Franz Weber

Tom is a cop. Joe is a doctor. Nick is a professional skier. Each lives in a world of risk and stress...and each year they get together for one thing: the best skiing on earth! But nothing lasts forever, family demands and career pressures mean this will be their final trip together. They know they've got to make this one count...

Shortly after WWII, the DEFA Studios produced a series of operas and operettas which belonged to the classical German musical heritage. This enchanting film, the very first opera production of DEFA, stands out because of its lavish decor and costumes, its outstanding actors and their masterful voices of that time.

Based on a play by Gerhardt Hauptmann, the film details a bittersweet May-December romance between ageing Mathias Clausen and young, beautiful Inken Peters.

As a young man, mustard manufacturer Ludwig Klinke had an affair with a dancer, the “Spanish Fly”. The dancer had a son and Klinke has been secretly paying maintenance ever since. Wimmer and Tiedemeier also had a relationship with the dancer. With the appearance of the dancer's supposed son, Heinrich Meisel, chaos breaks out.

In the very old-fashioned town of Ostend suddenly 13 suitcases are delivered to the Grand Hotel, with a note, that O.F. will be here soon and needs 6 rooms. This event, probably the biggest in 300 years, starts a small wave of modernisation, yet everybody is wondering who O.F. is.

Short film about cheap housing

If I Were King

The niece of a wealthy manufacturing aunt has secretly married. Her husband has lost his way during the night in his pajamas at a spa and ended up on the balcony of an attractive singer.

The daydreaming tailor Wenzel is fired from his job, because the fancy frock he was supposed to cut for the mayor, he instead made for himself. He is allowed, however, to take the frock, which he appropriated for himself and he puts it on as he leaves the shop. A puppeteer picks him up in his coach and addresses Wenzel as "Count". So is he received in Goldach, where people think he is Count Stroganoff, the ambassador to the Czar of Russia.

Walter is in love with the 17-year-old Erika, but she raves for older, experienced men. When Walter and Erika visit his parents' estate after passing their exams, Erika shows increasing interest in Walter's father, Werner von Schlettow.

Chicago gangsters use cunning and a series of false identities in a violent battle for dominance, all while attempting to dodge the police.

Das Bad auf der Tenne

Ziel in den Wolken

The film depicts the composer Franz Liszt and takes its name from his 1850 piano work of the same title.

Eine seltene Geliebte

A man comes into money unexpectatly. That's when the trouble starts.

A man comes back from America after years to find his reputation ruined.

A group of artists and journalists enjoy a series of romantic entanglements in a country hotel. An author, Vera von Eichberg "of whom no photo exists," has mentioned the hotel in her work, boosting its notoriety. When another female guest arrives, everyone assumes she is the author, despite her repeated assertions to the contrary.

Shot in 1944, finished and released in 1954.

Mother Wolffen, a washerwoman, is a woman of principle: A poor man must do what he must to get through life, only he mustn't get caught doing it. All sorts of crooked deals contribute to the improvement of the daily menu and the increase of household funds. When everyone is searching for pensioner Krueger's missing beaverskin coat, Mother Wolffen and her family are calmly enjoying fresh roast venison.

The young actress Bettina has angered the director of a West Berlin camp for troubled youth with a song that celebrates the adventurous lives of these "wayward youths." Hein Denecke invites her to get to know the real lives of these young people.

A showgirl aspiring to greater things endeavours to sort out her financial and romantic problems.

Der Florentiner Hut (The Leghorn Hat), a 1939 German film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner

A car tells its story and the story of its seven owners during the years of the Third Reich.

In the middle of the 19th century, almost one in three women who gave birth died of puerperal fever. The Hungarian doctor Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis also observed these terrible occurrences in his clinic in Vienna. He came to the conclusion that it was primarily the unhygienic conditions in the clinic itself that led to this disease, as his colleagues were constantly shuttling back and forth between the anatomy department and the delivery room. He tries to convince the doctors of the absolute necessity of thorough disinfection by washing their hands with chlorinated lime. He meets with fierce resistance from his colleagues until he himself sets up an exemplary clinic in Budapest.

The great Dr. Pfeiffer plays the little Primaner Pfeiffer. As the successful playwright Dr. Hans Pfeiffer, he is planning a play about school. In order to gather material, he takes the place of his brother, who is a primary school pupil. The seasoned doctor finds pleasure in the craziest of pranks, while his brother tries to fill the role of theater man in the big city. And then love intervenes for both of them.

Legendary, immortal nobleman Baron Munchausen regales a lovestruck woman with tales of his amazing adventures.

A moving saga focusing on the women in a family that spans three generations and almost 70 years of German history, from the Wilhelmine period through the end of WWII. This film shows that it takes a combination of hard work, political consciousness and family work in tandem to face the tragedies of war, economic hardship and death.

A taxi driver, (Piel), finds an odd contraption on the back seat that renders him invisible, but his friend steals the device to rob a bank. An inventive comedy.

Shots fall at night at Gussersee Hotel. Hermann Brenken, general manager of a large company, is attacked. Newspapers hype up the case and offer a reward for its clarification.

