Born On This Day- May 29th... Film Actor Helmet Berger

It sounds like a weekend at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia: anguished souls, sinister villains & twisted Nazis, but I am actually considering Helmut Berger on his Birthday.

Helmut Beger by Helmut Newton 1970

In 1964, Helmut Berger met Italian director Luciano Visconti, who would become his partner in life. Visconti gave him his first acting role & he gained international fame in Visconti's from 1969- The Damned, a movie that fascinated me for its depravity when I was 15 years old. In this film, Berger mimics the role of Lola, as played by Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel . In the equally twisted role of King Luwig II of Bavaria in Visconti's Ludwig, Berger reached the apex of his acting career: he portrays the monarch from youth, to his dissolute final years, & creates a lunatic lord of decay drawn from his own weaknesses & depths.

Visconti introduced Berger to musicians, models &international artists: Rudolf Nureyev, Maria Calla, Leonard Bernstein & Mick Jagger. Berger had an affair with Nureyev, but didn’t appreciate the dancer’s passion for garlic & vodka. He claims one time encounter withJagger. At least I went twice with the Rolling Stones singer.

Visconti's death in 1976 drove Berger into deep despair & financial collapse. Visconti's will, in which Berger was to be heir, could not be found. The former lover of Visconti, Franco Zeffirelli, berated Berger publicly, accusing him of exploiting his mentor. Berger attempted suicide on the first anniversary of Visconti's death, & fell into alcohol & drug addiction. In his 1988 memoir- Ich, he refers to his relationship with Visconti as a marriage &  claims to be the director's widow.

Berger worked in B-movies & a few high profile films like Ash Wednesday in 1973 with Elizabeth Taylor. He also worked in TV, including the role of Peter De Vilbis on Post Apocalyptic Bohemian favorite- Dynasty. Since Visconti's death no director has been able to bring Berger's considerable talents to the screen again.

I was very drawn to Helmut Berger in the 1970s. I swooned at photos of him in After Dark magazine & in fashion layouts. Check out his work in Dorian Gray, a warped Italian version of the Oscar Wilde tale, set in sexually loose 1970’s London. Berger turns 67 today. He continues to work in film.

Berger Today

Something For Everyone

While posting about Pasolini’s Teorema, I went on a mind riff about one of my favorite movies from my youth- Something For Everyone. In the 1970s, I saw this film maybe 15 times. I was 16 years old when I viewed this film for 1st time & the bisexuality had me dizzy with desire. When Cabaret followed 2 years later, I was in a Teutonic sexual frenzy & in a lifetime of lust for Mr. York. I rented it for the Husband in the early 1980s, but I have not viewed it since.

Released in 1970, Something For Everyone is the film directorial debut of legendary Broadway producer/director Harold Prince. It features Angela Lansbury in a remarkable virtuoso performance, with fine support from a delectable young Michael York, a very seductive young Anthony Corlan, & gifted Jane Carr ( fresh off The Prime Of Miss Jean Brody).


With a postcard perfect Bavarian backdrop, Konrad (York) rides into town with the sexiest legs ever seen in cycling shorts. He pauses to admire a fairytale castle (another shot of his calves). He quickly arranges a job as the footman to the owner of the castle- the impoverished Countess von Ornstein (Lansbury), "How odd” says Lansbury, “to have to concern oneself with the price of strawberries ". This is directed to her accountant. When he replies about how times have changed since the war, she counters with: " not for eagles, even in captivity they just sit there & glare " The countess declares that she is a descendant of Attila the Hun.

Konrad focuses his attentions on her beautiful, lonely son- Helmut (Corlan). His sister -Lotte (Carr) is dumpy, annoying, & furtive. She is onto Konrad from the start, & asks him if is a murderer or a pervert. His response is congenial & commendably candid.


Konrad seduces each member of the snobbish family, debauching 1st, the lonely daughter. His pursuit of passion, power, & position proceeds until he has removed or fucked them all. His baroque scheme suddenly begins to get dangerously out of control. The ending, with several clever twists & turns leave us sympathetic to the sociopath Konrad.


Michael York & Anthony Corlan are beautiful & talented, but this film belongs to Angela Lansbury. Every gesture brings consummate skill, drama, humor, & camp.
I can’t think of an actor who could have pulled this role off. York is one of the most engaging & absolute villains ever created outside of Tom Ripley, & for the same reasons: he is a logical genius, who anticipates every ruthlessly evil move he makes with flawless cunning. It's all part of his sexy boyish charm.

 This film is brilliant, nasty, dark & very, very funny. It is in my top 10 off all time.