Da stimmt was nicht: A vintage mess of nerves and shouting

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you're a completist for 1930s German studio fluff. If you hate movies where the entire plot hinges on characters refusing to listen to each other for 80 minutes, you will absolutely despise this. It’s loud, it’s twitchy, and it feels like a stage play that forgot it had a camera pointed at it.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Da stimmt was nicht (1934) through its definitive frames.

I sat through Da stimmt was nicht yesterday, and I’m still not entirely sure what the point was. The film moves with this frantic, caffeinated energy that feels completely out of place for a black-and-white comedy of its era. It’s not necessarily bad, but it sure is exhausting.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Da stimmt was nicht (1934) through its definitive frames.

The vibe is... frantic.

There’s a scene about halfway through involving a telephone that goes on for an eternity. It’s the kind of moment where you can physically feel the actors waiting for their cue to start shouting again. It reminded me a bit of the pacing issues in The Plumbers Are Coming, where the silence is treated like an enemy that must be destroyed at all costs.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Da stimmt was nicht (1934) through its definitive frames.

Viktor de Kowa is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. He’s got that wide-eyed, panicked expression that never really leaves his face. It’s funny for about ten minutes, then it just gets kind of sad. You want to reach through the screen and tell him to just take a nap.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Da stimmt was nicht (1934) through its definitive frames.

• The sets feel like cardboard. I swear you can see a wall wobble in the background of the foyer scene.
• The dialogue is mostly people talking over each other. It’s like being trapped in a crowded elevator during a minor crisis.
• Some of the supporting cast are clearly just happy to be standing in the room.

It’s funny how these old comedies try so hard to be sophisticated. They act like they’re navigating some high-stakes intrigue, but it’s really just people running in and out of doors. It’s not quite as sharp as Playing at Love, but it shares that same obsession with social status and accidental proximity.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Da stimmt was nicht (1934) through its definitive frames.

Final thoughts (or lack thereof)

The ending is abrupt. Like, really abrupt. It feels like someone just pulled the power cord in the middle of a joke. I checked my watch thinking the file had cut out, but no—that was just the movie deciding it was done.

Not a masterpiece. Definitely not a waste of electricity, either. Just a weird, frantic little relic that makes you wonder what people actually found funny in 1934. Maybe it was the hats? There are some truly magnificent hats in this movie. 🎩