''They Were So Young'' () is a 1954 German-American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Kurt Neumann and written by Felix Lützkendorf, Kurt Neumann and the

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

screenwriters Dalton Trumbo and Michael Wilson (both uncredited). The film stars Scott Brady, Raymond Burr and Johanna Matz and was released on January 7, 1955 by Lippert Pictures. It was shot at the Bendestorf Studios near

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

with sequences shot in

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Hans Sohnle Hans Sohnle (17 September 1895 – 24 March 1976) was a German art director.Chandler p.270 He frequently collaborated with Otto Erdmann on set designs. Selected filmography * '' The Loves of Käthe Keller'' (1919) * '' The Woman in Doctor's Gar ...

. Caterina Valente makes her film debut as a singer.

Plot

A group of attractive European girls answer an advertisement to be fashion models in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. Their employer is really an escort agency and the girls are expected to go out with rich men. When one of them, Eve, is approached by Richard Lanning, a drunken American who comes into her room, she breaks a bottle over his head. The agency holds their passports and documents and inform Eve that she is expected to work off her debt at duties their employer decides upon. Eve and her friend Connie escape, Eve goes to a police station, Connie attempts to go to the Dutch consulate but is kidnapped by her employer's thugs and taken back where she is drugged and beaten. When the police bring Eve back they refuse to believe her story and tell her to straighten out her problems with her employer by herself. Eve realises the only person she knows in Rio is Lanning, and goes to him for help. Lanning, a US Army Engineer in Germany during the war and now a mining engineer outside Rio believes Eve and brings her to his powerful employer, Jaime Coltos who agrees to help. Unknown to Lanning, Coltos is actually head of the escort agency and plans to imprison Eve and Connie aboard a riverboat to sexually entertain agricultural and mining workers.

Cast

* Scott Brady as Richard Lanning * Raymond Burr as Jaime Coltos * Johanna Matz as Eve Ullmann ;Uncredited (in order of appearance) *Ingrid Stenn as Connie Brewers * Gisela Fackeldey as Mme. Lansowa *

Kurt Meisel Kurt Meisel (18 August 1912 – 4 April 1994) was an Austrian actor and film director. He appeared in 65 films between 1934 and 1994. He also directed 21 films between 1949 and 1984. Meisel was married to the actress Ursula Lingen. He was born a ...

as Pasquale * Katharina Mayberg as Felicia *

Eduard Linkers Eduard Linkers (11 October 1912 – 3 April 2004) was an Austrian actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1936 and 1988. Life He was born as Eduard Linker to a family of Jewish descent in Czernowitz, Austria-Hungary. He studied act ...

as M. Albert *Gordon Howard as Garza *Elizabeth Tanney as Emily * Erica Beer as Elise LeFevre *Hanita Hallan as Lena *Hannelore Axman as Vincenta * Willy Trenk-Trebitsch as Bulanos *Pero Alexander as Manuel * Josef Dahmen as Dr. Perez * Gert Fröbe as Lobos * Caterina Valente as Singer

References

External links

* 1954 films 1954 crime drama films American crime drama films West German films English-language German films Films directed by Kurt Neumann Films with screenplays by Dalton Trumbo Films with screenplays by Michael Wilson (writer) Films set in Brazil Films about prostitution in Brazil Lippert Pictures films German black-and-white films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language crime drama films Films scored by Michael Jary {{1950s-US-drama-film-stub