found in a secluded forest. During the investigation of the murder, the police come upon Ursula von Tweel, who knew the murdered man. Commissar Weigelt considers her the primary suspect; but the police are astonished by a confession of guilt on the part of her husband, who also thinks his wife did the crime.
Im Mittelpunkt dieses Propagandafilms aus dem Jahr 1940 steht der deutsche Vorarbeiter Keith, der in einem polnischen Sägewerk nahe der deutschen Grenze arbeitet. Man schreibt das Jahr 1939 – der Krieg steht kurz bevor. Die polnischen Arbeiter des Werkes proben den Aufstand, ermorden den Besitzer und trachten auch ihren deutschen Kollegen nach dem Leben. Keith gelingt mit den Kindern seines toten Chefs die Flucht. Er stößt zu anderen deutschen Flüchtlingen, die sich einen Weg zur deutschen Grenze bahnen wollen.
In the centre of this wartime propaganda film from 1940 is the foreman Keith, who works at a Polish sawmill, not far from the German border. It is 1939 and the War is fast approaching. The Polish workers at the sawmill revolt and kill the mill's German owner, as well as threaten their German colleagues. Keith flees with the children of his dead boss and joins other German refugees on their way to safety across the borders of the Reich.
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Der Mord in einem Wintersport-Hotel schreckt Kommissar Eyck aus seiner behaglich-entspannten Urlaubsstimmung. Er eilt an den Ort des Geschehens, wo er den Krimiautor Gorgas antrifft, der, wie er sagt, "Tatortstudien" betreibt. Doch bei diesem Fall handelt es sich nicht um Fiktion, denn am Boden liegt ein toter Mann. Eyck beginnt umgehend mit den Ermittlungen, die zunächst wenig Erkenntnisse bringen, und auch der Hauptverdächtige Gorgas hat ein wasserdichtes Alibi. Schließlich kommt der Kommissar einer international operierenden Bande von Juwelendieben auf die Spur. Seine Nachforschungen führen Eyck zunächst zurück nach Berlin, wo er den Auftrag erhält, weiter an dem Fall zu arbeiten. Als Eyck sich in eine Zeugin aus dem Sporthotel verliebt, wird die Sache für ihn gefährlich, denn offenbar hat die Dame etwas mit dem mysteriösen Mordfall zu tun. Doch Eyck schlägt alle Warnungen seiner Kollegen in den Wind – und geht den Gangstern prompt in die Falle. Er wird vom Dienst suspendiert, ermittelt jedoch auf eigene Faust weiter, unterstützt von seinem treuen Mitarbeiter Brandner.
Criminal commissar Eyck from the Reichskriminalpolizeiamt is spending his vacation at a hotel for winter sports (seems we have a number of films where the cops vacation at resorts). Remarkably, a murder takes place (surprise, surprise ...). At the crime scene, Eyck meets Gorgas, a writer of cheap, 5-Pfennig crime novels, who, as he puts it, is there doing research for his tacky novelettes. Being the good, German, criminal policeman, Eyck foregoes his vacation and immediately launches his own investigation. But everyone present just happens to have an alibi. Digging ever deeper, Eyck discovers some things which leads him back to Berlin and on the trail of a group of international jewel thieves. A former acquaintance from his vacation times, in whom Eyck fell in love, turns out to belong to this band of thieves, too. Even these coincidences are too much for the band of thieves and they intend to cut the film short by cutting Eyck out of the plot. But do they succeed? What do you think!?
Durch eine Verwechslung bekommt die Eiskunstläuferin Liesl Strolz ein Engagement für die neue Revue des Wiener Palast-Theaters. Eigentlich war die Rolle für die untalentierte Lu Panther gedacht, die Freundin des Theaterbesitzers Wildner. Als sich das Missverständnis aufklärt, lässt Wildner das Theater schließen. Doch Ernst Eder, seines Zeichens Ausstattungschef am Palast-Theater, hat die rettende Idee: Kurzerhand verlegt man die Aufführung auf die Eisbahn von Liesls Onkel. Die Eisrevue wird ein Riesenerfolg – und aus Ernst und Liesl ein Paar.
The young ice skating talent, Liesl, lands a part in a new Revue at the Palast Theatre simply because she is confused with someone else. In reality, the roll was to be awarded to Lu Panther, the untalented girlfriend of the theatre's owner, Wildner. After a series of accidents and little disasters, Wildner shuts down the theatre before the Revue can take place. But the Revue's director, Ernst Eder, decides shortly thereafter to present the Revue on an ice skating rink belonging to Liesl's uncle. After a successful run, at first at the Wiener Prater, the performers move on to Spain, Hungary, and a night club with a Jazz orchestra. The Revue becomes a huge success ... and, of course, Ernst and Liesl end up together, too.
