Titanic

Titanic 1943

6.10

This little-known German film retells the true story of the British ocean liner that met a tragic fate. Ernst Fritz Fürbringer plays the president of the White Star Line, who unwisely pressed the Titanic's captain (Otto Wernicke) to make the swiftest possible crossing to New York.

1943

Vampyr

Vampyr 1932

7.28

A student of the occult encounters supernatural haunts and local evildoers in a village outside of Paris.

1932

The 3 Penny Opera

The 3 Penny Opera 1931

7.10

In London at the turn of the century, underworld kingpin Mack the Knife marries Polly Peachum without the knowledge of her father, the equally enterprising 'king of the beggars'.

1931

The Threepenny Opera

The Threepenny Opera 1931

6.60

The French-language version of the The Threepenny Opera with a different cast from the German version.

1931

Die Fledermaus

Die Fledermaus 1937

4.00

The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes!

1937

Masquerade in Vienna

Masquerade in Vienna 1934

5.39

After a masked carnival ball, Gerda Harrandt, wife of the surgeon Carl Ludwig Harrandt, allows the fashionable artist Ferdinand von Heidenick to paint a portrait of her wearing only a mask and a muff. This muff however belongs to Anita Keller, in secret the painter's lover but also the fiancée of the court orchestra director Paul Harrandt. The picture is then published in the newspaper. When Paul sees it and asks von Heidenick some questions about the identity of the model, the artist is forced to improvise a story and on the spur of the moment invents a woman called Leopoldine Dur as the alleged model. Leopoldine Dur however turns out to be a real woman whose acquaintance Heidenick makes shortly afterwards.

1934

Immer nur Du

Immer nur Du 1941

5.00

The two stars of an upcoming operetta performance quarrel constantly. but they also fall in love with each other.

1941

Die Geierwally

Die Geierwally 1940

5.80

In the mountains of the Ötztal, the wealthy Fender (Eduard Köck) and Wally (Heath Hatheyer), his only daughter and heir, manage a small farm. He wants to marry the rich, but boring, Vincent (Leopold Esterle). Wally escapes to a mountain hut, where she lives alone and withdrawn. Her love belongs to the hunter, Joseph (Sepp Rist). When she unwisely takes a young vulture from its nest and is attacked by the mother, Joseph comes to her aid and from that point on, she fondly calls him her "Geierwally". He also feels attracted to her, but Wally can't escape the feeling, that the young Afra is his mistress. Mad with jealousy, Wally announces that she'll marry the one who kills Josef. Vincent wants to earn her hand and is determined to kill the Geierwally. Just in time, though, the actual relationship between Joseph and Afra is clarified.

1940

D III 88

D III 88 1939

5.30

Across German screens at the outbreak of WWII streaks "DIII88: The New German Air Force Attacks", an aeronautic and maritime spectacle glorifying Hermann Goring's Luftwaffe and the spirit of the newly arisen Germany. Once war became imminent, Joseph Goebbels instructed the German film industry to initiate production of numerous militaristic projects, but DIII88 was initiated by the Propaganda Minister's rival, Goring, who commissioned several aviation pictures. DIII88 is not a war picture per se, because it takes place in peacetime, but the young, fresh-faced air aces enthusiastically look forward to the coming war. The propaganda is blatant: The only thing that matters is dedication to duty and unconditional commitment to the Fatherland.

1939

The Great King

The Great King 1942

6.90

King Frederick II (aka "Frederick the Great") of Prussia is engaged in a major battle against the Austrian army at Kunersdorf, and things aren't going well. The Austrians are inflicting major casualties, and his army is beginning to crumble. Defeat seems inevitable when a combination of events gives him hope that he may pull victory from the jaws of defeat after all.

1942

Melody of the World

Melody of the World 1929

6.70

An impression of the state of the world in 1929, contrasting similarities and differences in religion, customs, art and entertainment from all over the world. The film is constructed like a symphony.

1929

I Accuse

I Accuse 1941

6.00

In this film, the wife of a renowned doctor becomes ill with multiple sclerosis. Trying to spare her beloved husband the ordeal, the woman turns to a family friend, Dr. Lang, to help end her life. When this doctor declines to help with the assisted suicide, however, she is forced to turn to her husband. After much soul-searching, Dr. Heyt, her husband, assists in her suicide. The act, however, is witnessed by a chambermaid, who reports him to the police. Dr. Heyt is put on trial for murder and, at first, Dr. Lang testifies against him in court. Soon, however, Dr. Lang is faced with a similar case in his professional practice and this, along with Dr. Heyt’s impassioned performance in court, convinces Dr. Lang that, in some instances, mercy killing may be the right thing to do.

1941

City of Song

City of Song 1931

1

A tourist guide in Naples is taken on by an English woman impressed by his singing, and who regards him as her protege.

1931

Bismarck

Bismarck 1940

5.70

A biographical film of Otto von Bismarck, the Prime Minister of Prussia, and how he and his policies - including aggressive war - helped to unite Germany.

1940

Der Fall Rainer

Der Fall Rainer 1942

5.00

Germany in the fall of 1918: Accompanied by the Archduke Karl Maria, Princess Henriette von Battenstein makes an inspection tour of hospitals. During these inspections, she meets Lieutenant Rainer, the former conductor of the State Opera. When she later makes music with him in the Archduke's castle, she becomes the unwilling witness to a secret cease fire negotiation.

1942

Uncle Krüger

Uncle Krüger 1941

7.50

An anti-British propaganda film from Nazi Germany which depicts the life of the South African politician Paul Kruger and his eventual defeat by the British during the Boer War.

1941