A Song, a Kiss, a Girl review: A sweet, dusty 1930s musical

If you have a soft spot for dusty, crackly 1930s German musicals where people break into song at the drop of a hat, you will absolutely adore this. But if you hate old-school operettas and silly misunderstandings, please run away now. 🏃‍♂️

It is a sweet, incredibly light piece of escapism that doesn't demand much from your brain. I watched it on a rainy Tuesday and it did exactly what it needed to do.

The Record Shop Romance

The story is delightfully simple. Peter Franke (played by a very charming Gustav Fröhlich) runs the Supraphon records company.

To beat his rival company, he plans to marry a woman named Asta. His assistant Münzer totally approves of this boring business arrangement because he has zero romance in his soul.

Then Peter visits one of his own shops and meets Wally Sommer. 🎶

Wally is played by the wonderful Mártha Eggerth, and she is basically a human ray of sunshine. She works as a saleswoman and has this habit of singing to customers to get them to buy records.

Honestly, her voice is so incredible that I would probably buy ten copies of whatever she was selling too. The chemistry between her and Fröhlich is instant and very cute.

A Few Weird Little Details

I love how chaotic 1930s comedies feel. Everyone moves a bit too fast, and the background actors always look like they are having the time of their lives.

There is this one scene in the record shop where an old man is testing a gramophone. He looks so utterly terrified of the machine, like it might jump up and bite him. 📻

It is a tiny moment that has nothing to do with the plot, but it made me laugh out loud. That is the kind of stuff you do not get in modern movies.

If you have seen other early talkies like After the Ball, you know the vibe here. It has that same loose, theatrical energy where nobody is taking the plot too seriously.

"A song, a kiss, and a girl... what else does a man need?"

The music is written by Robert Stolz, and it is dangerously catchy. I have had the main theme stuck in my head for three days now, and my dog is getting tired of me whistling it.

Is the plot predictable? Oh, absolutely.

You can see the ending coming from a mile away. But the joy is just watching Eggerth smile and sing her way through the misunderstandings.

It is not a masterpiece, but it is a very cozy way to spend eighty minutes. Give it a shot if you want something simple and joyful.