Helmut Käutner

Directing

Helmut Käutner

Born March 25, 1908 · Düsseldorf, Germany

Died April 20, 1980 · aged 72

Helmut Käutner (born 25 March 1908 in Düsseldorf, Germany; died 20 April 1980 in Castellina in Chianti, Italy) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He began his career at the end of the Weimar Republic and had released his first major films in Nazi Germany.

Known For

Nights on the RoadNights on the Road · 1952
Nights on the Road
7.91952
MovieDrama
An aging truck driver finds smuggled money and becomes involved with a hijacking crowd.
KönigskinderKönigskinder · 1950
Königskinder
8.01950
MovieComedy
Karl MayKarl May · 1974
Karl May
10.01974
MovieHistoryDrama
This ethereal, three-hour biopic starring Helmut Käutner as the writer Karl May interprets «a German hero's life» and thereby paints a picture of an entire era.
Clothes Make the ManClothes Make the Man · 1940
Clothes Make the Man
6.91940
MovieComedyDrama
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.
Hauser's MemoryHauser's Memory · 1970
Hauser's Memory
6.81970
MovieScience FictionTV Movie
A scientist is persuaded by the government to inject himself with the brain fluid of a dying colleague in order to preserve missile-defense secrets. However, he finds that he is now torn between his own wife and that of his dead colleague, who was a Nazi sympathizer.
The Dream of Lieschen MüllerThe Dream of Lieschen Müller · 1961
The Dream of Lieschen Müller
8.31961
MovieMusicComedy
Lieschen Müller is in her mid-20s, works a dull office job and fancies the handsome waiter from the diner down the street, wishing for a more exciting life. In a vivid, lucid dream she happens upon a gigantic fortune, allowing her to live out her wildest fantasies. Quickly, however, she realizes that that's not what makes her happy.
The Original SinThe Original Sin · 1948
The Original Sin
6.61948
MovieComedy
An apple juice producer can't decide between his wife and his secretary and tries to commit suicide. Being committed to psychiatry, he falls asleep and dreams of adventures as Adam and Eve in heaven and hell.
Romance in a Minor KeyRomance in a Minor Key · 1943
Romance in a Minor Key
7.01943
MovieDramaRomance
A grieving husband tries to uncover the truth behind his wife's suicide, leading him to discover a tragic tale of infidelity and redemption.

Movies

Nights on the RoadNights on the Road · 1952
Nights on the Road
7.91952
MovieDrama
An aging truck driver finds smuggled money and becomes involved with a hijacking crowd.
KönigskinderKönigskinder · 1950
Königskinder
8.01950
MovieComedy
Karl MayKarl May · 1974
Karl May
10.01974
MovieHistoryDrama
This ethereal, three-hour biopic starring Helmut Käutner as the writer Karl May interprets «a German hero's life» and thereby paints a picture of an entire era.
Clothes Make the ManClothes Make the Man · 1940
Clothes Make the Man
6.91940
MovieComedyDrama
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.
Hauser's MemoryHauser's Memory · 1970
Hauser's Memory
6.81970
MovieScience FictionTV Movie
A scientist is persuaded by the government to inject himself with the brain fluid of a dying colleague in order to preserve missile-defense secrets. However, he finds that he is now torn between his own wife and that of his dead colleague, who was a Nazi sympathizer.
The Dream of Lieschen MüllerThe Dream of Lieschen Müller · 1961
The Dream of Lieschen Müller
8.31961
MovieMusicComedy
Lieschen Müller is in her mid-20s, works a dull office job and fancies the handsome waiter from the diner down the street, wishing for a more exciting life. In a vivid, lucid dream she happens upon a gigantic fortune, allowing her to live out her wildest fantasies. Quickly, however, she realizes that that's not what makes her happy.
The Original SinThe Original Sin · 1948
The Original Sin
6.61948
MovieComedy
An apple juice producer can't decide between his wife and his secretary and tries to commit suicide. Being committed to psychiatry, he falls asleep and dreams of adventures as Adam and Eve in heaven and hell.
Romance in a Minor KeyRomance in a Minor Key · 1943
Romance in a Minor Key
7.01943
MovieDramaRomance
A grieving husband tries to uncover the truth behind his wife's suicide, leading him to discover a tragic tale of infidelity and redemption.
MonptiMonpti · 1957
Monpti
5.91957
MovieRomanceComedy
A poor Hungarian artist falls in love with a wealthy mysterious Parisian girl.
In Those DaysIn Those Days · 1947
In Those Days
6.91947
MovieDrama
A car tells its story and the story of its seven owners during the years of the Third Reich.
Der SchinderhannesDer Schinderhannes · 1958
Der Schinderhannes
7.31958
MovieHistoryRomance
1802: The adventurous life story of Hans Bückler, known as “Schinderhannes”, who fights against the French occupying forces and large landowners who exploit poor farmers in the Hunsrück region during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Captain from KopenickThe Captain from Kopenick · 1956
The Captain from Kopenick
7.31956
MovieComedyDrama
A young shoemaker is arrested for stealing a small amount of money, and is jailed for fifteen years. Upon his release, he wants to get a permit to get a job and start anew, but finds that without a job he can't get a permit, and without a permit he can't get a job. Ensnared in the absurd net of Prussian bureaucracy, he can't see any way out. That is, until he enters a thrift shop and spots a Prussian officer's uniform that fits him like a second skin...
The Zurich EngagementThe Zurich Engagement · 1957
The Zurich Engagement
6.41957
MovieComedyRomance
Juliane Thomas is an ambitious but unemployed young writer. After breaking up with her lover she works at a dentist friend to make ends meet. One day she instantly falls in love with one of the patients (Jean Berner) and promptly writes a movie script about the encounter in which she projects her own fantasies about how things will turn out eventually. By coincidence this movie script is picked up by a film director who happens to be Berner's closest friend and from then on things become very complicated...
Under the BridgesUnder the Bridges · 1946
Under the Bridges
7.31946
MovieRomanceDrama
Two barge skippers fall in love with the same woman.
The Restless YearsThe Restless Years · 1958
The Restless Years
7.01958
MovieDrama
A pretty, sheltered teenager falls for a boy from the wrong side of town.
Operation CaviarOperation Caviar · 1961
Operation Caviar
5.31961
MovieAdventureComedy
Bank accountant Thomas Lieven is forced to work as a triple agent for the British, the French and the Nazis.
Without Trumpet or DrumWithout Trumpet or Drum · 1959
Without Trumpet or Drum
10.01959
MovieComedyWar
Summer 1870. Following the French defeat at Sedan. Léon, a soldier in a detachment isolated in the Ardennes forest, is sent in search of water. When he discovers the most peaceful of rivers, he decides to undress and bathe in it. At bend of the river he catches sight of another naked swimmer. It's a Prussian! Both men start bickering a bit: aren't they supposed to be arch enemies? But they soon fraternize. Unfortunately the patrol has not vanished in the haze and they hear it coming. Each man gets hold of his uniform and runs away in two opposite directions. The only trouble is that Fritz the Prussian has donned the French uniform and Leon the Prussian one!
The Devil's GeneralThe Devil's General · 1955
The Devil's General
6.81955
MovieDramaWar
The adaptation of the eponymous play by Carl Zuckmayer tells the story of renegade general Harras of the German Luftwaffe, who during WWII openly criticizes the Nazi regime. As a consequence, he is put under surveillance, and even imprisoned for a brief period of time. Still remaining outspoken, Harras realizes the horrific dimensions of this hopeless and injust war waged by Germany.
Black GravelBlack Gravel · 1961
Black Gravel
7.11961
MovieDramaCrime
Tensions rise when a U.S. military base is built in a small village in post-war Germany.
The Last BridgeThe Last Bridge · 1954
The Last Bridge
6.21954
MovieWarDrama
A German nurse gets sent to the front because she gives medical aid to a wounded Yugoslav partisan during World War II.
LausbubengeschichtenLausbubengeschichten · 1964
Lausbubengeschichten
6.01964
MovieComedy
Sky Without StarsSky Without Stars · 1955
Sky Without Stars
6.91955
MovieDramaRomance
Anna is a factory worker in East Germany, but her five-year-old son Jochen lives with his grandparents in the West. Anna wants him to live with her, so she abducts him. Along the way she meets Carl, who helps her cross the border, and they fall in love.
The Rest Is SilenceThe Rest Is Silence · 1959
The Rest Is Silence
6.01959
MovieDramaCrime
A "mufti" version of Hamlet, with young Hardy Krüger trying to prove that his uncle has killed his father. Direct references to the Shakespeare original abound, right down to the re-enactment of the crime for the benefit of the Uncle and the periodic appearances of the ghost of the hero's father.'
Goodbye, FranziskaGoodbye, Franziska · 1941
Goodbye, Franziska
7.01941
MovieDramaRomance
The relationship between Franziska and her partner Michael, a globetrotting photojournalist, remains strained due to their constant separation, until tragedy strikes, forcing Michael to come home and to make a decision about their future.

