Sonja Ziemann

Acting

Sonja Ziemann

Born — Died

1926-02-08 — 2020-02-17

Place of birth

Eichwalde bei Berlin, Germany

Known for

Acting

Credits

79 titles

Sonja Ziemann (February 8, 1926, Eichwalde near Berlin – February 17, 2020, Munich) was a German actress, dancer, and singer. She was one of the most popular German film stars of the 1950s, best known for her leading roles in the Heimatfilm classics The Black Forest Girl (Schwarzwaldmädel, 1950) and Green Is the Heath (Grün ist die Heide, 1951), frequently appearing opposite Rudolf Prack. Trained as a dancer and actress, she began her film career during World War II and successfully continued after the war. In later years, Ziemann expanded into more dramatic roles and appeared in international productions such as The Secret Ways (1961) and The Bridge at Remagen (1969). After the 1970s, she…

Known for

Film credits

1960s · 14 titles

The Bridge at Remagen poster
6.7

In March of 1945, as the War in Europe is coming to a close, fighting erupts between German and American troops at the last remaining bridgehead across the Rhine.

The Bridge at Remagen

1969

De Sade poster
3.4

The 18th-century French marquis recalls his sadomasochistic experiments and goes to jail for lewd behavior.

De Sade

1969

The Secret Ways poster
5.5

Vienna, 1956. After Soviet tanks crush the Hungarian uprising, soldier-of-fortune Michael Reynolds is hired to help a threatened Hungarian scientist escape from Budapest.

The Secret Ways

1961

A Matter of WHO poster
6.4

Health officials from the World Health Organization link a smallpox outbreak in Europe to oil drilling in the Middle East.

A Matter of WHO

1961

Punishment Battalion poster
6.0

The film focuses on life in a World War II German penal battalion camp somewhere in Russia. The convicts include a heroic doctor unjustly convicted of avoiding military service, an officer who retreated against orders, and common criminals. It shows their life in the camp, clearing mines, living in trenches on the front line.

Punishment Battalion

1960

Darkness Fell on Gotenhafen poster
5.7

The film depicts the first month of 1945 when the Russian Red Army broke into the eastern part of Germany and forced millions of civilians to flee in the coldest of winter. While the Russians invaded Ostpreussen hundred of thousands of civilians were evacuated by ships. Gotenhafen was the last open port and ships left the town almost by the minute, overloaded by refugees. One of the last ships to leave Gotenhafen was the 'Wilhelm Gustloff', a former 'Kraft durch Freude' pleasure cruiser designed for 1000 passengers. Until today it is unknown how many people were on board but it is said to be around 10.000. The ship sunk without a trace and only a handful of people survived this hellish nightmare.

Darkness Fell on Gotenhafen

1960

The Nabob Affair poster
6.0

Serge, alias Count Fornari, is hired by a mysterious employer to try to steal the Nabob, an exceptionally valuable diamond that Jeannette, alias Aménita (Perrette Pradier), the companion of a billionaire, wears as a locket. She covets the diamond and steals it from the safe. About to be caught in the act, she keeps it hidden in a handkerchief in her hand and manages to conceal it in Serge's pocket during the hotel ball. When she rejoins the billionaire, he asks her to open her hand, but the diamond is gone. The result is a chase full of misunderstandings and twists and turns between the three protagonists.

The Nabob Affair

1960

The Dream of Lieschen Müller poster
8.2

Lieschen Müller is in her mid-20s, works a dull office job and fancies the handsome waiter from the diner down the street, wishing for a more exciting life. In a vivid, lucid dream she happens upon a gigantic fortune, allowing her to live out her wildest fantasies. Quickly, however, she realizes that that's not what makes her happy.

The Dream of Lieschen Müller

1961

Frühstück mit dem Tod poster
6.5

Ted Talbot is a prosecutor in Newtonville. In the course of his work, he accuses Jim Conley of robbing a bank and killing the cashier. Ted's wife Jane takes over Conley's defense. When the court sentences the defendant to death, she files for divorce. Beth Conley, the wife, goes to see the prosecutor and asks him to postpone the execution of the sentence for thirty days. When he refuses, she threatens him with revelations. Deputy District Attorney Hal Young witnesses this confrontation...

Frühstück mit dem Tod

1964

Story of San Michele poster
6.5

A biographical drama is based on the 1929 autobiography of Swedish doctor Axel Martin Fredrik, The Story of San Michele. It follows the physician, psychiatrist, and adventurer as he travels the distances from Lapland to his Villa San Michele on Capri, with special stops in Paris and Rome. Personal physician to Queen Victoria, also physician to the Swedish royal family (he spent his last years living in the Royal Palace in Sweden), "Axel Munthe" knew everyone from the poorest clients to the most well-endowed. His love of animals, his support of bird sanctuaries, his involvement with architecture as he constructs his impressive villa throughout five summers, and his interests in archaeology and hypnotism are all explored.

Story of San Michele

1962

Denn das Weib ist schwach poster
9.0

The respected lawyer Jolly Gebhardt is in debt because of his lavish lifestyle and is therefore blackmailed by dubious criminals for embezzlement.

Denn das Weib ist schwach

1961

Halløj i himmelsengen poster
6.3

The beginning of the 20th century. The main character is the young, charming Count Pierre de Sauterne. There have been several conflicts between him and his aristocratic uncle, who, due to his fanatical interest in cars, is called Tøf-Tøf. The authoritative older gentleman also has a pronounced weakness for the female sex, and it irritates him that his nephew far surpasses him in this regard. Uncle Tøf-Tøf decides that Pierre must spend his summer vacation in a secluded family villa on the North Sea coast as punishment, but not long into his stay, two charming girls seek shelter from a thunderstorm.

Halløj i himmelsengen

1965

No artwork available
9.0

Ricky and Maria, desperate for money, undertake an insurance fraud. After getting involved with a thug, it ends in tragedy.

Journey Into Nowhere

1962

No artwork available
8.5

No synopsis available yet.

Das Leben des Horace A.W. Tabor - Ein Stück aus den Tagen der letzten Könige

1965

1950s · 32 titles

The Black Forest Girl poster
6.8

The painter Hans Hauser falls head over heels in love with the "Black Forest girl" Bärbele Riederle. He travels to her home village and soon the two realize that they are made for each other.

The Black Forest Girl

1950

Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever? poster
7.3

In the winter of 1943, against the background of battle scenes, a young German Lieutenant who increasingly distrusts the inhuman Nazi ideology struggles with the concept of war.

Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever?

1959

Rebel Flight to Cuba poster
9.5

Peter escapes a firing squad and leaves the island of San Quinto on a commercial flight to Bermuda. The plane is hijacked by a Nazi and San Quinto's Ex-General Cordobas who shoot pilot Pink and damage the landing gear of the plane.

Rebel Flight to Cuba

1959

Mädchen ohne Grenzen poster
8.0

Helga, a stewardess, meet a passenger, Eric, during a flight to Athens. They fall in love, but he is married. Later Helga is involved in a flight crash. One of the severely injured passengers is Eric's wife Maria.

Mädchen ohne Grenzen

1955

The Heath Is Green poster
5.2

After the end of World War II Lüder Lüdersen, the former owner of a feudal estate in the East, and his daughter Helga arrive as refugees in the Lüneburg Heath. While living a seemingly happy life on the estate of his cousin, Lüdersen hides a dark secret: he is a poacher.

The Heath Is Green

1951

Tabarin poster
5.5

Jacques Forestier, also a choreographer, an art decorator and a stage producer, is the very competent manager of "Tabarin", a renowned Parisian music-hall. A hard worker, he always wants the best for the public, at the expense of his health. He is assisted in his task by his wife Rosine and his lively secretary Mimi. Chance has it that one of the dancers he auditions for a new show is Florence, his former lover. He doesn't want her in the show but the spiteful belle has a rich influential protector who imposes her anyway. Some time later, Jacques falls victim of a heart attack.

Tabarin

1958

Eine Nacht im Séparée poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Eine Nacht im Séparée

1950

Das Bad auf der Tenne poster
4.0

On his journey through the Flemish province, Don Fernando, the king's stadtholder, passes through the small, bourgeois community of Terbrügg. There, he meets Antje, the mayor's wife. To impress the beautiful lady, he gives her his bathtub. It's a sensation in the small town, which has never seen such a tub before. Out of envy and resentment, Antje is pilloried for her "immoral" passion for bathing and becomes the laughingstock of the town...

Das Bad auf der Tenne

1956

Die Privatsekretärin poster
7.0

Determined Gerda Weber travels to the big city and locates at a girl's pension. She soon finds job as a secretary in a big business thanks to her optimism and wits, and ends dating her boss after mistaking him for a companion. They share an evening of music and dancing, after which she discovers who he really is.

Die Privatsekretärin

1953

The Merry Wives of Windsor poster
8.5

For the corpulent nobleman Sir John Falstaff, the inn in the small English town of Windsor is the best of all places. Here he can indulge in excessive dining and intemperate drinking, as well as swagger and boast about his adventures, particularly those of an amorous nature. At present, he has designs on the two young women, Mistress Reich and Fluth, who, in turn, lead the paunchy protagonist mightily by the nose.

The Merry Wives of Windsor

1950

The Italians They Are Crazy poster
7.0

In a German prison camp, some Italian prisoners bet with the commander that they will be able to build a church in two hours.

