Gerhard Staab

The Endless Road

The life story of Friedrich List, an influential 19th century German political economist who developed the liberal nationalist theory of political economy in both Europe and the United States.

Anushka

Vienna during the fin de siecle. Farmer's daughter Anuschka has to sell the farm after her father's death to the rich but mean farmer's wife Nowarek and her friendly son Jaro. Anuschka goes to Vienna and starts to work as a housemaid until she is wrongly accused of theft.

Die Geierwally

In the mountains of the Ötztal, the wealthy Fender (Eduard Köck) and Wally (Heath Hatheyer), his only daughter and heir, manage a small farm. He wants to marry the rich, but boring, Vincent (Leopold Esterle). Wally escapes to a mountain hut, where she lives alone and withdrawn. Her love belongs to the hunter, Joseph (Sepp Rist). When she unwisely takes a young vulture from its nest and is attacked by the mother, Joseph comes to her aid and from that point on, she fondly calls him her "Geierwally". He also feels attracted to her, but Wally can't escape the feeling, that the young Afra is his mistress. Mad with jealousy, Wally announces that she'll marry the one who kills Josef. Vincent wants to earn her hand and is determined to kill the Geierwally. Just in time, though, the actual relationship between Joseph and Afra is clarified.

A Little Night Music

Produced by the Nazis in honor of the 150th anniversary of Mozart's death: a celebration of his music, as the film shows him traveling to Prague for the Don Giovanni premiere and inspired by his wife to compose the finale.

The Immortal Heart

Nuremberg durting the time of Albrecht Durer and the famous geographer Martin Behaim: the locksmith Peter Henlein is looking for a way to make bullets more accurate by designing a new form. Just as he welds together two round balls into an elongated shape, he believes he's discovered that his assistant Konrad is trying to alienate his wife from him. There is a struggle, during which Henlein's new kind of bullet strikes him in the chest. The doctor, unaware that there are two bullets lodged in his body, because there was only one shot, only removes one.

Napoleon Is to Blame for Everything

English Lord Arthur Cavershoot is a passionate Napoleon scholar who badly neglects his wife Josephine for his obsession with the French emperor. When the cranky historian travels to a Napoleon conference in Paris, his smart spouse secretly follows him. Unnoticed by her, the city of love threatens to spark a romance between Arthur and a chorus girl.

Die Fledermaus

The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes!