Fritz KortnerFilmography

Die Stadt ist voller Geheimnisse

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Karl Ludwig Diehl, Werner Fuetterer, Paul Hoerbiger, Adrian Hoven

Synopsis: One of several films helmed by internationally renowned actor-director Fritz Kortner after his return to Germany in 1947, Die Stadt ist Voller Geheimnisse was released in English-speaking countries as Secrets of the City, City of Secrets and This Town is Full of Secrets. Adapted from a stage play Read More

Epilog

Der Ruf

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Fritz Kortner, Johanna Hofer, Rosemary Murphy, Lina Carstens

Synopsis: In this witty, well-written, and fast-moving drama, director Josef von Baky and scripter Fritz Kortner have fashioned a cutting statement on the nature of prejudice and ethnicity. A professor who emigrated from Nazi Germany to teach in Los Angeles comes back to Germany ten years later, intending Read More

The Circle

Actors: David Alexander, Sam Bernard, Peter Brocco, Rudolph Cameron, Robert Cherry

Synopsis: The positive public response to such productions as Crossfire and Gentleman's Agreement led to a mini-cycle of postwar anti-prejudice films. One of these was The Vicious Circle, based on a true incident which had previously been dramatized in G. W. Pabst's The Trial. In the late-19th century, an Read More

Berlin Express

Actors: Merle Oberon, Robert Ryan, Charles Korvin, Paul Lukas, Robert Coote

Synopsis: On a trip from France to Allied-occupied Berlin, a group of travelers -- a mysterious and very secretive European woman (Merle Oberon), an American agricultural expert (Robert Ryan), a British educator (Robert Coote), a Soviet Army officer (Roman Toporow), and a French official (Charles Korvin) Read More

The Brasher Doubloon

Actors: George Montgomery, Nancy Guild, Conrad Janis, Roy Roberts, Fritz Kortner

Synopsis: Raymond Chandler's famed detective Philip Marlowe (George Montgomery) is hired by a rich, eccentric widow, Mrs. Murdock (Florence Bates) to find and return a stolen gold coin. Marlowe quickly finds himself involved an a case which includes robbery, blackmail and murder. Just as Marlowe begins to Read More

Somewhere in the Night

Actors: Charles Arnt, Richard Benedict, Whit Bissell, Richard Conte, Clancy Cooper

Synopsis: George Taylor (John Hodiak) is a war veteran suffering from amnesia with only two clues to his past: the bitter letter from a woman who hates him and another mysterious letter signed "Larry Cravat." Taylor goes to Los Angeles to meet Cravat. It turns out that Cravat is wanted for murder and the Read More

The Wife of Monte Cristo

Actors: Lenore Aubert, Colin Campbell, Eduardo Ciannelli, Clancy Cooper, Charles Dingle

Synopsis: Alexandre Dumas' famous fictional count gets revenge in this lively sequel to the original story. The Monte Cristo count begins by returning to Paris under an assumed name. There he helps the beleaguered poor who most suffered from the early 19th-century revolution. The cloaked count soon finds Read More

The Razor's Edge

Actors: Demetrius Alexis, Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, Walter Bonn, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Eugene Borden, Clifton Webb

Synopsis: After several years' service with the Marines in World War II, Tyrone Power made his much anticipated return to the screen in The Razor's Edge. Power is appropriately cast as disillusioned World War I vet Larry Darrell, who returns from hostilities questioning his old values. To find himself Read More

The Hitler Gang

Actors: Robert "Bobby" Watson, Martin Kosleck, Victor Varconi, Luis Van Rooten

Synopsis: Though it takes several liberties with facts and motivations, The Hitler Gang is a reasonably absorbing chronicle of Hitler's rise to power. An obscure German corporal in WW1, Adolf Hitler (played by Robert Watson, better known for his comic portrayals of Der Fuhrer), embittered by the Versailles Read More

The Purple V

Actors: John Archer, Mary McLeod, Fritz Kortner, Rex Williams, Kurt Katch

Synopsis: Though technically a Republic "B", the 58-minute The Purple V has glossy production values commensurate to a top-of-the-bill A picture. German expatriate Fritz Kortner plays the largest role, as an anti-Nazi schoolmaster who helps a downed American flyer (John Archer) reached Allied lines with Read More

The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Ludwig Donath, George Dolenz, Fritz Kortner, Ludwig Stossel

Synopsis: This curious bit of wartime wish-fulfillment stars Ludwig Donath as Franz Huber, a famed Austrian actor known for his impersonations of celebrities. Captured by the Gestapo, Huber is ordered to undergo plastic surgery. When he emerges from the gauze, Huber is the living image of Adolf Hitler! It's Read More