Kathrin von Hagen ist die Betreiberin einer geschäftlich überaus erfolgreichen Fremdenpension in dem stilvollen Schloss Löwenberg. Daneben hat Kathrin eine Leidenschaft, die sie voller Hingabe pflegt: die Schriftstellerei. Zu gerne würde sie ihr jüngstes Kriminalstück auf der Bühne sehen, der Verleger Thomas Brand aber, der zur Zeit in ihrem Hotel zu Gast ist, hält nicht viel von dem Werk. Einige Freunde Kathrins beschließen, ihr zu helfen, indem sie eine Schlüsselszene des Stücks vor Ort aufführen und Brand dadurch beweisen, dass das Stück durchaus dramatisches Potenzial besitzt. Gesagt, getan: Die Bibliothek des Schlosses wird als Aufführungsort auserkoren und in aller Stille atmosphärisch dekoriert. Unter einem Vorwand werden Brand und die anderen ahnungslosen Gäste abends in die Bibliothek gelockt. Punkt zwölf steht ein maskierter Mann im Raum, beraubt alle Anwesenden, löscht das Licht und verschwindet. Kurz darauf jedoch wird das Spiel von der Realität überholt: Der Schauspieler Halden, der den Dieb verkörperte, wird besinnungslos im Garten gefunden – und alle Wertsachen sind verschwunden. Doch Kriminalrat Katte wird den undurchsichtigen Fall schließlich lösen.
Criminal investigator Katte is sent on vacation by his boss. But Katte is not thrilled at the idea, because he's been working for two years to catch the criminal Holsten and he thinks he's finally about to do so. With his wife, he takes up residence in the guest pension at Castle Lowenberg, which is run by Kathrin von Hagen with much success. But Kathrin is more than an innkeeper: she likes to stick her nose in criminal affairs during her off-time as a hobby. And she just might be able to do what the cops haven't been able to do for two years ... or can she?!?
Die hübsche Stanzi reist nach Wien, wo sie ihr Glück finden will. Zunächst hilft sie jedoch in der Bäckerei ihrer Tante aus. Bei einer Parade lernt sie den feschen Wilhelm August Jurek kennen, der als Soldat im österreichischen Traditionsregiment der Deutschmeister dient. Der junge Mann gefällt ihr ausgesprochen gut, zumal er auch noch überaus musikalisch ist. Gerade ist ihm wieder ein neues Marschlied eingefallen, das er sogleich aufgeschrieben hat. Stanzi will ihm helfen und backt das Notenblatt heimlich in die Salzstangerln ein, mit denen ihre Tante den Kaiser Franz Joseph beliefert.
Beautiful Stanzi travels to Vienna, where she hopes to find her happiness. First, she helps out in her aunt’s bakery. She gets to know the dashing Wilhelm August Jurek at a parade, who’s serving as a soldier in the traditional Austrian regiment Die Deutschmeister. She likes the young man a lot; especially because he’s musically talented. In fact, a new march comes to him during a meeting with the girl and he intends to write it down right away. Stanzi wants to help him and secretly bakes the sheet music into a roll her aunt sends off to the emperor Franz Joseph.
MEINE TANTE, DEINE TANTE (1956)
Der Kofferträger Tommy vertauscht am Bahnhof versehentlich die Koffer von Oscar Starwasser und Theo Müller mit denen der Kabarettistin Lola und findet sich unversehens in einem kriminellen Komplott wieder: Starwasser und Müller planen, die Stadtbank zu überfallen und wollen hierfür die über dem Geldinstitut gelegene Wohnung anmieten. Die ist jedoch bereits an zwei abwesende Afrikaforscher vergeben und wird von deren Diener gehütet. Es bedarf der Travestie-Künste der Protagonisten in den Gewändern Lolas und viel "weiblichen" Charmes, um den Diener zur Herausgabe der Wohnung zu bewegen.
Porter Tommy has accidentally switched the suitcases of Oscar Starwasser and Theo Muller with the comedienne Lola at the railway station and finds himself once more in the middle of a criminal conspiracy: Starwasser and Muller plan to rob the city bank and to help accomplish this, they plan to rent the apartment sitting about the bank. The apartment, however, has already been rented to two African explorers, who are currently on expedition and the place is being watched over by their servant. This is going to require some rather interesting plotting by the crooks wearing Lola’s clothes and using lots of ‘womanly charms’ to get the servant to clear out of the apartment.
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