Alfred Karen

In 18th century Europe, King Friedrich II of Prussia leads his army through the seven-years-war with neighboring states, and after numerous near defeats, eventually brings a victorious army back to Berlin.

The Parisian restaurant "At the Oyster King's" is looking for a new waitress, whose job would be to crack open oysters with a newfangled oyster cracker (how exciting!). But who would have thought that this newfound invention would lead to so much turmoil (they're French, aren't they?)?! Through a mix-up, Lilli Dupont gets the job. But Lilli is no waitress, but rather a talented singer, waiting in vain for an engagement. She takes the job and soon every male visitor is laying at her feet. So that Lilli doesn't constantly have to fight off all the horny men, the cashier Aristide spreads the rumor that Lilli is actually the daughter of the millionaire van Muhlen, to whom the "Oyster King" belongs (daughter of a millionaire?!? Oh yes, of course: that will dissuade potential suitors!).

A love story between officer von Warp coming from a wealthy family and salesgirl Therese. When the social rules of the time would force the officer to resign from service in order to marry Therese the situation becomes tense.

When Bartos, the director of the Odeon variety theater, cancels an artist at short notice, he hires the Terrys out of necessity, whose parents were successful variety artists, but who had not yet received an engagement themselves. Both are supported by Tobs, a friend of their parents. While blonde Mara Terry arrives punctually for the first rehearsal, her dark-haired sister Kora is late like a diva and acts aloof and snippy. At their first performance together the next day, Kora is overtired from partying the night before. During a dangerous act in which she has to balance her upside-down sister on her head, she becomes careless...

In 1885, famous New York Metropolitan Opera singer Maddalena dall' Orto is scheduled to perform at a festival in the German residence of Ilmingen. It soon becomes obvious that she is non other than Magda von Schwartze, who left the town eight years ago against her father's wishes to become a singer.

Swedish industrial magnate Percival, known as Percy Patterson, has suddenly disappeared after a business meeting with his partner Sully.

Theodor Fontane's novel about a young girl who as a teenager marries a stiff bureaucrat, has a love affair out of boredom and loneliness and has to suffer the consequences years later should be well known.

Country Dr. Robert Koch is desperate: a tuberculosis epidemic is decimating the children in his district and no one is able to do anything about it. Every fourth child is already sick and the parents must helplessly watch as their young ones die. Now Koch is undertaking to find the cause of the tuberculosis --- something he has already been working on for years --- which has been causing this plague of illness. His work is made more difficult by envy; for example, that of his teacher, who was wounded defending his honor. But his greatest obstacle is the famous Berliner scientist and Reichstag deputy, Privy Councilor Rudolf Virchow: He is extraordinarily skeptical of Koch's theory, that the cause for tuberculosis is a bacteria.

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.

All throughout his entire life, Friedrich Wilhelm Hoffmann let his career run roughshod over his personal life. He had no wife, because he was married instead to his chocolate factory. Now he’s old and gray, and his relatives, who are greedily waiting for him to kick the bucket so they can get their hands on his worldly goods, keep their distance from him. Then one day, an astonished Hoffmann is visited by a young woman named Brigitte, who asserts, that she’s his granddaughter. Suddenly, it all comes back to the old man: as a young man, he had a short, but intense, love affair, which he had to end on the insistence of his father.

In 1848, the freedom-loving Hungarian people, led by Ludwig Kossuth, rose up against the hated rule of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. In its expansionist policy, the Austrian monarchy had long relied on Hungarian feudal lords who betrayed the interests of their people. The anger of the rebels was directed against the Austrian oppressors and their Hungarian supporters. Against the backdrop of these historical events, the personal fate of the Hungarian patriot Maria Ilona is shown.

The marriage of the celebrated operetta diva Vilma and the chamber singer Peter has come to an end. Peter, however, is intent on winning back his now ex-wife. So he’s come up with the idea of a guest performance in Venice, where the two will both appear. Vilma, however, has already found a new man – Niki. He’s a salesman and she wants to marry him. With the help of Annemarie, a friend, who has won a trip to Venice, Peter succeeds in diverting Niki, for he falls in love with Annemarie. Now the way is free for Peter to win back the ex-wife, who couldn’t care if he lived in a hole six feet underground.

Séraphine and her mother arrive in Paris to visit the 1867 World Exhibition. In an overcrowded city they must be accommodated in separate hotels. During the night the mother, who wasn't feeling very well, gets suddenly worse. When next morning Séraphine goes to meet her every trace of her presence has disappeared and everybody denies having ever met her. The bewildered young woman must find someone who believes her. Previous version of So Long at the Fair (1950).

The formerly wealthy Baron Carl Erich von Wenden is desperate. His debts are out of control and he is forced to give up everything he owns. Since he doesn’t want to burden his daughter Rosy with all of this, he tells her he’ll take a pleasure trip with her … in truth, however, he has to work as an assistant waiter in the evenings, while Rosy stays in the hotel. He constantly fears his daughter will discover the truth; and this is a shame he cannot bear.

The Impossible Mister Pitt is a 1938 German adventure crime film directed by and starring Harry Piel. It also features Willi Schur, Leopold von Ledebur and Hilde Weissner. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and on location off the coast of Split in Croatia.

After losing almost all of his money, a young marquis discovers that among his few remaining possessions is a magical piece of leather which is capable of fulfilling any wish. However, every use of it will make it less effective and furthermore will shorten the life of its user. Nevertheless, the marquis uses the magical object ruthlessly in order to regain his wealth and especially to get the love of Feodora, an actress. But all his efforts only seem to lead to doom…

In an imaginary Scandinavian country, an ambitious radical buys an indebted estate in order to become a member of parliament as a local resident, which he ultimately succeeds in doing. Salvation in the party turmoil comes in the form of a military dictatorship under the determined Governor General Werkonen. The new member of parliament arranges for an assassination attempt on the general. However, the general is only slightly injured in the attack. The hired assassin now feels betrayed by his client and takes revenge by murdering him...

By coincidence Magdalena gets hired for two jobs in the same company (one day, one night shift) and "invents" a sister to "explain" the situation to an engineer who falls for one of the "sisters" while hating the other.

In New York, boxer Eddie Steele has a promising career ahead of him. But this makes him reckless, and he prefers nightclubs to training. Eventually, his reckless lifestyle becomes his downfall. After some reflection, he emigrates to Germany, opens a sports school in Berlin, and allows his favorite student to benefit from his own experience.

The Minerva Mines Company is interested in transporting two particularly valuable diamonds from Cape Town to Amsterdam. To confuse potential thieves, two detectives are sent on two different ships with steel suitcases and they have no clue whether they’re carrying pebbles or diamonds. Nevertheless, a collection of questionable characters come on board both ships. The hunt for the diamonds begins; the suitcases are stolen; everyone is suspect.