The Dreyfus Case

Synopsis: In this German drama, a French military officer finds himself discriminated against during a trial because he is Jewish. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Bombs Over London

Actors: Charles Farrell, Fritz Kortner, Margaret Vyner, Danny Green, Wallace Evennett

Synopsis: When his Hollywood starring career dried up in the mid-1930s, matinee idol Charles Farrell headed to England, where he played newspaper reporter Brian Gaunt in the fast-paced meller Midnight Menace. The storyline acknowledges the fact that Television was firmly established in England in 1937, with Read More

Abdul the Damned

Actors: Fritz Kortner, Nils Asther, Adrienne Ames, John Stuart, Walter Rilia

Synopsis: This epic costume drama is set in turn-of-the-century Turkey and chronicles the ruthless reign of a paranoid ruler who begins killing everyone he suspects of treachery against him. The despot's loyal chief of police obediently enacts his master's bloody whims until he too stands accused of Read More

The Crouching Beast

Actors: Wynne Gibson, Fritz Kortner, Richard Bird, Andrews Englemann, Isabel Jeans

Synopsis: The Crouching Beast was based on Clubfoot, an espionage novel by Valentine Williams. Set in 1915 Constantinople, the story is motivated by the sinister activities of Turkish secret agent Ahmed Bey (Fritz Kortner), better known as Clubfoot. Wynne Gibson stars as American newspaperwoman Gail Dunbar Read More

Chu Chin Chow

Actors: George Robey, Fritz Kortner, Anna May Wong, John Garrick, Pearl Argyle

Synopsis: The timeworn British stage musical Chu Chin Chow had already been made into a silent picture when this talkie version made its bow in 1934. Based on Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, the film stars corpulent music-hall comedian George Robey as Ali Baba, sinister Fritz Kortner as robber captain Abu Read More

Evensong

Actors: Evelyn Laye, Fritz Kortner, Emlyn Williams, Carl Esmond

Synopsis: Evensong is based on the teary novel by Beverly Nichols, which had previously spawned a lachrymose (and enormously successful) stage play (Kismet) by Nichols and Edward Knoblock. The stunning Evelyn Laye stars as Irela, an Irish prima donna who rises to success sans a lover to share it Read More

So ein Mädel Vergißt Man Nicht

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Dolly Haas, Willi Forst, Oska Sima, Max Guelstorff, Ida Wuest

Synopsis: Music, drama and comedy are neatly integrated in this low-key backstage romance. After a lengthy spell of unemployment, leading man Paul Hartwig (Willy Forst) and leading lady Lisa Brandes (Dolly Haas) prepare to open in a big-time stage musical. Is it any surprise that Paul and Lisa also manage Read More

Der Brave Suender

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Heinz Rühmann, Dolly Haas, Josefine Dora

Synopsis: Leading German actor Fritz Kortner made his film directorial debut with Der Brave Suender (The Good Sinner). In his first talking picture, Max Pallenberg is cast as a cashier who through no fault of his own finds that there's a deficit in his records. Suspecting that there's an embezzler involved Read More

Die Grosse Sehnsucht

Actors: Camilla Horn, Theodor Loos, Harry Frank, Paul Kemp, Paul Henckels

Synopsis: The "great yearning" of the title refers to the desire of heroine Camilla Horn to become a famous movie star. Fortunately, director Theodor Loos happens to be combing the countryside, searching for "something new" to put before the cameras. He discovers Horn, and the rest can be filled in by the Read More

Danton

Actors: Fritz Kortner, Lucie Mannheim, Gustaf Gründgens, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur

Synopsis: This pre-WW II German costume drama chronicles the French Revolution with a particular focus upon Danton, Robespierre, and Marat. They are seen preparing for and executing the revolution. The film also presents an interesting, if not historically inaccurate, portrayal of Louis XVI. ~ Sandra Read More

Der Moerderer

Actors: Anna Sten, Fritz Kortner, Fritz Rasp, Bernhard Minetti

Synopsis: This is a loose adaptation of Dostoyevsky's classic The Brothers Karamazov. It chronicles the story of Dimitri who gave up his high social standing and his fiance to pursue a love affair with a whore. Dimitri's father is also in love with her. When the father turns up dead, Dimitri is convicted Read More

Dreyfus

Menschen im Kaefig

Actors: Fay Compton, Conrad Veidt, Frank Harvey Jr., Fritz Kortner, Heinrich George, Ian Hunter, Edmund Willard, Tala Birell, Donald Calthrop, Julius Brandt

Synopsis: Mesnchen im Kaefig is the German-language version of the British melodrama Cape Forlorn (aka Love Storm). Based on a play by Frank Harvey, this is the story of William, a taciturn lighthouse keeper who marries dance-hall girl Eileen. Their already shaky relationship is further damaged when the Read More