The Italians They Are Crazy

1958

The Thief of Bagdad poster
6.7

Fatme has quite the talent for getting herself into trouble and escaping with her head intact. But when she's caught rifling through Caliph Omar's possessions, she finds herself in serious trouble. News of a theft makes the rounds and now the caliph's men are after her. Fortunately, she's able to find refuge with a sheikh, who isn't quite so thorough in checking his possessions. And it's thanks to him, that Fatme is able to get away with her newly acquired goods.

The Thief of Bagdad

1952

The Eighth Day of the Week poster
5.6

Zbigniew Cybulski and Sonja Ziemann play lovers struggling to find happiness and privacy in overcrowded Warsaw. The movie shows an honest picture of life in a war-damaged city, contrasting the characters' difficulties with their dreams of a better life. It was banned in Poland in 1958 and would not be seen anywhere until its European release one year later.

The Eighth Day of the Week

1958

Frauenarzt Dr. Bertram poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Frauenarzt Dr. Bertram

1957

It Was Always So Nice with You poster
6.0

While working as an accountant in his uncle's factory, talented young pianist Peter dreams of becoming a famous composer. When he shows his work to a producer, he manages to convince him to give him a chance. From time to time he gets bigger contracts that keep him more and more away from home and his young wife Elisa. When he "discovers" and supports a pretty ballerina in Munich, a rumor starts that he's having an affair. He fails to realize that his marriage is threatened.

It Was Always So Nice with You

1954

Schön muß man sein poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Schön muß man sein

1951

Hollandmädel poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Hollandmädel

1953

Liebe auf krummen Beinen poster
7.0

The unsuccessful composer Daniel Mogge meets the photographer Eva through his runaway dog Blasius. He falls in love with her and a romance begins between the two. The envious neighbor Grusius, who is feverishly waiting for submissions for musical works, finds them through the open window: Mogge composes and Grusius steals. When Mogge hears his piece on the radio, the events come thick and fast.

Liebe auf krummen Beinen

1959

Am Brunnen vor dem Tore poster
6.0

The vagabonds Tünnes, Nachtigall, and Hans come upon a small town during their travels, where they use the first unoccupied house they find as a place to sleep. When the homeowner, Georg Straaten, unexpectedly returns from a long journey, the vagabonds are relieved to find that they are not arrested, but instead hired as help at the inn run by the young Inge Bachner.

Am Brunnen vor dem Tore

1952

Die sieben Kleider der Katrin poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Die sieben Kleider der Katrin

1954

Serenade of Texas poster
5.2

Music seller and singer on occasion, Jacques Gardel learns from master Jérôme Quilleboeuf that he inherits oil fields located in Big Bend in Texas.

Serenade of Texas

1958

The Zurich Engagement poster
6.4

Juliane Thomas is an ambitious but unemployed young writer. After breaking up with her lover she works at a dentist friend to make ends meet. One day she instantly falls in love with one of the patients (Jean Berner) and promptly writes a movie script about the encounter in which she projects her own fantasies about how things will turn out eventually. By coincidence this movie script is picked up by a film director who happens to be Berner's closest friend and from then on things become very complicated...

The Zurich Engagement

1957

No artwork available
8.0

Sonja, a little ballerina at the Grand Theater, is secretly in love with the handsome tenor Luis Mariano. One night, she hurts her feet while dancing and under the influence of a sedative falls asleep and starts dreaming. She is Sonja Ilyanova now, a young gypsy dancer who dreams of performing before Alexei, the son of the Czar.

The Little Czar

1954

Kaiserball poster
6.5

Austria, Bad Ischl: The young Princess Christine and the Imperial Count of Hohenegg are supposed to meet at the annual Imperial Ball before their planned engagement. But things turn out differently than expected: Christine falls in love with Count Baranyi, and her future husband falls in love with the seamstress Franzi, who is mistaken for a countess at the wrong moment...

Kaiserball

1956

Johannes und die 13 Schönheitsköniginnen poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Johannes und die 13 Schönheitsköniginnen

1951

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

I Can't Marry Everyone

1952

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Nichts als Ärger mit der Liebe

1956

Ich war ein häßliches Mädchen poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Ich war ein häßliches Mädchen

1955

Große Starparade poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Große Starparade

1954

Grand Hotel poster
6.8

Based on a book by Vicki Baum, all of the action takes place in one day in a luxury hotel in Berlin. Grusinkaya is a ballerina staying at the hotel, other guests include Baron von Gaigern a sophisticated thief, Otto Klingelein a dying man, Preysing a businessman, and a stenographer. Events intertwine the lives of these strangers, bringing them together for some dramatic moments.