A senator from Hamburg, frozen in old-fashioned gentility, attempts to consolidate his cigarette factory by marrying off his daughter to the son of his competition. His eccentric, nosy old sister, with no life of her own back in southern Germany, sends him a lawyer to keep an eye on the going-ons in the house.

The mustached ruler of a mythical principality, learning that his people dislike his spending so much time going hunting, allows his twin brother to take his place.

The Parisian restaurant "At the Oyster King's" is looking for a new waitress, whose job would be to crack open oysters with a newfangled oyster cracker (how exciting!). But who would have thought that this newfound invention would lead to so much turmoil (they're French, aren't they?)?! Through a mix-up, Lilli Dupont gets the job. But Lilli is no waitress, but rather a talented singer, waiting in vain for an engagement. She takes the job and soon every male visitor is laying at her feet. So that Lilli doesn't constantly have to fight off all the horny men, the cashier Aristide spreads the rumor that Lilli is actually the daughter of the millionaire van Muhlen, to whom the "Oyster King" belongs (daughter of a millionaire?!? Oh yes, of course: that will dissuade potential suitors!).

Assistant PI Bulli is hired to find Marie Banse. He does, she is married to Thomas, they have a pretty daughter, Lore. Bulli falls for her, delivers their heritage of 5000 Marks and tries to find out who the unknown benefactor is.

Princess Stauffenstein has arranged a marriage for her grandnephew Poldi and orders him to meet his unknown bride Steffi. But he falls for alluring dancer Ilonka while his uncle Leopold, sent to reason with him, is enchanted by Steffi.

A patriotic period melodrama in which a father and son are in love with the same lady.The son does not tell her that his father, an officer, has fought in a duel over her, but lies that he has left her for the army. Melodrama written by Douglas Sirk.

Sabine Heitmann, the young boss for the shipping company Heitmann, has become friends with Michael, the First Officer and Helmsman of the ship, the "Sabine Heitmann". He only knows Sabine by her first name and doesn't know that she's the boss. When he discovers the fact, however, he gets pissed and refuses to accept his promotion to Captain. Then the shipping company gets a lucrative offer: In a competition with another shipping company, they need to reach Baltimore in 18 days and pick up some freight. Whoever can move their rear ends faster, gets the very profitable contract from an American firm (correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't this sort of thing sink the Titanic?). Together with Michael, Sabine comes up with a plan, which should have them win the contest. The upshot? She wins back his heart and he becomes Captain.

An entire neighborhood is in an uproar because the Maier family is keeping their prize-winning rooster, Otto, on the balcony of their apartment. And now, every morning, the rooster is waking up the entire street with its dawn greeting. Thus, the neighborhood comes up with a plan to convince the Maiers to find a new place for the rooster to live (preferably amidst a bed of potatoes and onions). The Maiers, however, aren't so enthusiastic about this plan and strictly refuse to take the rooster off the balcony. Is it thus any surprise that the next morning, Otto is found dead in his cage ... and has apparently been *gasp* murdered?!?

Yvette is the daughter of a courtesan who serves men of wealth and status. She is unaware of how her mother makes money and why they are always in the presence of princes, dukes and barons. Only when Yvette goes away on a holiday she realizes that the Banker Saval is engaging her mother in such activities, she suddenly feels dirty.

When a female violinist joins an otherwise all-male musical quartet, the other members struggle to cope.

During the Napoleonic occupation of the German states in 1812, a tailor by the name of Anton Wibbel is sentenced to sit in jail for insulting the Emperor. The tailor manages to get out of this by paying off a friend to go to prison in his place. But then, the "phony" prisoner suddenly dies in his cell and everyone now thinks Wibbel is dead.

Paul Schleemueller is the town clerk of Schonbach, but secretly, he is counting on becoming the municipality's mayor one day. However, Paul's real passion is poetry, which he has never admitted to anyone, because he thinks it is unworthy of a municipal dignitary to write poems.

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

An adventurous peasant is supposed to be hanged, but gets told about life after death, how beautiful it is, and wants to get into heaven anyway even if he should be pardoned. A woman complicates the matter.

Alexander and Poldi, the “Sunday Children”, work as a headwaiter and servant in the Palasthotel in a southern German spa resort. Like many people, they dream of one day being rich. But when their lottery ticket actually wins, their friendship is destroyed, when it turns out, that Poldi stopped buying tickets to save money. Both then fall in love with beautiful Steffi, whose aunt won’t hear of anything other than a marriage to a rich man. Steffi gives her heart to poor Alex, while Poldi actually receives a fortune. When a crook ends up taking his money away, Alex helps Poldi to convict the fraudster and get his money back.

Already a famous painter, Rembrandt van Rijn is commissioned to paint the Amsterdam Archers' Guild. But upon completion of the picture, the men of the guild feel duped, because they don't consider themselves flatteringly depicted in the painting. They therefore decline to pay for the work. During this dispute, the painter finds out his wife is close to death. He finds himself terribly lonely after her passing and suffers from depression until he decides once more to marry.

