Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a German film legend. Rühmann is best known for playing the part of a comic ordinary citizen in film comedies such as Three from the Filling Station and The Punch Bowl. During his later years, he was also a respected character actor in films such as The Captain from Köpenick and It Happened in Broad Daylight. His only English-speaking movie was Ship of Fools in 1964.
Lilian Harvey was a British-German actress and singer, long based in Germany, where she is best known for her role as Christel Weinzinger in Erik Charell's 1931 film Der Kongreß tanzt.
Willy Fritsch was a German theater and film actor, a popular leading man and character actor from the silent-film era to the early 1960s.
Der Kongress tanzt is a German musical comedy film produced in 1931 by Ufa, directed by Erik Charell, starring Lilian Harvey as Christel Weinzinger, the glove seller, Willy Fritsch as Tsar Alexander I of Russia and his doppelgänger, Uralsky, Otto Wallburg as Bibikoff, his Adjutant, Conrad Veidt as Prince Metternich, Carl-Heinz Schroth as his Secretary, Pepi, Lil Dagover as the Countess and Alfred Abel as the King of Saxony.
The Three from the Filling Station is a 1930 German musical film directed by Wilhelm Thiele and starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, Heinz Rühmann, and Oskar Karlweis. Produced by Erich Pommer, the film was a major success for the UFA studio, outgrossing even The Blue Angel. Several songs composed by Werner R. Heymann and performed by the Comedian Harmonists have remained popular up to today. The film also had a heavy influence on Hollywood musicals during the 1930s.
Woman at the Wheel is a 1939 German romantic comedy film directed by Paul Martin and starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch and Leo Slezak. It was the last German film featuring Harvey, who had been the leading box office star in Germany during the 1930s, although she made two further films after moving to France.
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.
Target in the Clouds is a 1939 German drama film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Albert Matterstock, Leny Marenbach and Brigitte Horney. It was based on a novel by Hans Rabl. The film portrays the struggles of the fictional German aviation pioneer Walter von Suhr, an officer in the pre-First World War German army who saw the potential for military aircraft.
The Deruga Case is a 1938 German crime drama film directed by Fritz Peter Buch and starring Willy Birgel, Geraldine Katt and Dagny Servaes. It is based on the 1917 novel of the same title by Ricarda Huch. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Wilhelm Depenau and Ludwig Reiber.
A Salzburg Comedy or Little Border Traffic is a 1943 German comedy film directed by Hans Deppe and starring Willy Fritsch, Hertha Feiler and Heinz Salfner. Erich Kästner wrote the screenplay based on one of his own novels. As he had been blacklisted by the Nazi Party he used the pseudonym Berhold Bürger. The novel was again adapted for the 1957 film Salzburg Stories.
Robert Koch is a 1939 Nazi propaganda film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss and Viktoria von Ballasko. The film was a biopic of the German pioneering microbiologist Robert Koch (1843–1910). It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin and premiered at the city's Ufa-Palast am Zoo. The film was made by the Tobis Film company, and was also distributed in the United States by the largest German studio UFA.
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.
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.
A Blonde Dream is a 1932 German musical comedy film directed by Paul Martin and starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch and Willi Forst. A separate English-language version Happy Ever After was made as a co-production with Gainsborough Pictures. A French-language version was also released.
Secret Code LB 17 is a 1938 German thriller film directed by Victor Tourjansky and starring Willy Birgel, Hilde Weissner and Bernhard Minetti. It was made at the Babelsberg Studios outside Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Karl Böhm and Erich Czerwonski.
Men Are That Way is a 1939 German drama film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Hertha Feiler, Hans Söhnker and Hans Olden. The film's sets were designed by the art director Willi Herrmann. It was remade by Rabenalt in Austria as Arena of Fear (1959).
Freight from Baltimore is a 1938 German drama film directed by Hans Hinrich and starring Hilde Weissner, Attila Hörbiger, and Hans Zesch-Ballot. Interiors were shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Carl Böhm and Erich Czerwonski. It was partly shot on location at the Port of Hamburg.
Counterfeiters is a 1940 German crime film directed by Hermann Pfeiffer and starring Kirsten Heiberg, Rudolf Fernau and Karin Himboldt.
The Governor is a 1939 German drama film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Brigitte Horney, Willy Birgel and Hannelore Schroth. It is based on the play Die Fahne by Emmerich Groh. It was shot at the Babelsberg and Tempelhof Studios in Berlin and on location in East Prussia. The film's sets were designed by the art director Max Mellin. It was produced on a budget of 715,000 Reichsmarks.
Große Berliner Kunstausstellung , abbreviated GroBeKa or GBK, was an annual art exhibition that existed from 1893 to 1969 with intermittent breaks. In 1917 and 1918, during World War I, it was not held in Berlin but in Düsseldorf. In 1919 and 1920, it operated under the name Kunstausstellung Berlin. From 1970 to 1995, the Freie Berliner Kunstausstellung was held annually in its place.