TV Shows

Scene of the CrimeScene of the Crime · 1970
Scene of the Crime
6.21970
SeriesDramaCrime
Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland.
DerrickDerrick · 1974
Derrick
6.11974
SeriesDramaCrime
Derrick was a German TV series produced by Telenova Film und Fernsehproduktion in association with ZDF, ORF and SRG between 1974 and 1998 about Detective Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick and his loyal assistant Inspector Harry Klein, who solve murder cases in Munich and surroundings.
BambiBambi · 1948
Bambi
9.01948
Series
The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.
The CommissionerThe Commissioner · 1969
The Commissioner
8.01969
SeriesDramaCrime
Der Kommissar is a German television series about a group of detectives of the Munich homicide squad. All 97 episodes, which were shot in black-and-white and first broadcast between 1969 and 1976, were written by Herbert Reinecker and starred Erik Ode as Kommissar Herbert Keller. Keller's assistants were Walter Grabert, Robert Heines, and Harry Klein who, in 1974, was replaced by his younger brother Erwin Klein.
Ein Mann namens Harry BrentEin Mann namens Harry Brent · 1968
Ein Mann namens Harry Brent
8.01968
SeriesCrime
A man shrouded in mystery. His name is Harry Brent. Not even his fiancée knows much about him. All she knows is that he runs a small travel agency. In a puzzling turn of events, he becomes involved in the murder of his fiancée's boss. The first thing that becomes clear to Detective Inspector James Wallace is that Harry Brent is obviously a key figure in the case...
Die Frau in WeißDie Frau in Weiß · 1971
Die Frau in Weiß
1971
SeriesDrama
Walter Hartrigth is supposed to teach Sir Frederic Fairlie's nieces drawing at an old country castle. He soon falls in love with Laura, the younger of the two students. Marian, her sister, tells him that Laura is already engaged to Sir Percival Glyde. Sir Percival insists on the wedding. But he has an enemy: "The Woman in White," who looks exactly like Laura. In an anonymous letter, she reveals that Sir Percival and his friends, the Countess and Count Fosco, are only after Laura's money.
Karl MayKarl May · 1977
Karl May
1977
SeriesDrama
The last ten years in Karl May’s life. A man fighting for his work, which lets him become an iconic figure of his time.
Eichholz & SöhneEichholz & Söhne · 1977
Eichholz & Söhne
9.01977
SeriesDrama