Musician Eduard Boeckel wants to settle down and marries laundry owner Lisbeth Timm. He brings his friend August Garfs into the marriage, and the housekeeper Alwine quickly sets her sights on him. In his new position, Boeckel invents a laundry detergent with unfortunately disastrous consequences: the laundry becomes brittle, and the first major marital spat ensues. Eduard flees to his fellow musicians, gets drunk, and seeks solace with Alwine. When she drives him away, he returns contritely to his wife, who forgives him. And now she also knows what is truly wrong with their marriage: her Eduard misses his profession. From now on, he makes music, and she does the laundry.

The river level rises, the dam can no longer hold back the floodwaters – it breaks. Panic erupts, everyone tries to save at least some of their belongings from the rising waters. Those who manage it flee to the farm of old dike captain Doorn. His sons, Peter and Heinrich, help wherever they can. In doing so, they save the local schoolteacher and his beautiful daughter, Renate, from certain death. Both men love Renate, but this rivalry is not the only reason the brothers become enemies. While Heinrich, a trained engineer, advocates for river regulation to prevent further dam breaches, Peter vehemently argues for reinforcing the dam. When old Doorn dies and Peter proves to be the sole heir, Heinrich leaves home.

Xanten am Rhein, 1870/1871. Roffer Rottwinkel has two sons. His favorite is Mathias, whom he prefers to Lonius, a quiet and introspective man. Lonius, for his part, is shyly revering Christine ... and his brother's in love with her, too. For this reason, the father sends Lonius away, to fight in the Franco-Prussian War, which turns the introverted boy into a brave and strong man. Highly decorated, he returns home. In the meantime, his brother Mathias and Christine are unhappily married. Mathias is slipping more and more and finally becomes a con man. As Lonius is still very much in love with Christine, he wishes to save his father's business from ruin and rebels against his brother, who now goes to extremes.

All throughout his entire life, Friedrich Wilhelm Hoffmann let his career run roughshod over his personal life. He had no wife, because he was married instead to his chocolate factory. Now he’s old and gray, and his relatives, who are greedily waiting for him to kick the bucket so they can get their hands on his worldly goods, keep their distance from him. Then one day, an astonished Hoffmann is visited by a young woman named Brigitte, who asserts, that she’s his granddaughter. Suddenly, it all comes back to the old man: as a young man, he had a short, but intense, love affair, which he had to end on the insistence of his father.

Berlin, the end of the 19th Century: The pretty sisters Gabriele and Ulrike Wilkens have both completed their ballet training with honors. But only Gabriele is really dedicated to the art; Ulrike, on the other hand, is more the domestic type. She dreams of having a husband and children. One day, both of them get to know the aspiring composer Andreas Holk. Holk falls madly in love with Gabriele without suspecting, that Ulrike is in love with him! He arranges a prestigious engagement for the sisters at the Berlin Opera, which only Gabriele accepts. Ulrike prefers her modest life. When Count Alversheim courts Gabriele with unbridled energy, a disappointed Holk turns to Ulrike. When Gabriele finally comes to her senses, it is too late: she’s lost Holk to her sister.

Professor Dr. Burkhardt is a much celebrated surgeon. Obsessed with his career, he is always available when an unexpected operation comes up. That his personal life is suffering because of this obsession is something the successful doctor doesn't notice. His wife Vera, who, after the death of their three year old son, is always alone anyway, feels increasingly neglected. And the love, which she apparently isn't able to get from her husband, she seeks from Dr. Groone, her husband's assistant.

A dramatization of the melodramatic story that inspired the popular opera, Pagliacci.German language version of a film simultaneously shot in an Italian version.

An aging musician looks back on his life, his roots in a country village, his loves, and his brief imprisonment.

When young Dr. Ophoven arrives at the village as the new doctor, he is not exactly welcome. His wife Anna helps to break the ice. Their happiness is cut short when she dies. But the doctor is determined to stay and fulfill his obligation.

The moral is simple: keep your mouth shut, especially when you're working during the wartime in a factory, which produces racing cars only, or someone can (or even must) get murdered. Not a good movie, not a bad either. The ending is abrupt and artificial, which seems to be a common plague of Third Reich's crime movies. Gustav Fröhlich could never get rid of his silent era mannerisms and overacting. But on the other side, this film is not boring and has to offer some decent plot turns and acting.

Viktor Werneberg is a widowed swimming instructor with three children, who meets the sophisticated Irene Müller advice column in a newspaper. Although the two strike up a bond he is concerned that his chaotic household, including a lazy uncle Paul and an domineering housekeeper Grete, will put Irene off.

A romantic skirmish between an intrusive operetta tenor from the Berlin Theater and a revue diva in Barcelona, who later encounters him, initially unrecognized, as a ballet dancer and, after they marry, plays the role of a housewife to cure him of his arrogance and flightiness. He himself is no stranger to deception, but their joint stage finale is not far off.

The daughter of a wealthy art dealer is blackmailed, and then his former wife is found dead in a Paris hotel.One of the four suspects turns out to be actually a police detective.

Movie adaptation of the Leoncavalo's famous opera. A troupe of traveling actors is being welcomed by villagers in Calabria in the summer of 1866.