In Berlin's Underworld

Actors: Fritz Kortner, Hans Stüwe

Der Andere

Actors: Fritz Kortner, Hermine Sterler, Eduard von Winterstein, Kaethe von Nagy

Synopsis: Der Anders (The Other) was adapted from the stage play of the same name by Paul Lindau. Fritz Kortner dominates the proceedings as a brilliant and highly feared prosecuting attorney. What no one suspects is that Kortner moonlights as a vicious criminal, who isn't above using violence to get what Read More

Life of Beethoven

Actors: Fritz Kortner

Synopsis: Celebrated stage and screen actor/director Fritz Kortner was a formidable (if unrelentingly dour) presence as the title character in The Life of Beethoven. Alas, with only 70 minutes' worth of screen time, the film is able to concentrate only on the "highlights" of Beethoven's existence. The fact Read More

Pandora's Box

Actors: Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Francis Lederer, Alice Roberts

Synopsis: German filmmaker G.W. Pabst's late-silent classic Pandora's Box (Die Büchse der Pandora) stars the hauntingly beautiful Louise Brooks as libertine dancer Lulu. Ever out for the "main chance," Lulu persuades her wealthy lover Dr. Schön (Fritz Kortner) to marry her. But in a fit of jealous rage, he Read More

The Woman Men Yearn For

Actors: Marlene Dietrich, Fritz Kortner, Uno Henning, Frida Richard

Synopsis: Ladislaus Vajda adapted the screenplay for The Woman Men Yearn For from the book Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt by Czech writer Max Brod. This German romantic thriller marked the last silent film for director Kurt Bernhardt and the first leading role for Marlene Dietrich. Shot in Berlin in Read More

Scandal in Paris

Actors: Lili Damita, Johannes Reimann, Vivian Gibson

Synopsis: Die Frau auf der Folter was the original German title of Robert Wiene's 1928 production A Scandal in Paris. Based on a popular British stage play, the film stars Lili Damita, cast against type as the demure wife of a far-from-faithful but very powerful British politician. During a trip to Paris Read More

Giftgas

Somnambul

Synopsis: The German Somnambul raises the question "Can a man be influenced by hypnosis to commit a crime?" The answer is never clearly stated, though it would seem that the filmmakers were inclined to believe that mental suggestion could determine a man's moral makeup. The German censors were none too Read More

Das Schiff Der Verlorenen Menschen

Marquis d'eon, Der Spion Der Pompadour

Mata Hari

Actors: Magda Sonja, Fritz Kortner, Wolfgang Zilzer

Synopsis: The first full-length screen treatment of the life of infamous WWI spy Mata-Hari was produced in Germany in 1926, a full decade after the subject's death. Magda Sonja stars as the title character, an exotic dancer whose romance with a Russian grand duke comes to an end when she falls for a Read More

Primanerliebe

Actors: Fritz Kortner, Grete Mosheim, Wolfgang Zilzer

Synopsis: Primanerliebe was the first of director Robert Land's films to gain a release in the United States. The title translates as Student's Love, which also neatly sums up the plotline. Hero Rolf is a boarding-school student who falls in love with Ellen, the headmaster's daughter. The school is a Read More

Odette

Actors: Francesca Bertini, Warwick Ward, Fritz Kortner

Synopsis: Odette was adapted from the Victorien Sardou story of the same name. Suspecting his wife Odette of being unfaithful, Count Clermont orders her out of his house. To cover up his presumed shame, Clermont informs his daughter that her mother is dead and goes so far as to erect a shrine in Odette's Read More

Orlacs Hände

Actors: Conrad Veidt, Carmen Cartellieri

Synopsis: In this classic horror film, based on a novel by Maurice Renard and filmed by Robert Wiene (of Dr. Caligari fame), a world-famous pianist burns his hands in an airplane crash. A mysterious doctor offers to do a transplant and the pianist, his career on the verge of ruin, accepts. After a series of Read More

Schatten

Synopsis: A jealous husband becomes enraged with his dinner guests when they pretend to kiss the silhouetted shadow of his beautiful wife. Fritz Kortner, Ruth Weyher, Gustav Von Wagenheim, and Alexander Granach co-star in this German feature where a seemingly innocent romantic indiscretion is met with Read More

Hintertreppe

Actors: Henny Porten, Fritz Kortner

Synopsis: The German silent film Backstairs falls between the two schools of Expressionism and Naturalism. The story anticipates the more famous A Joyless Street by linking the disintegration of a family with the humiliations of slum life. Noted German stage and film star Fritz Kortner plays the central Read More

Weltbrand

Satanas