Der Tiger (1930) is a clunky, smoky, and weirdly fun German crime flick

If you like old German crime movies where people wear very high-waisted pants and smoke constantly, you might dig Der Tiger.

It is one of those early sound films that feels like the actors are afraid to move too fast. If they walk away from the table, they might outrun the microphone hidden in the flower vase.

Is it worth watching today? Only if you really love that 1930s Berlin vibe or want to see how crime movies looked before they got actually slick.

Most people today will probably find it way too slow. But there is something about the grainy shadows that works for me.

The story is pretty basic stuff. There is a killer on the loose called 'The Tiger' and the police are basically running in circles.

Ernst Dernburg plays the lead detective. He has this very wide, concerned face that makes him look like a tired bulldog.

I kept looking at his desk during the office scenes. It has so many papers on it that it feels like a real messy workplace, not just a movie set.

Charlotte Susa shows up as Henriette and she is clearly the best part of the whole thing. She has this way of looking at men that says she knows exactly how much money is in their wallet.

There is a scene in a nightclub that goes on about twenty seconds too long. The music is okay, but the way the crowd stands there is so stiff it becomes funny.

It reminded me a little of the energy in The Wild Party, but way more German and serious. Actually, it is not even that serious, it just feels heavy.

The Sound of the 30s

The audio is... rough. There is a constant hiss like someone is frying bacon in the room next door.

Sometimes the voices get really loud for no reason. I think the sound guy was just as confused as the audience about how to use the new technology.

You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you that the dialogue is the most important thing. But honestly, I was mostly looking at the lighting.

The German directors really knew how to make a hallway look scary with just one light bulb. It is very noir before noir was really a thing.

If you have seen Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman, you know the 'gentleman criminal' vibe. This is sort of like that but with more shouting and fewer smiles.

One reaction shot of a witness lingers so long it feels like the actor forgot his next line. We just stare at him while he blinks.

Odd Little Details

• The 'Tiger' sends these notes to the police with surprisingly nice handwriting.
• A guy holds a telephone like it is a live bomb that might go off.
• The way people smoke—they don't just smoke, they perform it with their whole bodies.

Max Maximilian is a name in the cast and I just think that is a great name. He doesn't have a huge role, but he is there, being Max.

The police procedure is pretty funny to watch now. They just walk into a crime scene and start touching everything with their bare hands.

They find a glove and stand around it in a circle like it is a piece of alien technology. It is very dramatic for a bit of leather.

I think I missed a character's name in the first ten minutes because the audio crack