Lilian Harvey

The newsreel series Jornal Português (1938-1951) was produced for the Secretariat of National Propaganda (SPN/SNI) by the "Portuguese Newsreel Society" (SPAC), under the technical supervision of António Lopes Ribeiro. It was conceived and employed as part of the propaganda machinery of Salazar's regime. Screened in cinema theatres prior to the main feature film, each issue of Jornal had approximately ten minutes in length and covered a variety of official government acts, national political news, major sports events and other assorted social and cultural affairs. Jornal Português is not only an indispensable document for the history of Estado Novo's propaganda, but also an unparalleled audiovisual archive of 1940s Portugal.

Serenade represented the return to the screen of international favorite Lillian Harvey after an absence of two years. Based loosely on the life of composer Franz Schubert, the film casts Bernard Lancret as Schubert, Harvey as his dancer sweetheart, and Louis Jouvet as a possessive Baron who has his own designs on our heroine.

6/10

Lillian Harvey plays Miquette, whose beauty and vivacity increases the clientele of her mother's tobacco shop. A Barrymoresque actor (Lucien Baroux) believes that Miquette has star potential, but he hasn't sufficient capital to finance her theatrical debut. He manages to get the money by practicing a bit of genteel blackmail on an aging marquis (Andre Lefaur) who has romantic designs on the heroine.

Lilian Harvey plays a young heiress in long-ago France named Madelon who is raised by her grandfather as a boy in order to frighten away fortune hunters. But when the old man dies, her guardian Cesaire wants to marry her off to the rich prefect Barberousse. She is tricked by Cesaire with the portrait of a young man (Viktor von Staal) which is presented to her as that of her future husband. But when Madelone discovers this scheme she flees, again in men's clothing. But on her route to escape, she meets the young man from the portrait and falls in love with him. But Madelone can't give up her disguise right now...

5.9/10

Young William Tenson MacPhab’s stock portfolio has crashed like the housing market in 21st Century Nevada and he’s lost a whole Seven Pounds. And like many an investor, who left his investment decisions in the hands of others, Tenson holds Astor Terbanks, a steel magnate, responsible for Tenson’s stupid investment decisions. Through a trick, he manages to get an appointment with the steel magnate, but when the latter hears he’s only lost Seven Pounds, he has his stupid ass thrown out. Now Tenson is bent on revenge. Apparently having nothing to do with his life and suffering from some psychological problems as well as being stupid, he takes an ad out in the paper threatening to give the old steel king seven slaps in the coming week to teach him a lesson in respect. Terbank’s daughter Daisy is horrified by this threat from the loon and does everything to protect her father. It’s all in vain: Her father gets slapped every day, and every day, it makes headlines.

6.5/10

Prince Klemens von Metternich orders Friedrich Gentz, one of his aides, to keep the Duke of Reichstadt---Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles---son of Napoleon and heir to the French throne, from thinking about French politics. Gentz enlists the help of ballerina Fanny Elsser, all the rage in several European capitals, to keep the Duke distracted.

6.9/10

After completing work on the British musical Invitation to the Waltz, Lillian Harvey returned to her adopted country of Germany to star in the comedy-with-music Glueckskinder (Children of Fortune). Harvey plays Ann Garden, an unemployed actress who ends up in night court on a loitering charge. Here she meets Gil Taylor (Willy Fritsch), a struggling songwriter temporarily employed as a court reporter. Hoping to keep her out of jail, Gil impulsively tells the judge that he's engaged to Ann -- whereupon the judge, equally impulsively, marries the couple on the spot! After this inauspicious start, Ann and Gil embark upon a rocky (but tuneful) whirlwind romance.

6.9/10

Released in Germany as Schwarze Rosen, Black Roses represented the return to UFA studios of British musical comedy favorite Lillian Harvey, after several years in Hollywood. The delectable Harvey plays a Russian ballerina, stranded in turn-of-the-century Finland. She falls in love with sculptor Esmond Knight, a political dissident with a price on his head. To save Knight, Harvey spends the night with Tsarist governor Robert Rendel. The story is based on the real-life ballerina Marina Feodorovna, who ended up sacrificing her life on behalf of her lover. Black Roses was filmed in three languages: German, French and English; the English version was originally titled Did I Betray?

6.8/10

As the threat of Napoleonic invasion looms ever closer, a German duke and potential ally of England falls for a pretty ballerina.

6.1/10

Erkki Collin is a hunted man. The Czar’s soldiers have been close on the heels of the leader of the rebellious Finns, who have been fighting the Russian occupiers since the end of the 18th Century. His flight leads him to the chambers of the dancer Marina Feodorowna, in whose house a party is taking place at that very moment. Marina discovers the intruder, hides him from his pursuers and soon falls in love with him. But hiding Erkki forever is not an option; so she presents him as her music teacher. The swindle fails and Prince Governor Abarow, who’s long had a thing for Marina, discovers the real identity of the man, but doesn’t have him arrested.

6.8/10

Nick Kerry (Tullio Carminati) is a rich rounder who holds tremendous fascination over women......mainly because he is rich and has his own yacht. At Monte Carlo one evening he romances Kay Routledge (Lilian Harvey), a romantic young and gullible American girl. She takes the dilettante seriously and when he sails away on his yacht, she is heartbroken. But the memory of her haunts him, and brings him back from India and the arms of another woman,Countess Margot de Legere (Tala Birell),only to find Kay now engaged to his friend. Oh, what's a rich guy to do?

