''Stolen Identity'' is a 1953 Austrian film directed by

Gunther von Fritsch Gunther von Fritsch (15 July 1906, Pula – 27 August 1988, Pasadena, California, Pasadena) was an American film director born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Biography Gunther von Fritsch was born 15 July 1906 in Pula. He studied in Paris, and ...

and starring

Donald Buka Donald Buka (August 17, 1920 – July 21, 2009) was an American supporting actor in radio, films, and television from 1943 (''Watch on the Rhine'') to 1971 when he appeared in ''A Memory of Two Mondays''. Early years Buka was born on August ...

, Joan Camden and

Francis Lederer Francis Lederer (November 6, 1899 Prague – May 25, 2000) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States. His original name was Franz (Czech František) Le ...

. The film is the English-language version of the film ''

Adventure in Vienna ''Adventure in Vienna'' (German: ''Abenteuer in Wien'') is a 1952 Austrian crime thriller film directed by Emil E. Reinert and starring Gustav Fröhlich, Cornell Borchers and Adrienne Gessner.Fritsche p.243 It is an adaptation of the 1933 novel '' ...

'' (1952), directed by

Emil-Edwin Reinert Emil-Edwin Reinert, or Emile-Edwin Reinert, (16 March 1903 – 17 October 1953) was a French film director, screenwriter, audio engineer and producer. Born in Rava-Ruska, Austria-Hungary in 1903, Reinert directed films in France, Great Britain, ...

, starring

Gustav Fröhlich Gustav Fröhlich (21 March 1902 – 22 December 1987) was a German actor and film director. He landed secondary roles in a number of films and plays before landing his breakthrough role of Freder Fredersen in Fritz Lang's 1927 film ''Metropoli ...

and

Cornell Borchers Gerlind Cornell Borchers (16 March 1925 – 12 May 2014) was a Lithuanian-German actress and singer, active in the late 1940s and 1950s. She is best remembered for her roles opposite Montgomery Clift in ''The Big Lift'' (1950) and Errol Flynn and ...

. Besides the two leading roles the cast of both films is essentially the same.

Plot

Vienna taxi driver Toni Sponer dreams of going to the USA. One day, an American businessman is waiting for his cab, when jealous concert pianist Claude Manelli (Lederer) shoots him dead because he suspected him of having an affair with his American wife Karen (Camden). Toni grabs the dead man's papers and takes over his identity. Later he falls in love with Karen who initially thinks that Toni is the killer but he is able to convince her that he is innocent. Together they try to flee to America with Karen's husband in hot pursuit. Both men are finally captured by the police but Toni receives only a small sentence of a few months in prison. Karen decides to wait for him.

Cast

as Toni Sponer * Joan Camden as Karen Manelli *

as Claude Manelli *

Adrienne Gessner Adrienne Gessner (23 July 1896 – 23 June 1987) was an Austrian actress. Gessner appeared in over fifty film and television shows during her career, including the 1955 costume film '. Gessner appeared in a mixture of German and Austrian films dur ...

as Mrs. Fraser *

Inge Konradi Inge Konradi (27 July 1924 4 February 2002) was an Austrian stage and film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in ...

as Marie *

Hermann Erhardt Hermann Erhardt (January 9, 1903 in Landshut - November 30, 1958 in Vienna) was a German actor who played in more than 50 movies, among them '' Heimkehr'' and '' A Devil of a Woman''. Selected filmography * '' The Monastery's Hunter'' (1935) ...

as Inspector *

Egon von Jordan Egon von Jordan (19 March 1902 – 27 December 1978) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1974. Selected filmography * '' The Ghost of Morton's Castle'' (1922) * ''Young Medardus'' (1923) * ''Lace'' ...

as Kruger

Production

The film was known as ''I Was Jack Mortimer''.

Reception

The film reportedly paid for itself in Germany.Katzman Ups Actioners; Hartman Building Stars; Turhan Bey Reappears Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 12 Nov 1952: B7.

References

External links