

Lex Barker - Westernheld und Playboy
He is the most sought-after man in Europe in the 1960s. Lex Barker embodies the flawless hero in his films and, as Old Shatterhand, becomes a role model for generations of fans. Revered in Europe, misunderstood and almost forgotten in his native America. But who was this American who rode through Yugoslavia in a leather costume for the European audience? In 1973, Lex Barker died of a heart attack on the streets of Manhattan in New York. But no one recognizes the man who was Tarzan in Hollywood. Nobody knows him or cares about that he, as Winnetou's friend, is revered as an icon in Europe. Lex Barker's European western adventures are just a footnote in American film history. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death, the documentary tells the story of one of the most beautiful men who ever flickered across Europe's cinema screens, for whom European cinema proved to be a stroke of luck and for whom a failed Hollywood career took him via Italy to Germany.
Cast

Lex Barker
Self - Portrait Subject (archive footage)

Carmen G. Cervera
Self - Interviewee

Karen Kondazian
Self - Interviewee
Matthias Wendlandt
Self - Interviewee

Brett Halsey
Self - Interviewee

Clemens Meyer
Self - Interviewee

Wolfgang M. Schmitt
Self - Interviewee
Christopher Barker
Self - Interviewee
Reiner Boller
Self - Interviewee
Elisabeth Bronfen
Self - Interviewee
Jan-Christopher Horak
Self - Interviewee
Joachim Gitt
Self - Interviewee
Karl Schlömer
Self - Interviewee
Kendall Old Elk
Self - Interviewee

Pierre Brice
als er selbst (archive footage)
Storyline
He is the most sought-after man in Europe in the 1960s. Lex Barker embodies the flawless hero in his films and, as Old Shatterhand, becomes a role model for generations of fans. Revered in Europe, misunderstood and almost forgotten in his native America. But who was this American who rode through Yugoslavia in a leather costume for the European audience? In 1973, Lex Barker died of a heart attack on the streets of Manhattan in New York. But no one recognizes the man who was Tarzan in Hollywood. Nobody knows him or cares about that he, as Winnetou's friend, is revered as an icon in Europe. Lex Barker's European western adventures are just a footnote in American film history. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death, the documentary tells the story of one of the most beautiful men who ever flickered across Europe's cinema screens, for whom European cinema proved to be a stroke of luck and for whom a failed Hollywood career took him via Italy to Germany.
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