Rainer Erler

Directing

Rainer Erler

Born August 26, 1933 · Munich, Germany

Died November 8, 2023 · aged 90

Rainer Erler was a German writer, director and film producer. Erler was considered a major maker of German science fiction films and of science fiction on television, as well as the founder of the science thriller subgenre (explosive social, political and scientific themes are presented in a suspenseful way). Erler's films often dealt with controversial social issues such as nuclear energy, nucle…

Known For

Die QuelleDie Quelle · 1979
Die Quelle
8.51979
MovieThrillerDrama
A sailing boat takes package tourists in a party mood to various Spanish islands. One of them is desert-like, barren and barely habitable. Away from a small village stands an abandoned, dilapidated villa. It arouses the curiosity of Wolf, a young man in his mid-thirties. He spontaneously has the idea of buying it as a vacation home. So, gripped by a thirst for adventure, he stays behind on the island alone to make detailed inquiries. However, he has no idea that the few inhabitants of the island have mistaken him for the heir to the villa. But before he can clear up the misunderstanding and uncover the secret of the only freshwater well hidden in this house, a nightmare begins: he becomes embroiled in a fight to the death...
The DelegationThe Delegation · 1970
The Delegation
6.11970
MovieDramaScience Fiction
Journalist Will Roczinsky is dead. He was investigating UFO sightings. A TV broadcast summarizes the events up to his death. When broadcast at the time, viewers believed to be watching a documentary instead of a teleplay.
The Haunted CastleThe Haunted Castle · 1960
The Haunted Castle
6.81960
MovieComedyMusic
The ghosts of thieves help a beautiful young countess save her inherited castle from modern developers in this comic horror/musical.
Hotel AllotriaHotel Allotria · 1956
Hotel Allotria
10.01956
MovieComedy
Four young musicians from Hamburg are heading to a hotel in Upper Bavaria. Three lively young women are also on their way there. No wonder the hotel, which is on the brink of bankruptcy, is coming back to life. Max, Franz, Egon, and Paul—four young musicians from Hamburg—are heading to a hotel in Upper Bavaria to meet Max’s fiancée.
Die HaldeDie Halde · 1975
Die Halde
9.01975
MovieScience FictionDrama
On his wanderings, Tom meets young Lizzi and accompanies her to the vacation resort "Im Sonnengrund". The residents there are threatened by a huge garbage dump that will bury them all.
Spare PartsSpare Parts · 1979
Spare Parts
6.21979
MovieThrillerTV Movie
Honeymooning couple Monica and Mike check into a motel in New Mexico. All seems normal until an ambulance pulls up and abducts Mike. Monica narrowly escapes and, with the help of truck driver Bill, discovers the awful secret of the motel and the ambulance service.
PlutoniumPlutonium · 1978
Plutonium
7.51978
MovieThrillerDrama
Camouflaged as a political suspense documentary, Plutonium demonstrates the theft of highly enriched nuclear material from a Third World Country nuclear power plant - enough for five bombs of the Hiroshima type. Is this material now in the hands of terrorists – or in the possession of a brutal and inhuman dictatorship?
Lydia muss sterbenLydia muss sterben · 1964
Lydia muss sterben
7.01964
MovieCrime

Filmography

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Die QuelleDie Quelle · 1979
Die Quelle
8.51979
MovieThrillerDrama
A sailing boat takes package tourists in a party mood to various Spanish islands. One of them is desert-like, barren and barely habitable. Away from a small village stands an abandoned, dilapidated villa. It arouses the curiosity of Wolf, a young man in his mid-thirties. He spontaneously has the idea of buying it as a vacation home. So, gripped by a thirst for adventure, he stays behind on the island alone to make detailed inquiries. However, he has no idea that the few inhabitants of the island have mistaken him for the heir to the villa. But before he can clear up the misunderstanding and uncover the secret of the only freshwater well hidden in this house, a nightmare begins: he becomes embroiled in a fight to the death...

Director

Der letzte StammtischDer letzte Stammtisch · 1984
Der letzte Stammtisch
1984
MovieTV Movie
On the occasion of his last regulars’ table in his old neighbourhood of Schwabing, the laconic pensioner Schorsch's pals treat him to a cab drive to his new home in Neuperlach in the outskirts of the city. But Schorsch rather wants to take one last look at his old downtown apartment which he had renovated himself after the war, and where he had lived for almost forty years until his landlord bullied him out of there as the latter wanted to use the space for expensive luxury apartments. Because Schorsch’s wife wanted to move to “the countryside”, they thereupon moved to the Neuperlach development site in the outskirts of Munich. But amongst the uniformly looking housing blocks, Schorsch can’t even find his new apartment, and so, the grumpy cabdriver Gustl becomes his companion on a nightly odyssey.

Screenplay

Orden für die WunderkinderOrden für die Wunderkinder · 1963
Orden für die Wunderkinder
9.01963
MovieComedy
A retirement home. An elderly gentleman is conversing with a paralyzed countess. When she asks him why he was awarded the title of advisor and an order, Ziegler modestly replies, "For services to the fatherland and the people." The scene changes, and we see Ziegler no longer in the retirement home, but behind bars. After serving his sentence for defrauding gullible women seeking to get married, the marriage swindler Ziegler accidentally finds himself at the award ceremony. Realizing how attractive the order is to wealthy individuals who have not yet taken their place among the elite, Ziegler decides to end his dangerous and not-so-lucrative "business." He searches his address book for the names of wealthy fellow citizens and, using forged forms, informs them that they will soon be awarded an order and that they must pay 750 marks to cover the costs of the ceremony...

Director