Viktor und Viktoria (1933)

[Ann Harding]

Viktor und Viktoria (1933) Reinhold Schünzel
Yesterday I watched this fluffy and naughty German musical which was remade later in England under the title, First a Girl (1935) with Jessie Matthews and of course, more famously by Blake Edwards as Victor Victoria (1982) with Julie Andrews & James Garner.

First of all, I must admit that my German is quite non-extant! But nevertheless, I wanted to see the original version of Victor Victoria and plodded in... The star of the film is Renate Müller (Susanne) who is doing a really good job at impersonating a man in drag. Her partner Viktor Hempel (Hermann Thiming) is a complete ham and we see him sweating away at an audition, chewing the scenery in such a way as to make Emil Jannings an understated actor.... Some (silent) scenes were priceless: when Viktor takes the heroine to the men dressing rooms to change her clothes.
Adolf Wohlbrück (later renamed Anton Walbrook) plays the charmer who takes her to a seedy bar where a browl errupt (like in the Edwards remake).
Overall quite charming with lots of songs. I just wished I could have gotten every word!!!

[charliechaplinfan]

Even though you didn't get all the words, you'll have got a good impression of the film, the atomosphere, style etc. I'm glad you told us about it, it's a film I'd find interesting.

When I think of Germany and film from this time my mind goes straight to Cabaret, because of the time it was set, was there anything at all similar in the two films?

[Jezebel38]

I came across a VHS print of this film several years ago, and I have to say this is one of the funniest films I've ever seen without understanding a word anyone is saying! AFAIK, there are no prints in circulation with any subtitles - and some of the dialogue seems to be in verse, so it might get lost in translation. Anyway, I wanted to see this because of Anton Walbrook, and he is so charming in this early role, as well as another German title I've seen him in - BABY (1932). I am hoping to someday see MASKERADE (1934), one of his best early roles.

Here is a Youtube clip of a clever scene from V&V which needs no translation, as there is no dialogue!

[youtube][/youtube]

[Ann Harding]

Hi Jezebel!

I think we have something in common: I also like Anton Walbrook (Adolf Wohlbrück) a lot.
His four pictures with Powell & Pressburger and the two Thorold Dickinson (Queen of Spades & Gaslight) are favourites of mine. I have just started watching him in German films. I also saw recently his very amusing King Ludwig I of Bavaria in Lola Montès.

Alison:

No the film is not really like Cabaret. It's more lighthearted and fluffy.

[Ann Harding]

I have seen several films with Adolf Wohlbrück (Anton Walbrook) recently.

Port-Arthur (1936, Nicolas Farkas) with Danielle Darrieux and Charles Vanel
This picture turned out to be really underwhelming in spite of its great cast. Anton is a Russian officer in this Chinese port in 1904. He just married a Russian-Japanese girl (D. Darrieux). But he suspects her from being a traitor. A war has just broken out between Russia and Japan and he thinks she informs her Japanese brother...
The characters were extremely shallow and whatever effort on the part of the actors, they couldn't give them any depth. Poor Danielle Darrieux is sporting an 'Oriental makeup' than means having her eyes taped... I think she loathed the part. No wonder! On the plus side, there are some superb sets built by a great Russian art director in Czech studios. And I saw the film on a big screen which meant huge close-ups of Anton!

Der Student von Prag (1935, Arthur Robison) with Dorothea Wieck
As I am not a German speaker, I could only gather the story by guess work. Anton is a Student who falls madly in love with the beautiful opera singer Julia Stella (D. Wieck). He sells his soul to a devil's envoy to be able to see her again...
This film had plenty of atmosphere. The story line sounds straight out of an E.T.A. Hoffman tale. Anton is having a ball playing the tortured Balduin haunted by his own shadow. D. Wieck -whom I loved in Leisen's Cradle Song (1933)- is equally superb. A really nice feature.

[Jezebel38]

Thanks for the review Christine - and you found a picture too! I was wondering what Danielle looked like in this, and I see Anton got to keep his moustache.

Oh, I'm envious you've gotten to see the 1935 version of Student of Prague! The silent version with Conrad Veidt is in my top ten silent films, and is one of my favorite CV performances overall. I'll bet I would like this version even better, since I think I prefer Anton Walbrook's german dialect over Veidt's, and I've enjoyed Anton's other "tortured" performances in Gaslight, and Queen of Spades.