Eugen Klöpfer

Pygmalion

When linguistics professor Henry Higgins boasts that he can pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle as a princess with only six months' training, Colonel George Pickering takes him up on the bet. Eliza moves into Higgins's home and begins her rigorous training after the professor comes to a financial agreement with her dustman father, Alfred. But the plucky young woman is not the only one undergoing a transformation.

Menschen

Martin Berger’s 'Menschen' serves as a harrowing socio-cinematic autopsy of the human spirit, adrift in the wreckage of a post-war landscape. Far from the escapist fantasies that often dominated early Weimar screens, this 1921 opus delves into the penumbral existence of the disenfranchised. The narrative follows a fatalistic trajectory, where the characters—portrayed with a raw, almost primitive intensity—grapple with the crushing weight of systemic indifference and personal moral decay.

Die Geierwally

"The Bear Joseph", so named because of a fight with a bear, is rescued by Wally, a farmer's daughter, from a dangerous situation in a vulture's nest. He then calls her "Geierwally". They fall in love. Wally's father disapproves of this romance. He has other plans for Wally.

Der Erbförster

For many years, Ulrich, the hereditary forester, and Steinbach, the landowner, were the best of friends. But one day, this friendship is put to a severe test: Driven by financial need, Steinbach wants to have the forest cleared, which Ulrich condemns as brutal exploitation of nature – and therefore refuses to grant permission for the project. To clear the way for his plan, Steinbach ensures that Ulrich is dismissed as forester. When, a few days later, the dam built by Steinbach is blown up and the floodwaters inundate Steinbach's sawmill, suspicion immediately falls on Ulrich. The hereditary forester is ostracized, threatened, and even fears for his life.

Refugees

Propaganda film detailing the plight of ethnic Germans, known as "Volga Germans", in the Soviet province of Manchuria.

Süss, the Jew

Nazi historical drama about Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg and his treasurer Süß Oppenheimer.

The Gambler

A gambling-drama based on Dostoevsky’s works: The retired General Kirileff is addicted to gambling and also has a costly affair. He takes out a loan from the greedy imposter Vincent, for which he is to pay an exorbitant interest rate. Vincent, for his part, wants to get closer to Kirileff’s daughter Nina, who is to inherit her grandmother’s fortune one day. Nina tries to help her father and goes to the gambling tables, only to lose a lot of money. She asks Alexej, her father’s secretary, to play for her. Alexej is in love with Nina and would do anything for her. He plays; at first loses; then asks Nina to get Vincent out of there. Once that happens, he wins a large amount of money, becomes overbearing and treats Nina like a prostitute.

Anschlag auf Schweda

The student Hans Kessler is suspected of having murdered the banker Hergotin, who has been found dead in his hotel in Zurich. When a search is launched for an unknown woman, who was seen in the hotel at the time of the murder, Hans suddenly confesses to the deed. The prosecution is headed by Schweda and Hans is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Only afterwards does Regine, Hans' sister, find out about the events. She is convinced that her brother is innocent and is covering for the actual murderer.

Pygmalion

When linguistics professor Henry Higgins boasts that he can pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle as a princess with only six months' training, Colonel George Pickering takes him up on the bet. Eliza moves into Higgins's home and begins her rigorous training after the professor comes to a financial agreement with her dustman father, Alfred. But the plucky young woman is not the only one undergoing a transformation.

Menschen

Martin Berger’s 'Menschen' serves as a harrowing socio-cinematic autopsy of the human spirit, adrift in the wreckage of a post-war landscape. Far from the escapist fantasies that often dominated early Weimar screens, this 1921 opus delves into the penumbral existence of the disenfranchised. The narrative follows a fatalistic trajectory, where the characters—portrayed with a raw, almost primitive intensity—grapple with the crushing weight of systemic indifference and personal moral decay.

Die Geierwally

"The Bear Joseph", so named because of a fight with a bear, is rescued by Wally, a farmer's daughter, from a dangerous situation in a vulture's nest. He then calls her "Geierwally". They fall in love. Wally's father disapproves of this romance. He has other plans for Wally.

Der Erbförster

For many years, Ulrich, the hereditary forester, and Steinbach, the landowner, were the best of friends. But one day, this friendship is put to a severe test: Driven by financial need, Steinbach wants to have the forest cleared, which Ulrich condemns as brutal exploitation of nature – and therefore refuses to grant permission for the project. To clear the way for his plan, Steinbach ensures that Ulrich is dismissed as forester. When, a few days later, the dam built by Steinbach is blown up and the floodwaters inundate Steinbach's sawmill, suspicion immediately falls on Ulrich. The hereditary forester is ostracized, threatened, and even fears for his life.

Refugees

Propaganda film detailing the plight of ethnic Germans, known as "Volga Germans", in the Soviet province of Manchuria.

Süss, the Jew

Nazi historical drama about Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg and his treasurer Süß Oppenheimer.

