93% (3)  Metropolis  153 min,  Not Rated,  [Drama, Sci-Fi]  [Fritz Lang]  [13 Mar 1927]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 83%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 99%,   Metacritic: 98%,   External Reviews
Awards:  6 wins & 5 nominations.
Actors:  Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm, Fritz Rasp, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Writer:  Thea von Harbou (screenplay), Thea von Harbou (novel)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb  Website     Language:  German    Country:  Germany
Plot:  Sometime in the future, the city of Metropolis is home to a Utopian society where its wealthy residents live a carefree life. One of those is Freder Fredersen. One day, he spots a beautiful woman with a group of children, she and the children quickly disappear. Trying to follow her, he is horrified to find an underground world of workers who apparently run the machinery that keeps the Utopian world above ground functioning. One of the few people above ground who knows about the world below is Freder's father, John Fredersen, who is the founder and master of Metropolis. Freder learns that the woman is called Maria, who espouses the need to join the "hands" - the workers - to the "head" - those in power above - by a mediator who will act as the "heart". Freder wants to help the plight of the workers in their struggle for a better life. But when John learns of what Maria is advocating and that Freder has joined their cause, with the assistance of an old colleague. an inventor called Rotwang, who turns out to be But their nemesis goes to works towards quashing a proposed uprising, with Maria at the centre of their plan. John, unaware that Rotwang has his own agenda., makes plans that include shutting down the machines, with the prospect of unleashing total anarchy both above and below ground.
Rotten Tomatoes:   In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
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78% (1)  L'argent  195 min,  [Drama, Romance]  [Marcel L'Herbier]  [25 Dec 1928]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 78%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Brigitte Helm, Marie Glory, Pierre Alcover, Yvette Guilbert
Writer:  Arthur Bernède (screenplay), Marcel L'Herbier (adaptation), Émile Zola (novel)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  French    Country:  France
Plot:  The business tycoon Nicolas Saccard is nearly ruined by his rival Gunderman, when he tries to raise capital for his company. To push up the price of his stock, Saccard plans a publicity stunt involving the aviator Jacques Hamelin flying across the Atlantic to Guyana and drilling for oil there, much to the dismay of Hamelin's wife Line. While Hamelin is away, Saccard tries to seduce Line. Line finally realizes that she and her husband were pawns in Saccard's scheme, and she accuses him of stock fraud.
Rotten Tomatoes:   This French production was based on a novel by Emile Zola, of the same title. Pierre Alcover stars as Saccard, a ruthless and untrustworthy banker who is all but ruined by speculating on the European stock market. Exulting in Saccard's imminent destruction are two old enemies, rival businessman Gunderman (Alfred Abel) and cast-off mistress Countess Sandorf (Brigitte Helm). Briefly rescued from poverty when he aligns himself with Hamelin (Henry Victor) a war hero-turned-petroleum profiteer, Soccard once more faces ruination when Hamelin is reported missing and presumed dead. Upon being assured that Hamelin is safe, Saccard cold-bloodedly sets about to stab his new partner in the back and assume control of his petroleum holdings. But Saccard is foiled by the last-minute manipulations of Gunderman, who ends up inviting Hamelin to join his operation. L'Argent was adapted for the screen by Marcel L'Herbier.
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76% (1)  The Love of Jeanne Ney  100 min,  [Drama, Romance]  [Georg Wilhelm Pabst]  [30 Jan 1928]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 76%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Brigitte Helm, Fritz Rasp, Uno Henning, Édith Jéhanne
Writer:  Ilja Ehrenburg (novel), Rudolf Leonhardt, Ladislaus Vajda
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  German    Country:  Germany
Plot:  In the Crimea, the Reds and the Whites aren't done fighting, and Jeanne discovers that the man she loves is a Bolshevik (when he kills her father). Penniless, she returns to Paris where she works for her uncle. Soon after, her lover Andreas is in France to organize the sailors in Toulon. So also is a thief, traitor, and libertine, Khalibiev, who wants to seduce Jeanne. His schemes, Jeanne and Andreas's naivete, and a lost diamond bring the lovers to the brink of tragedy.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Before plunging headlong into the Freudian sexuality of Pandora's Box, German filmmaker G. W. Pabst offered the impressionistic social document Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney (The Love of Jeanne Ney). Based on a sturm-und-drang story by Ilya Ehrenberg, the film travels from the Crimea to Paris and back again in unfolding a sprawling tale of sociological upheaval. The events are seen through the eyes of Jeanne Ney (Edith Hehanne), who is forced to flee her Russian homeland when her Communist lover kills her diplomat father. The romance between Jeanne and her politicized paramour irrevocably links the lure of radicalism with the call of the flesh. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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73% (1)  The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna  80 min,  [Drama]  [Hanns Schwarz]  [31 May 1930]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 73%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Brigitte Helm, Francis Lederer, Lya Jan, Warwick Ward
Writer:  Fritz Rotter, Hans Székely
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  German    Country:  Germany
Plot:  N/A
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72% (1)  The Devious Path  107 min,  [Drama, Romance]  [Georg Wilhelm Pabst]  [18 Mar 1929]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 72%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Brigitte Helm, Gustav Diessl, Hertha von Walther, Jack Trevor
Writer:  Franz Schulz (idea), Adolf Lantz, Ladislaus Vajda, Helen Gosewish
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  German    Country:  Germany
Plot:  N/A
Rotten Tomatoes:   This G.W. Pabst production was know by many titles, both in Europe (where it was alternately released as Abwege and Begierde) and the U.S. (where it was shipped out as Byways, Crisis and Desire). Brigitte Helm, of Metropolis fame, stars as Irene, the wife of self-absorbed Robert (Gustav Diessl). Feeling neglected, Irene strays from the marital nest, leading to a series of horrendous suppositions and misunderstandings. Critics in 1928 felt that Abwege was far below the standards of Pabst's best-known film Secrets of a Soul. If the film is forgotten today, it is probably because it was followed by the director's masterpiece, Pandora's Box (1929). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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