Movies by Wolfgang Zilzer

Stairway to Light
This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells the story of 18th Century French physician Dr. Philippe Pinel, who initiated enlightened, humane treatment of the mentally ill.

Docks of Hamburg
When Hamburg ship's mate Klaus Brandt catches a thief one night at the port, his downfall is pre-ordained. For the thief turns out to be a young, attractive woman and the otherwise upright sailor allows her to slip away. Jenny is the star of a local dive bar, with a side-line in smuggling.

Enemy of Women
Playwright Joseph Goebbels turns Nazi propagandist and loses his girlfriend to another man.

Raid in St. Pauli
Illustrates both the powerlessness of the ordinary worker as well as an intimate portrait of the joys and sorrows of a small group of people in the harbor section of Hamburg.

Bookkeeper Kremke
In this realistic, unsentimental portrait of Germany’s dire economic situation, a middle-aged payroll clerk loses his job due to technological advances and, unable to find another, descends into despair. The film’s director, Marie Harder, was one of only a few women directors of the time and was also the head of the German Social Democratic Film Office. She made only two known films before her accidental death in exile in Mexico in 1936.
Primanerliebe
An exploration of the misery of youth. A student, his friends, and the girl he loves all suffer due to the harsh and unforgiving nature of the adults in their lives.

Geschminkte Jugend
Based on the real life events of the 1927 Steglitzer Schülertragödie, in which several high school students planned murder-suicides.

Out of Darkness
This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells of the Nazis' efforts to shut down an underground resistance newspaper in occupied Belgium.

Crucified Girl
The young student Mary spends the beginning of her holiday with boat trips, visits to her wealthy groom, and gardening. In fast-paced, rhythmic cuts, Louise and Jakob Fleck draw their audience into a carefree, urban romantic comedy. With a single scene, however, it turns into a melodrama about sexual violence, shame and perpetrator-victim reversal.

Daughters of Eve
An unmarried showgirl takes a handsome companion with her on a vacation, to the distress of others.

Sir or Madame
A girl posing as a knight's male valet is vamped by his fiancée

Mata Hari: the Red Dancer
Mata Hari, die rote Tänzerin (English: Mata Hari: The Red Dancer), often shortened on release to Mata Hari, is a 1927 German silent drama film directed by Friedrich Feher and starring Magda Sonja, Wolfgang Zilzer and Fritz Kortner. It depicts the life and death of the German World War I spy Mata Hari. It was the first feature-length portrayal of Hari.