7.3/10

"My Lips Betray", a musical, was released by Fox in 1933 starring Lillian Harvey and John Boles.

5.6/10

A dancer falls in love with a puppeteer, much to the consternation of her manipulative manager. The puppeteer himself seems more interested in his puppets than in romance with her. Can she find true love?

7.3/10

A wealthy young man bets his uncle that he can transform a clumsy cleaning lady into a glamorous fashion plate, then marry her off to his bachelor cousin.

6.3/10

A dashing marquis bends from his horse when he discovers a lost garter in the woods and falls. During his delirium he is serenaded by a little hairdresser. She is the person who lost the garter to begin with and has only come to get it back having borrowed it from her employer--the empress of France. The marquis mistakenly thinks he was nursed by the empress, herself, and decides to woo her.

6.6/10

Lilian Harvey plays Eva, a young girl taking some time in a health spa and spending her evenings in the town's vaudeville theatre enamoured by a heavily made-up clown called Quick. Quick takes a shine to her and tries to woo her without make-up and masquerading as the theatre's manager. Unable to resolve her feelings for Quick and the theatre manager, Eva is angered when she finally learns that they are one and the same.

6.1/10

Rival window cleaners Willy I and Willy 2 befriend Jou-Jou, an aspiring dancer, who has been tricked out of money by a con-man posing as an American movie mogul, and together they turn an old railway carriage into a "Villa Hollywood" for her.

5.8/10

A woman staying at a health spa (Lillian Harvey, goes to the theater every night to see "Quick" a comic performer, who wears clown make-up. She meets him off stage, without make-up and doesn't recognize him. He courts her, hoping she'll like him for himself but she maintains her crush on "Quick."

5.6/10

An American millionaire, who had always bad luck with women, bets that he can live without them for five years. But after four and a half years traveling around on his yacht, he rescues a lady from drowning in the English Channel.

6.7/10

French language version of Nie wieder Liebe! (1931)

5.2/10

Vienna glove-sales-lady Christl falls in love to Czar Alexander. Metternich tries to use this to keep him out of the conferences of the Vienna Congress from 1815.

6.7/10

Hokuspokus is a 1930 German comedy film directed by Gustav Ucicky and starring Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch and Oskar Homolka. It was an adaptation of the play Hokuspokus by Curt Goetz.

7.2/10

Willy, Kurt and Hans are broke, so they sell their car and open a filling station. Then they all fall in love for the same girl.

6.9/10

The young wife of a rich old husband is prevented of a fling by a gentleman-burglar, who falls in love to her.

6.5/10

Die Drei von der Tankstelle, meaning The Three from the Gas Station, was advertised as a German operetta when release and with it’s star studded cast would become the forerunner of Musical films. Even today the soundtrack of the comic harmonists is popular in Germany.

6.6/10

Originally Liebeswalzer, this German operetta was the third talkie vehicle for the effervescent Lillian Harvey. The plot is a typical Graustarkian affair, with Princess Eva (Harvey) preparing to marry a duke whom she's never met. Getting cold feet, the duke ducks the wedding, persuading a handsome young commoner named Bobby (Willy Fritsch) to take his place. The wedding goes on as planned, with Eva never suspecting that her new hubby is a ringer. Eventually, the false duke confesses everything, leading to all sorts of intrigue before a happy ending can be realized. Love Waltz was simultaneously filmed in an English-language version, which posed no problem for the British-born Harvey but caused a few uncomfortable moments for her Teutonic co-stars (eventually, Willy Fritsch was replaced by John Batton, who'd played a bit role in the German version).

Kitty Kellermann is put on trial for murdering her husband, a failed painter. When her counsel resigns from his mandate, the mysterious Peter Bille steps in, though it becomes apparent that he actually is not an advocate but Kitty's lover and moreover confesses the murder. The widow has to admit that the pictures by her deceased spouse sell much better, only for him to suddenly appear alive.

7/10

Based on a story by Michael Linsky, Adieu Mascotte revolves around an artist's model named Mascotte (Harvey) who ekes out a hand-to-mouth existence in the Parisian art colony. In dire need of money to finance a friend's operation, Mascotte auctions herself off at an artist's ball. She is "bought" by a novelist named Jean (Harry Halm), who merely wants to teach his flirtatious wife a lesson. Discreetly keeping his distance, Jean persuades Mascotte to pose as his mistress so that his wife will become jealous and return to his arms. Of course, things don't go as planned, and before long Jean and Mascotte have fallen in love.

6.9/10

A prince makes a socialite think she spent the night in his room.

6.5/10

Two women, one man all the amourous combinations and a lot of tango and waltzes being danced in this silent adaptation of the operette by Gustav Kadelburg.

Naughty Susanne leads an exciting double life between her hometown and Paris: in the provincial nest she is considered the ever virtuous and down to earth girl, while in the cosmopolitan city she always escapes to, she is the queen of the night, sophisticated and seductive. In Paris, she meets René and begins to recruit him, but she has a noble competitor: Jacqueline. A spirited love triangle begins, complicated by the interventions of uncomprehending moral preachers. Their befitting final finds the story in the Moulin Rouge.

7.2/10

A young Jewish woman in an Eastern European shtetl struggles to reconcile her aspirations with her duty to her family. As her lifestyle grows wilder, her mother is shocked by her immoral behaviour and commits suicide by drowning - repeating "the curse" which has haunted the family for centuries.