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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you like old movies where people run around in fancy hotels and get confused about who is dating who, this is a pretty decent way to spend an afternoon.
It is definitely not heavy or depressing like The Last Man, so if you are in the mood for something deep, you should probably look elsewhere.
Henny Porten is the main reason to watch this, honestly.
She plays this famous singer and she has this way of looking at the camera that makes you feel like you are *actually* in on the joke.
Even when the joke isn't really that funny, her face just makes you smile anyway.
There is a scene where she is wearing this **massive** fur coat and she looks like she might tip over, but she carries it off with so much grace.
Willi Forst shows up too, looking incredibly suave as usual.
He has this one moment where he adjusts his cuffs and it feels like he spent three hours practicing it in a mirror before the cameras started rolling.
The plot is a bit of a tangle involving a composer and some misunderstandings that could be solved if everyone just sat down for five minutes.
But then we wouldn't have a movie, would we? 🥂
I found myself getting distracted by the wallpaper in the background of the apartment scenes.
It is so *loud* and busy, which is funny because the movie is silent (mostly).
Paul Hörbiger has a small part and he does this little double-take when he sees a letter that actually made me laugh out loud.
The movie gets a little slow in the middle part when they are just talking and talking.
I think I counted three different times where a character walked into a room, realized they didn't belong there, and just awkwardly turned around.
It reminded me a little bit of the backstage energy in Exit Smiling, but with more expensive-looking furniture.
The lighting in the cafe scene is actually kind of weirdly dark compared to the rest of the film.
It feels like they ran out of lightbulbs that day or something.
Still, there is a **warmth** to it that you don't get in modern rom-coms.
It is just a bunch of talented people having a bit of fun before the world got too serious in the 1930s.
Don't expect it to change your life or anything, but it's a nice cozy watch if you have some wine and some time to kill.
I forgot who the guy with the thin mustache was supposed to be by the end, but it didn't really matter.
Everyone looks like they are having a great time, especially Otto Wallburg who just seems to be shouting even though you can't hear him.
It’s a bit long for what it is, but Henny Porten makes it worth the sit.
IMDb —
1928
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