Der Tod hat ein Gesicht

The Casino Affair

In a casino in a We'5t German health resort, one often sees Sybille - an attractive young student actress. With her winnings from the roulette table, she attempts to finance her studies. Despite a rather lucky streak, her winnings are a little on the lean side. She doesn't, however, gamble with her own money but with that of Dr. Busch, a lawyer, who likes to stay in the background with the argument that gambling houses are not the proper turf for a serious lawyer. From him, Sybille receives only a small share of her winnings later, and only through the intervention of Gerhard Fischer, a journalist, does Sybille come to realize her role in Dr. Busch's fraudulent scheme.

Kein Hüsung

Mecklenburg, 19th century. For generations, the Brand family of farmers has worked a piece of land as tenants of the baron, who owns almost all of the village's land. The baron himself comes from a family of farmers who became rich through corruption and were ennobled. He is the absolute potentate, no one dares to contradict him, he takes what he wants and stops at nothing in his excesses. At the same time, he is the center of petty bourgeois, bigoted social life. Johann, the stable boy, wants to marry Mariken Brand and asks the baron for a piece of land so that he can build a life of his own. But the lord is harsh, not only refusing him the land, but also increasing the rent. Johann rebels, trying to rouse the farmers in the village from their lethargy—in vain. Only when Mariken dies does the mood change. A peasant uprising breaks out, and Johann kills the baron.

Komödianten-Emil

The early 1930s in Berlin. Cabaret artist Emil Damaschke wants to entertain people with his program - together with Ida, the attraction from Hungary. But because he risks a lip that is too big, he is thrown out of the "Rosenthaler" cabaret, ends up on the criminal circuit and briefly in prison. Back out again, he and his colleagues leased the "Rosenthaler", whose Jewish owners had fled abroad to escape the Nazis. They set up a cooperative. However, a gang of criminals who professed allegiance to the Nazis wanted a share of the profits and believed they had a free ride. Emil rejects Ida's intention to win over the workers as a new audience, he makes money with advertising and refuses to join the criminals. They kidnap Ida, murder her in the forest and make sure that Emil is framed for the murder. Emil ends up in prison and the criminals take over the cabaret - in Nazi uniform.

The Condemned Village

East German propaganda film about an American army base trying to take away land from a West German village.

Gejagt bis zum Morgen

Drama about an impoverished family, a widowed mother and her two sons, trying to get by.

52 Weeks Make A Year

Krestan Serbin, a 64-year-old Sorbian farm-worker, considers himself non-political. He owns a few acres, a few pigs and a cow, and intends to pass all this on to his daughter Lena. Lena, however, shows only little interest. Krestan’s situation becomes more difficult when he is meant to become integrated into the agricultural production cooperative. He even gets offered a position as Training Supervisor. Although Krestan does not oppose the new policy, he is unwilling to surrender his properties. When the political die-hards who intend to hinder the progressive movement try to win him over, Krestan realizes that it is time to show colours.

Die Unbesiegbaren

The film "Die Unbesiegbaren" covers an episode in German history, in which the Bismarck government tried to mitigate the rise of the social-democrat movement.

Wo der Zug nicht lange hält

In a small town, a brigade is working on the construction of a new cultural center. Gerhard loves Karin, the daughter of brigadier Franz, who is not thrilled with the prospective son-in-law. Under the influence of his colleague "Boxer", who wants to go to a big city with him, Gerhard neglects his crane operator course, his work and ultimately Karin too. The failed crane test infuriates him and turns him into a rioter. After quarrels on the construction site, Franz is found unconscious on the crane at night. Gerhard comes under suspicion, but the accident was the fault of "Boxer". When he tries to escape, Gerhard, who has come to his senses, is able to hold him back. Remorseful, they go to the police together. Karin is also reconciled and the wedding is to take place in the finished Kulturhaus.

Pole Poppenspäler

On his travels, Paul, a journeyman from northern Germany, runs into a childhood friend, Lisei, a puppeteer's daughter. They fall in love and get married. Together with Lisei's father, the young couple moves to Paul's hometown. Although Paul himself is accepted - even respected - by the stuck-up and snooty citizens, the young woman is rejected by the town dwellers, who are imbued with class arrogance. Paul stands up for his wife but the scorn and abuse heaped on her weigh heavily upon him.

Zar und Zimmermann

In the Dutch town of Saardam, Tsar Peter the Great has disguised himself in order to learn the art of ship-building. Another Russian named Peter also works at the wharf, causing a comical case of mistaken identities. Emissaries sent from France and England have difficulty locating the man they are looking for, and the lovely Marie is courted by both Peters. An adaptation of Albert Lortzing's eponymous comic opera (1837).

Chronicle of a Murder

In the mid-1950s, mayor Zwischenzahl is killed on the day of his inauguration in a West German town. The killer is Ruth Bodenheim, a Jewish woman, who wanted to avenge the death of her parents. Zwischenzahl, a former SA member, was apparently involved in the deportation of her parents to a concentration camp during the war. Ruth cannot bear the horrible events and the death of her parents and wants to open the eyes of the town′s residents.

Der Mann mit dem Ring im Ohr

For years, the carpenter Tillmann Rutenschneider has moved around. In 1932, at the age of thirty, he returns to his village in the Mark Brandenburg with a foreign wife. He builds a house and starts a family. It wasn't long before he became a victim of the new racial laws. His house is set on fire, his wife and child burn to death in the flames. He himself is sent to a concentration camp. After liberation, he returned to his home village, started a new family and built a new house. He joins forces with resettlers to form a cooperative, enforcing the land reform in his very own way. Tillmann falls into debt, gets into trouble and ends up in prison. He has to sell his house to pay off his debts. Released from prison, Tillmann Rutenschneider makes his way back to his village.

Fog

At the beginning of the 1960s, a German turns up on behalf of the NATO in the British village of Rocksmouth. NATO wants to establish a naval base in Rocksmouth, but first, the German envoy has to salvage an old ship wreck. In 1942, the "Princess of India" was supposed to bring children to safety in Canada but was sunk by a German submarine at departure. 58 people were killed, most of them children.

The Sailor's Song

A film about the historical uprising of the seamen in Kiel: During the Russian October Revolution of 1917, German and Russian soldiers start to solidarize with each other. By disarming the officers, machinist Henne Lonke and stoker Jens Kasten prevent the attack on a Russian freighter. When German admiralty gives out orders for operation "Nibelungen", which would lead the German fleet into a suicidal attack against England and quell the revolutionary spirit, seamen and soldiers from different political backgrounds unite in protest.

Heart of Stone

Lavish adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff′s fairy tale: Young charburner Peter Munk dreams of joining the upper class. He makes a deal with the sinister Holländer-Michel, who offers to trade Peter′s human heart for one made of stone. Once he has the "cold heart" in his body, Peter eventually strikes a fortune and enjoys great wealth, but at the same time, he becomes a bitter and emotionless man – and, having lost all traces of humanity, even murders his wife Lisbeth. Only then does Peter Munk finally realize what has become of him, and he decides to regain his real heart from Holländer-Michel.

My Zero Hour

Germany in 1943. The Berlin worker Klaus Hartung is deployed as a soldier to the Eastern front during World War II. During a tour, he is captured by a Russian patrol. While in captivity, Hartung comes to the conclusion that he has to come through and actively take part in the effort to end the war. He consents to abduct a German officer together with two Russian soldiers. During their adventurous mission, the men who at first had been enemies, become sincere friends.