The Gambler

A gambling-drama based on Dostoevsky’s works: The retired General Kirileff is addicted to gambling and also has a costly affair. He takes out a loan from the greedy imposter Vincent, for which he is to pay an exorbitant interest rate. Vincent, for his part, wants to get closer to Kirileff’s daughter Nina, who is to inherit her grandmother’s fortune one day. Nina tries to help her father and goes to the gambling tables, only to lose a lot of money. She asks Alexej, her father’s secretary, to play for her. Alexej is in love with Nina and would do anything for her. He plays; at first loses; then asks Nina to get Vincent out of there. Once that happens, he wins a large amount of money, becomes overbearing and treats Nina like a prostitute.

Anschlag auf Schweda

The student Hans Kessler is suspected of having murdered the banker Hergotin, who has been found dead in his hotel in Zurich. When a search is launched for an unknown woman, who was seen in the hotel at the time of the murder, Hans suddenly confesses to the deed. The prosecution is headed by Schweda and Hans is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Only afterwards does Regine, Hans' sister, find out about the events. She is convinced that her brother is innocent and is covering for the actual murderer.

The Brothers Noltenius

Wolf Noltenius is a real globetrotter. Early on, this talented young man travelled far and wide, where he earned fame as a construction planner. He moved to Brazil; but one day, homesickness got the best of him. He spontaneously travelled back to his hometown to visit his brother Werner and his family. Wolf and Werner, who both went into the same profession, couldn't be any more different: the one is worldly and an experienced man-about-town; the other a small bourgeois.

Pariserinnen

Das Geld auf der Strasse

Der Graf von Essex

The Earl of Essex, a favourite of the Queen, is in jeopardy of losing her favor after secretly marrying one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting.

The Pranks

German-Italian crime drama with a racing milieu: The International criminal, "The Paw", who kills his victims with a prosthesis, has struck again! An engineer, who has designed a new racing car for the Italian firm Alberti has been found beaten to death. The plans for the car have been stolen. Rappis, the firm's director, takes part in the race and hits the finish line at the same time as the German racer, Peter Kruger. Then Rappis is found beaten to death, too.

Liselotte of the Palatinate

The film portrays the life of the Heidelberg-born Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine, who married into the French royal family during the reign of Louis XIV.

Die Vase der Semirames

O alte Burschenherrlichkeit

The Burning Soil

When farmer Rog dies, his eldest Peter takes over the farm while his youngest Johannes is determined for a better life: he becomes secretary to Count Rudenberg and starts courting his daughter Gerda. When he learns that the Count, who is terminally ill, has bequeathed a piece of land under which lies a petroleum field to his second wife, he courts her instead.

Torgus

John, a young man raised by his aunt, is in love with Anna, a servant girl who is going to have his baby. He is willing to marry her but his stern aunt wants him to marry a rich girl. To separate the lovers, she arranges for her nephew to be enrolled at a university in a distant town. She then has Anna sent away to live with Torgus the coffin maker and his mother where she will be secluded until the birth of the child. Torgus, a clumsy golem-esque sort of fellow, is immediately charmed by the beautiful girl and takes pity on her. Meanwhile, Anna anxiously awaits John's return.

Desire: The Tragedy of a Dancer

A young Russian dancer in Geneva returns to Russia, where he falls in love with a grand duchess. He is arrested but manages to escape. Lost film.

Youth

Germany, 1890: Having just gotten his high-school diploma, Hans leaves for Heidelberg to begin his university studies. But first, he wants to visit his uncle, Pastor Hoppe, in the small village of Rosenau. It's here that he again meets his cousin and childhood friend Annie. Annie is the illegitimate child of Pastor Hoppe's sister, who's left the upbringing of her offspring to the man-of-the-cloth. Conservative chaplain Schigorski continually tries to convince Annie to join the nearby cloister and thus "atone" for the sins of her mother. And it's getting more difficult for the fun-loving girl to escape the chaplain's harrassment. When Hans arrives, old feelings of lust come back to the surface.

The Living Dead

A crazed scientist murders his wife, walls her up, then flees. A reporter sets out to track him down. Remake of Unheimliche Geschichten (Richard Oswald, 1919).

The Street

The movie follows two distinct plot lines until the two eventually merge: the first is that of the bored middle-aged man seeking a departure from monotony in his life; the second is that of the blind man and the little boy, his grandson, who are interdependent. None of the characters have been given names and are therefore referred to only by description. The city is an expressionistic nightmare, a dangerous and chaotic place.

Friedrich Schiller – The Triumph of a Genius

The young Schiller, whose heart and soul are writing and poetry, is forced into the military academy (the pride and joy of the Duke of Württemberg). Schiller is disgusted by the everyday routine of the military, always back and forth between breeding and drills. Conversation, conflict or even critique are discouraged – the oppression insufferable for the young rebel. Disgusted by the brutality, he writes his drama "The Bandit", which he would later publish anonymously. But following a frank conversation with the Duke, Schiller is dishonored and must leave the land.

Katharina Knie

"Katharina Knie" is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Karl Grune and starring Eugen Klöpfer, Carmen Boni and Adele Sandrock. It is based on the 1928 play of the same title by Carl Zuckmayer.