
Harry Piel
Directing
Biography
Harry Piel, born Heinrich Piel, was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer who was involved in over 150 films. In Berlin 1912 he created the Art Film Publishing House Company and made, as a director, screenwriter and producer, his first feature "Black Blood" (1912) with Curt Goetz in the lead role. Further films followed, based on adventure and action.
Known For

His Greatest Bluff is a German silent comedy film. Today, the film is best known for the early role it offered to Marlene Dietrich who was only cast after great effort by her agents.
His Greatest Bluff

A taxi driver, (Piel), finds an odd contraption on the back seat that renders him invisible, but his friend steals the device to rob a bank. An inventive comedy.
An Invisible Man Goes Through the City
An inventor works on coming up with a radio-television device, but can't get it to work properly. A slick con artist sees a chance to fleece gullible people with this device and encourages the inventor to keep working at it. One day in the lab, a freak accident results in the machine being able to look through any object and project that object on a TV screen. Unfortunately, some crooks hear about it and determine to get their hands on it. Complications ensue.
The World Without a Mask
No description available.
Shadows of the Underworld

No description available.
Jonny Steals Europe

Using his marauding robot and other futuristic weapons, power-crazed scientist Professor Ravello carries out various plots to win the hand of Evelyn away from her true love Harry Peel.
Rivals

Jonny Wilken is an ageing lion trainer in a circus. He is in love with his younger colleague Jutta Sarris. On her wedding day, Jutta's favorite Bengal tiger attacks her out of jealousy and kills her. Jonny, full of pain and out of revenge, enters the cage to kill the animal with his bare hands. However, the tiger bows to him without any resistance.
Tiger's Claw

No description available.
Attention Harry! Open eyes!

The first appearance of Heinrich Schroth as Joe Deebs, a popular detective character in German silent cinema patterned after Sherlock Holmes.
The Rolling Hotel
No description available.
Die Ratte
After a bad losing streak, Lisa Freyberg wants to sell her inherited horse stall. Trainer Roberts, however, is successful in making the stall profitable again. Lisa's new passion for horses, however, is proving to be a losing streak for her engagement to her estate neighbor Thermalen. She's hoping for a new victory with her horse Arabella and has the apprentice Otto bring the horse to the competition in Dresden. Otto, however, takes the train to Dresden with his first love, Ossi la Planta and leaves the job to the grooms. But neither the horse nor the grooms show up in Dresden!
The Man in the Saddle

A police deputy in Paris have a lead on an international gang into trafficking. The police dresses as a steward to tail the head of the gang to Marseille. On the ship he meets with Madeleine. A girl controlled by the traffickers.
Männer ohne Beruf

German big game hunter brings elephants back from Africa safely through enemy lines, but they go on a stampede in Berlin. Filming began during WWII in Germany, but production was stopped because story showed Third Reich police and military having problems coping with an elephant stampede; after the War, it got completed by its originator, and exported to the US with English dubbed, while removing all references to its 1940s German origins!
Elephant Fury

Filmarchiv Austria holds a non-access master print and a nitrate duplicate negative of the film.
Zigano

Harry Peltzer, who is passionate about his job as a firefighter, and his superior, fire chief Paul Körner, are the best of friends. This changes the day they both meet Nelly, a young, blonde cashier at a vending machine buffet, on whom both men immediately set their eyes. As Harry has a much better chance with Nelly, Paul's friendship with him soon turns into bitter antagonism, if not outright enmity.
Menschen im Feuer

No description available.
Man Against Man
On their way to a boxing competition in Buenos Aires, the criminal investigator Harry Winkler from Berlin and Conny Steven of Scotland Yard, meet in Lisbon. Both have a 90 minute break before their ship leaves for South America. They end up meeting Ilse Siebeck, a young woman and through her become part of a criminal mystery. Ilse's uncle is murdered and Harry Winkler is quickly able to determine that the man who murdered her uncle is the exact same man who murdered his father a few years earlier.
90 Minutes Stop

Remake of a 1929 German film by the same title about a man and a police dog.
His Best Friend
"His Best Force" - Harry Petersen has just made a big invention: the lamp without electrical supply. In American businessman Al Kinley, Harry hopes to find a financier for his idea, but Kinley does not show any interest.
Seine stärkste Waffe

No description available.