Rudolf Wessely
Comedian Harmonists tells the story of a famous, German male sextet, five vocals and piano, the "Comedian Harmonists", from the day they meet first in 1927 to the day in 1934, when they become banned by the upcoming Nazis, because three of them are Jewish.
The Jewish antiques dealer Siegfried Rabinovicz is on his way from New York to Hamburg where he is about to testify as the principal witness in a murder case. During a stop-over, an airport hostess talks him into giving up his seat on the connecting flight to another passenger. While Rabinovicz is waiting in the VIP lounge, he gets into a conversation with a stranger who is remarkably well informed about the murder Rabinovicz is going to testify about.
Sophie "inherits" her uncle's preserved whale and finds out that whoever sleeps in the whale's belly with her will be granted one wish, causing chaos and hatred in the village.
Set in an old suburb of Vienna traversed by the local railway line and full of old dilapidated houses. In this district, and old man lives and when his neighbour dies and new tenants move in his existence is transformed.
Die Ausgesperrten revolves around an unlikely group of 4 youths in Vienna who band together, each for different reasons, to mug people. Two are fraternal twins, the third a blue-collar worker, the fourth the privileged daughter of wealthy parents who "needs a little dirt in her life". The story provides penetrating insights into the Austria of the 50s, in which some enjoyed the benefits of the "Economic Miracle", while others were shut out. It repeatedly references Austria's Nazi past and the numerous ways in which it influences the present despite the conspiracy of silence which surrounds it.
Kurt Gerber is attending his final class and gets into trouble with the math professor, a frustrated self-assured petty bourgeois sadist. The duel ends in catastrophe.
The true story of the Bavarian Tailor Albrecht Berblinger who, after a strange encounter with a balloon starts building a flying machine. Although not an engineer by profession, he never gives up. No matter how many obstacles are put in his way nor how many failures he endures, his ardour is never dampened. He continues with his dream to fly like a bird.
1964 in Berlin, not long after the raise of the wall that separated the city: ex-prisoner Bruno is chosen by the eastern secret agency to be sent west with a special order. However as soon as he's crossed the border, he reports to the police. He claims his order was to kidnap someone, but he doesn't know who yet. He's forced to continue feignedly. However the east agents don't really trust him and play a double game...
A schizophrenic patient is is wasting away in a mental institution, until a young doctor encourages him to write poetry. The resulting masterpieces are however not able to stop the man from suicide.
Engineer Strebel′s apprentices think of nothing else but music and dancing, although they should really concentrate on their marks. Consequently, Strebel is anything but delighted with his pupil. To top it all, a TV show becomes interested in a performance by Strebel′s apprentices. To calm down their teacher, Jutta Fröhlich, who has already cast an eye on Strebel, makes him an offer: When they better their marks, Strebel would permit them to make a performance on television.
There is little violent crime in Venice, a serenely beautiful floating city of mystery and magic, history and decay. But the evil that does occasionally rear its head is the jurisdiction of Guido Brunetti, the suave, urbane vice-commissario of police and a genius at detection. Now all of his admirable abilities must come into play in the deadly affair of Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor who died painfully from cyanide poisoning during an intermission at La Fenice.
