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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you have seventy minutes to spare and love dusty Weimar-era comedies where people sing for no apparent reason, yes, Der Frauendiplomat is worth your time. Anyone who hates subtitles or expects actual diplomatic tension will absolutely despise this thing. 😅
The plot is incredibly thin, basically focusing on Fürst Windischberg who likes women way too much. His bosses are so sick of his flirting that they threaten to send him to Africa, which in 1932 comedies was apparently the ultimate punishment for being too horny on the job.
Honestly, lead actor Max Hansen has this greasy, slightly goofy charm that really works here. He looks like a guy who just got away with eating the last slice of cake and is waiting for you to notice.
In Berlin, he crosses paths with Hella, a chorus girl played by the lovely Mártha Eggerth. She tells her friends they are having a wild affair just to boost her own social standing, which instantly backfires in the best way possible.
It is the classic fake dating trope, but done with a lot of operetta singing. Some of the tunes are actually pretty catchy, though the audio quality on the old print I watched was pretty rough and scratchy.
At times, the chaotic energy of the misunderstandings reminded me of the frantic pacing in This Way Out. But here, everything is much more polite and Austrian.
The great Theo Lingen is also in this, playing his usual role of the highly stressed assistant. His face does this weird twitch whenever things go wrong, which is basically every five minutes.
There is a scene in a hotel lobby where three different people try to hide behind the same tiny potted plant. It goes on about twenty seconds too long, but it made me laugh anyway. 🌿
The writing by Bobby E. Lüthge and Curt J. Braun do not try to be smart. It is just a delivery vehicle for silly situations and people running through doors.
Some of the jokes feel incredibly dated, like a gag about a typewriter that I did not quite get. I think you had to be alive in 1932 to find that one funny.
Still, the movie has a weirdly cozy atmosphere. It feels like watching a local play in a very small, warm theater while it rains outside.
It is much more lighthearted than other comedies of the era, like One Good Turn, which had a bit more bite to its humor. This one is pure sugar.
I did notice that the background extras in the theater scenes look completely lost. One guy in a tuxedo just stares directly at the camera lens for a solid ten seconds while the main characters are talking.
It is those little mistakes that make these old films so charming to watch today. You can see the seams of the production.
The ending wraps up so fast you might miss it if you sneeze. Suddenly everyone is happy, the lies are forgiven, and the music swells.
Do not expect a masterpiece here. Just enjoy the silly hats and the opera singing.
IMDb —
1916
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