German suspense/horror film, not about vampires in the modern sense. A ‘Vampire’ or ‘Vamp’ in 1920 was a purely sexual woman who lured men to their deaths. (Theda Bara was probably the most famous) This is an expressionist film, make on the heals of ‘Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ by the same director, cameraman and art directors. The title Genuine, is the name of the lead character, played by Fern Andra.Read More »
Posters and photos from the Weimar Republic serve as starting points for passing on the history of the first German republic and the reasons for its failure to future generations.Read More »
A short silent documentary by Gerhard Lamprecht in which the director documented the most beautiful moments of his four week vacation to Sicily, Italy.Read More »
Traveler Allan Gray arrives in the village of Courtempierre and takes lodgings in a small inn. Gray has a great interest in the supernatural, particularly vampires. He’s barely settled in when he feels a sinister force descending upon him. In the night an old man enters his room to tell him ‘she must not die’. One of the old man’s daughters, Leone, has been bitten by a vampire. In order to break the curse, Gray and Leone’s sister Gisele must find the original vampire and drive a stake through her heart.Read More »
It starts straight away with our young hero trying to shoot a bullet into his head. No explanation whatsoever is given as to his motives – moviegoers in the Germany of 1931 obviously did not need any. He is disturbed by a burglar and puts a contract on himself, so to speak. The burglar tells him that he will hit him in the near future and dutifully makes a cross on his back with a piece of chalk – not unlike the ‚M’ in Fritz Lang’s movie of the same year. With the cross on his back the young hero goes to a nightclub – and falls in love with a young girl. Of course he tries to rescind from the contract and desperately looks for the burglar, only to learn that he had passed on the job to a subcontractor! Not just any subcontractor, but the very same Jim, the man with the scar, as he solemnly declares.Read More »
Vienna in the biggest depression, directly after WW1. In a slum, Lila Leid, the wife of lawyer Leid is murdered, Egon, secretary of one of Leid’s clients is arrested. He was with her, and had her necklace, because he needed some money for his own stock exchange deals. The same deal brings poverty to ex-government official Rumfort, his daughter Greta, who also has lost her job, tries to get some money to get food. She rents a room of the flat she, her young sister and her father are living in to an American Red Cross official, who pays $60 rent, but the money is taken by some of her father’s creditors. But their neighbour, shop owner Mrs Greifer knows how to “help”, she and Mrs. Merkel are running a nightclub with a brothel…Read More »
Also known as Donauwellen.
No written credit. All titles are spoken like the other Oswald film Dreyfus (1930).
Filmed on location in Vienna, this German operetta was originally titled Wien, Du Stadt Die Lieber [sic]. Popular tenor Max Hansen carries most of the plot (what there is of it), singing his heart out to the delight of such delectable leading ladies as Charlotte Ander, Irene Ambrus and Grete Natzler (who, as Della Lynd, would later co-star with Laurel and Hardy in Swiss Miss). For some reason, it was decided to surround the nominal hero with seven top German comic actors, all of whom mugged and glowered outrageously. The worst offender (and the funniest of the batch) is Paul Graetz, who seemed to be having a great deal of fun letting loose. Evidently City of Songs was quite successful, inasmuch as it remained in distribution well into the late 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Note: In this document, this movie was called City of Songs.Read More »
Synopsis:
The young Brazilian journalist Rex Ronney is gathering data for his book on Nordic alcohol smuggling and embarks on a boat trip to Estonia and Finland, where alcohol is prohibited. On the boat, he meets the booze king Kõlgis, whose confidence he wins. Kõlgis issues him a letter of recommendation and sends him to the smuggler Bratt in Tallinn, who is in the service of Mart Martens, who in turn is heavily indebted to Kõlgis. As a result, Betty Martens, his daughter, is compelled to get engaged with Kõlgis. In order to clear her father’s debts, Betty conducts the alcohol transports from Finland herself. When Rex Ronney shows up, it has consequences…Read More »
A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. When new hands are grafted on, he doesn’t know they once belonged to a murderer.Read More »