In 1912, the Titanic embarks on its inevitable collision course with history. In the wake of the over-spending required to build the largest luxury ship in the world, White Star Line executive Sir Bruce Ismay schemes to reverse the direction of his company's plummeting stock value. Onboard the...
Vienna in the beginning of the twentieth century. Cavalry Lieutenant Fritz Lobheimer is about to end his affair with Baroness Eggerdorff when he meets the young Christine, the daughter of an opera violinist. Baron Eggerdorff however soon hears of his past misfortune...
Though "blessed" with a complex title, which translates as Marriage with Limited Liability, this German comedy was adapted from the more simply titled stage play Causa Kaiser. Composer Georg Kaiser is unable to secure a divorce from his wife, so he "lives in sin" with his singer-sweetheart Causa....
This is a real curiosity; at best a reasonable film, but also a charming little gem. There is a story (in the line of "A Star is Born"), but this merely serves as an excuse, as it is more importantly a kind of moving encyclopedia of about 35 stars making their debut in a talkie (although some of...
The wintry mountainscapes of Bavaria provide the backdrop for this airy German comedy. The story is set in motion when young clerk Boenecke (Richard Romanowsky) accidentally delivers a check to the wrong bank. Boenecke's boss Schumann (Walter Steinbeck) suspects the clerk of embezzlement --...
A wrecked car is found on the Reichsautobahn between Hamburg and Bremen. Inside is a murdered woman. It soon becomes clear that the woman is the dancer Grazielle Holm. The investigators are certain: it was murder! But unfortunately there are far too many suspects...
This film is a fascinating showcase for Emil Janning's theatrical play. He's a gentle school teacher who believes in his boys and is easily fooled about all things, while the other town officials want him dismissed. Curiously it's very hard to see what the film is exactly aiming for. Disaster...
Fred von Wellingen is a wealthy industrialist, part of a large family-owned corporation. Fred has fallen for Lia, a comely bartender in the Berlin Cabaret. He proposes to her, much to the horror of his family, which considers Lia and her unsophisticated father far below their caste. The family...
Consul Petersen and his wife are desperate, because they lost their only child and can’t have another. At the same time, the maid Anna is expecting a child, whose father, Jurgen, works in a sawmill. When both of them lose their jobs, they fear they won’t be able to feed the newborn. Thus,...
The stenotypist Margit is supposed to take 3,000 Marks to the bank for her boss, Mr. Plaumann, but she lazes away the time window-shopping, and eventually stands before a closed door. She follows Plaumann to Dresden, where he, believing the money is deposited in a bank as a down payment, wants to...