Grand Hotel

1959

Supreme Confession poster
8.0

The wife of a conductor with a stormy past agrees to meet a blackmailer in a small hotel.

Supreme Confession

1956

Frühling in Berlin poster
5.8

No synopsis available yet.

Frühling in Berlin

1957

1940s · 11 titles

Ein Windstoß poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Ein Windstoß

1942

Nach Regen scheint Sonne poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Nach Regen scheint Sonne

1949

Um eine Nasenlänge poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Um eine Nasenlänge

1949

Die Jungfern vom Bischofsberg poster
6.5

No synopsis available yet.

Die Jungfern vom Bischofsberg

1943

No artwork available
8.0

In the antique shop J.M. Mauritius, there’s astonishment when a young, beautiful woman, Gabriele Euler, inquires about an old fortress crest, which can be seen in the background on an old tapestry --- it’s, in fact, the same crest engraved on an old, silver jar belonging to Gabriele: a family heirloom. She discovers, that the crest is the landmark for Burg Uhlenfels. Determined to find out more about her allegedly noble roots, Gabriele takes off to explore Castle Uhlenfels … unaware it’s haunted.

Ghost in the Castle

1947

Herzkönig poster
7.0

After drinking too much alcohol, King Michael XXXVII promptly forgets his own wedding date! To avoid a scandal, his police minister asks the writer Peter Petroni, who looks deceptively like the king, to stand in for the alcoholic Michael at the ceremony. The only trouble is that the game quickly turns serious - because when Peter catches sight of "his" bride at the altar, it's love at first sight...

Herzkönig

1947

Tell the Truth poster
7.0

Peter's fiancee Maria is chronically lying and hides her little affairs. To change this, Peter bets that he is going to tell everyone the truth for 24 hours. The consequences are catastrophic.

Tell the Truth

1946

Die Freunde meiner Frau poster
10.0

Overly proper family man Walter Brinkmann is coaxed to a cabaret by free‐spirited friend Bernd. After a spoof of himself, Walter decides to embrace life’s fun side. With his wife away, he returns to the cabaret, where he harmlessly flirts with singer Fee Freiberg. His children and housekeeper secretly shadow him, and when his wife returns, she finds him surprisingly transformed, and then surprisingly grateful.

Die Freunde meiner Frau

1949

No artwork available
5.4

No synopsis available yet.

Eine kleine Sommermelodie

1944

Beloved Darling poster
6.0

When a wife reads a love letter addressed to her husband, written by an unknown female, all hell breaks lose.

Beloved Darling

1943

Nichts als Zufälle poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Nichts als Zufälle

1949

Undated · 1 titles

Series credits

NDR Talk Show poster
6.6

No synopsis available yet.

NDR Talk Show

1979

Beckmann poster
4.5

Reinhold Beckmann hosts a weekly talk show.

Beckmann

1999

Bambi poster
9.0

The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.

Bambi

1948

Bambi poster
9.0

The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.

Bambi

1948

No artwork available
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

German Film Award

1951

The Commissioner poster
8.0

Der Kommissar is a German television series about a group of detectives of the Munich homicide squad. All 97 episodes, which were shot in black-and-white and first broadcast between 1969 and 1976, were written by Herbert Reinecker and starred Erik Ode as Kommissar Herbert Keller. Keller's assistants were Walter Grabert, Robert Heines, and Harry Klein who, in 1974, was replaced by his younger brother Erwin Klein.

The Commissioner

1969

Boulevard Bio poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Boulevard Bio

1991

No artwork available
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Gut gefragt ist halb gewonnen

1964

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kein schöner Land

1993

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Curd Jürgens erzählt...

1963

No artwork available
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Parkhotel Stern

1997

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Liebesgeschichten

1967

No artwork available
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Continental Showcase

1966

No artwork available
8.0

Legends recount legends who dominated German cinema in the 1940s and 1950s – with stories that are funny, dramatic, and informative. Among others, Margot Hielscher, Peter Kraus, Ernst Stankovski, Joachim Fuchsberger, Margit Saad, and Douglas Sirk talk about their experiences with stars of the past.

Filmlegenden. Deutsch

2006

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Ein Abend mit Georg Thomalla

1982

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Frauengeschichten

1981

No artwork available
NR

This documentary takes an entertaining and informative look at the German Heimatfilm phenomenon. The first part examines the history of the genre since the 1950s, while the second part presents crowd favorites of the genre.

Heimat - Deine Filme

2008

Das Messer poster
8.0

Three agents stir up a hornet's nest of greed, betrayal, and intrigue.

Das Messer

1971

No artwork available
NR

Guten Morgen, Mallorca was a German television series set on the island of Majorca.

Guten Morgen, Mallorca

1996