Paul Martin was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter who worked for many years in the German film industry. He directed 60 films between 1932 and 1967. He was romantically involved with the film star Lilian Harvey and directed her in a number of films until he left her in 1938 for the actress Frauke Lauterbach. They made one final film Woman at the Wheel together during the filming of which their relationship remained cold.
Let's Live Tonight is a 1935 American musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Lilian Harvey, Tullio Carminati and Janet Beecher. The film was made as part of an unsuccessful attempt to establish Harvey, who was a top box office draw in Germany, as a major star in Hollywood. Harvey was under contract to Fox Film, but was loaned out to Columbia Pictures for the production. After making it, Harvey returned to Europe, first to Britain to appear in Invitation to the Waltz and then to Germany, where she starred in Black Roses, which relaunched her German career.
Chaste Susanne is a 1926 German silent comedy film directed by Richard Eichberg and starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch and Ruth Weyher. It is based on the 1910 operetta Die keusche Susanne composed by Jean Gilbert with a libretto by Georg Okonkowski. In Britain it was released under the alternative title The Girl in the Taxi in reference to The Girl in the Taxi in the English version of the operetta. The film's art direction is by Jacek Rotmil. It was filmed at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin.
Her Dark Secret is a 1929 German silent comedy film directed by Johannes Guter and starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, and Harry Halm. The film reunited Harvey and Fritsch, who had previously appeared together in Chaste Susanne (1926), although this time, their characters become a couple at the end of the film. This provided a template for a number of popular films over the following decade, such as The Three from the Filling Station. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jacek Rotmil.
Miquette is a 1940 French comedy film directed by Jean Boyer and starring Lilian Harvey, Lucien Baroux and André Lefaur. It was one of two films made in France by the Anglo-German star Harvey, after emigrating from Nazi Germany. It was her final film appearance, although she continued to act on stage.
Serenade or Schubert's Serenade is a 1940 French historical film directed by Jean Boyer and starring Lilian Harvey, Louis Jouvet and Bernard Lancret. It portrays a fictional romance between the Austrian composer Franz Schubert and an English dancer. The film was the first of two the Anglo-German actress Lillian Harvey made in France, after leaving Nazi Germany.
Black Roses is a 1935 German historical drama film directed by Paul Martin and starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch and Willy Birgel. A separate English-language version Black Roses was also made with Harvey reprising her role opposite Esmond Knight. She also starred in a French version. The film was Harvey's comeback in German cinema, following her attempt to at Hollywood and then British films. One source suggested that Harvey paid for the English version of the film to be made out of her own money, as she still hoped to break into the English-speaking market.
Princess Trulala is a 1926 German silent comedy film directed by Erich Schönfelder and Richard Eichberg and starring Lilian Harvey, Dina Gralla and Harry Halm. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by art director Kurt Richter. As was common in her silent films, Harvey's heroine has to choose between several different suitors.
Donogoo Tonka is a 1936 German comedy film directed by Reinhold Schünzel and starring Anny Ondra, Viktor Staal and Will Dohm. It is based on a play of the same name by Jules Romains. A separate French-language version Donogoo was also made. The film was produced by UFA at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin, with sets designed by Otto Hunte and Willy Schiller.
Lucky Kids is a 1936 German romantic comedy film directed by Paul Martin and starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, and Paul Kemp. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art director Erich Kettelhut.
The Empress and I is a 1933 German musical comedy film directed by Friedrich Hollaender and starring Lilian Harvey, Mady Christians and Conrad Veidt. It is also known by the alternative title of The Only Girl. The film was produced as a multi-language version. Moi et l'impératrice a separate French-language version was released as well as The Only Girl in English. The multilingual Harvey played the same role in all three films.
Fanny Elssler is a 1937 German historical drama film directed by Paul Martin and starring Lilian Harvey, Rolf Moebius, and Willy Birgel. It was loosely based on the life of the dancer Fanny Elssler. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios with location filming in Vienna. The film's sets were designed by the art director Erich Kettelhut.
Orient Express is a 1934 American pre-Code drama film directed by Paul Martin and starring Heather Angel, Norman Foster and Ralph Morgan. It is based on the 1932 novel Stamboul Train by Graham Greene, the first of his works to be adapted for the screen. It was produced and distributed by Fox Film. Fox were persuaded to hire Martin as director by Lilian Harvey, the actress who was in a relationship with him, and had signed with the studio after starring in several films directed by Martin in Germany. It was his only Hollywood film and he returned to Germany where he again directed Harvey in several more hits. The film is part of a group set almost entirely on trains or ocean liners during the decade.
Love Me or Make Love to Me is a 1942 German musical comedy film directed by Harald Braun and starring Marika Rökk, Viktor Staal and Hans Brausewetter. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The films sets were designed by the art director Ernst H. Albrecht. The film is a backstage musical about a showgirl aspiring to greater things while sorting out her financial and romantic problems, it was a major commercial success on its release.
The Castle in the South is a 1933 German comedy film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Liane Haid, Viktor de Kowa, and Paul Kemp. A separate French-language version Château de rêve was also produced and released by UFA's French subsidiary. It was made at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin while Location shooting took place in Dalmatia and at Rügen in Pomerania. The film's sets were designed by the art director Emil Hasler.
Diamonds is a 1937 German mystery film directed by Eduard von Borsody and starring Hansi Knoteck, Viktor Staal, and Hilde Körber.
Dance on the Volcano is a 1938 German historical musical comedy film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Gustaf Gründgens, Sybille Schmitz and Ralph Arthur Roberts. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art director Rochus Gliese. A light-hearted costume film, the production was a significant departure for both its director, best known for his Nazi-supporting propaganda films, and its star Gründgens, celebrated as a classical actor.
Detours to Happiness is a 1939 German drama film directed by Fritz Peter Buch and starring Ewald Balser, Lil Dagover and Viktor Staal. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin and on location in Kitzbühel in the Tyrol in annexed Austria. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Wilhelm Depenau and Ludwig Reiber. It was distributed by UFA, Germany's largest film company of the era.
I Love You is a 1938 German romantic comedy film directed by Herbert Selpin and starring Viktor de Kowa, Luise Ullrich and Olga Limburg. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Karl Weber and Erich Zander. It is in the style of a screwball comedy, inspired by the story of Adam and Eve.
Little County Court is a 1938 German comedy film directed by Alwin Elling and starring Hans Moser, Ida Wüst and Lucie Englisch. It was shot at the Halensee Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Gabriel Pellon and Heinrich Richter.
