Otto Wilhelm Fischer was an Austrian film and theatre actor, a leading man of West German cinema during the Wirtschaftswunder era of the 1950s and 1960s.
Zarah Leander was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record sales numbers exist, she was probably among Europe's best-selling recording artists in the years prior to 1945. Her involvement with UFA caused her films and lyrics to be identified as Nazi propaganda. Though she had taken no public political position and was dubbed an "Enemy of Germany" by Joseph Goebbels, she remained a controversial figure for the rest of her life. As a singer Leander was known for her confident style and her dark, veiled voice.
Mady Rahl was a German stage and film actress. Born Edith Gertrud Meta Raschke in Neukölln, now part of Berlin, Rahl trained as an actress and dancer. In 1935 she made her stage debut in Leipzig under the direction of Douglas Sirk and started her film career in 1936 with the movie The Mysterious Mister X. With her role in the circus drama Truxa (1937), Rahl became known to a wider audience. After the war, she sang with her friend Elfreide Datzig for the USO. She ultimately appeared in approximately 90 movies, several of them for UFA. In later years, she appeared frequently on television, while also pursuing her career in the theatre. She was also the German voice of many cartoon characters and of Lucille Ball.
Desires or The Last Prescription is a 1952 West German drama film directed by Rolf Hansen and starring Heidemarie Hatheyer, O.W. Fischer, Sybil Werden and René Deltgen. The film is based on a play of the same title by Otto Eis and Egon Eis, written under the pen name of Thomas B. Foster. It was shot at the Wiesbaden Studios and on location at the Salzburg Festival in Austria. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Paul Markwitz and Fritz Maurischat. It was entered into the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.
Women Are Better Diplomats is a 1941 German musical comedy film from the Nazi era. Directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Marika Rökk, Willy Fritsch and Aribert Wäscher. It was based on a novel by Hans Flemming. The film was the first German feature film to be made in colour, and was one of the most expensive films produced during the Third Reich. The film met with a positive public response and was among the most popular German films of the early war years.
Gabriela is a 1950 West German musical drama film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Zarah Leander, Carl Raddatz, and Vera Molnar. It was Leander's comeback film after a seven-year absence from filmmaking. In 1943 when the Nazi leadership had demanded she take German citizenship, she had broken her contract with UFA and returned to her native Sweden. In the immediate post-war era she was banned from appearing in German films because of her previous association with the Nazi hierarchy. When the law was lifted in 1949, she was able to make films once more.
Premiere is a 1937 Austrian musical crime film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Zarah Leander, Attila Hörbiger, and Karl Martell. The wealthy backer of a Viennese musical revue is murdered on the first night of the show. It was Leander's first German language role after previously appearing in Swedish films. On the basis of her performance in the film, Leander was signed by the German Major studio UFA after their major rival, Tobis, had decided she had insufficient star appeal. Her next film To New Shores established Leander as the leading star in Germany.
Peter Voss, Thief of Millions is a 1958 West German comedy crime film directed by Wolfgang Becker and starring O. W. Fischer, Ingrid Andree and Margit Saad. It was based on the 1913 novel Peter Voss, Thief of Millions by Ewald Gerhard Seeliger, which had been previously adapted into three films. The film was a popular success, and was followed by a sequel Peter Voss, Hero of the Day with Fischer reprising his role.
The Four Companions is a 1938 German drama film directed by Carl Froelich and starring Ingrid Bergman, Sabine Peters and Carsta Löck. Jochen Huth adapted the script from his own play. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin with sets designed by the art director Franz Schroedter. The film was intended as a star vehicle to launch Bergman's career in Germany following her success in several Swedish films.
Sensation in San Remo is a 1951 West German musical comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Marika Rökk, Peter Pasetti and Ewald Balser. It was one of Rökk's most successful post-war films. The film is partly set at the Sanremo Festival in Italy. It was shot at the Bendestorf Studios with location shooting taking place on the Italian Riviera in the vicinity of Sanremo. It was made in Agfacolor. The film's sets were designed by the art director Erich Kettelhut.
Fritz Peter Buch was a German screenwriter and film director. He worked frequently during the Nazi period, but struggled in the post-war years. He directed Zarah Leander in one of her comeback films Cuba Cabana (1952), in what proved to be his final directorial effort.
Above All Else in the World is a 1941 German drama film directed by Karl Ritter and starring Paul Hartmann, Hannes Stelzer and Fritz Kampers. The title refers to the second line of the German national anthem. It was made as a propaganda film designed to promote Nazi Germany's war aims in the Second World War.
Love Premiere is a 1943 German comedy film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Hans Söhnker, Kirsten Heiberg and Fritz Odemar. The film's sets were designed by Robert Herlth.
Togger is a 1937 German drama film directed by Jürgen von Alten and starring Paul Hartmann, Renate Müller, Heinz Salfner. It was Müller's final film before her mysterious death the same year. The making of the film was portrayed in the 1960 film Sweetheart of the Gods.
It Was Always So Nice With You is a 1954 West German musical comedy film directed by Hans Wolff and starring Heinz Drache, Georg Thomalla and Ingrid Stenn. The Swedish actress Zarah Leander who had been the leading German film star during the Nazi era, plays a self-referential role as a maturing film star. The film was intended as a tribute to the composer Theo Mackeben with many of his hit songs sung by Leander and Kirsten Heiberg, another star of the 1940s.
The Blue Moth is a 1959 West German drama film directed by Wolfgang Schleif and starring Zarah Leander, Christian Wolff and Paul Hartmann. Leander, who had been a major star during the Nazi era, made a comeback in the 1950s. By 1959, in her penultimate film, she was playing a more mature role than the traditional divas in her earlier films.
Back Then is a 1943 German drama film directed by Rolf Hansen and starring Zarah Leander, Hans Stüwe, and Rossano Brazzi. The film's sets were designed by Walter Haag. It was made at the Babelsberg Studio, by Universum Film AG, Germany's largest film company. It was Leander's final film of the Nazi era, as she returned to Sweden shortly afterwards. This was a blow for the German film industry, as she was the most popular and highest-paid star. Leander's next film was not for another seven years, when she made a comeback in Gabriela (1950).
Conchita and the Engineer, a.k.a. Macumba, is a 1954 Brazilian-German adventure film directed by Franz Eichhorn and Hans Hinrich and starring Paul Hartmann, Vanja Orico and Robert Freitag. It was based on a novel by Franz Taut. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and on location in Brazil. The film's Brazilian title translates as Conchita, Virgin of the Amazon.
Adorable Arabella is a 1959 West German comedy film directed by Axel von Ambesser and starring Johanna von Koczian, Carlos Thompson and Hilde Hildebrand. It is an adaptation of the 1949 novel Arabella by Georgette Heyer.
The Citadel of Warsaw is a 1937 German drama film directed by Fritz Peter Buch and starring Lucie Höflich, Werner Hinz and Viktoria von Ballasko. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Karl Haacker and Hermann Warm. It is based on the play Tamten by Gabriela Zapolska, previously made into the 1930 film The Citadel of Warsaw.
