Why watch a 1934 musical today?

Is it worth your time?

If you have a weird, specific soft spot for 1930s operettas, then sure, dive in. If you are looking for anything resembling a plot that makes sense, keep walking. You will probably hate this if you get annoyed by characters who burst into song because they feel a slight breeze in their heart. It’s a relic, but a mostly harmless one.

The whole thing feels like it was filmed inside a velvet box. Everything is soft, shiny, and just a little bit suffocating.

Theo Lingen is doing his usual thing here. He’s got that twitchy energy that makes you wonder if he’s actually acting or just trying to find an exit. It works, though. He’s the only one who seems to realize he’s in a movie rather than an actual opera.

There is a scene where someone is singing, and I swear the camera operator just forgot to zoom out for a solid minute. We are stuck looking at a closeup of a chin while the music swells. It’s bizarre.

I couldn't help but compare the general 'everything is fine' vibe to something like The Singing Fool, even though they aren't the same animal at all. Both films have that weird, desperate need to be liked by the audience. It’s exhausting.

Odd moments I wrote down:

• The lighting in the cafe scenes makes everyone look like they are made of wax.
• There is a dog in the background of the third act that clearly just wants to go home.
• The dialogue is so fast and polite it feels like a fencing match.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely a movie, really. It’s more like a series of sketches tied together by a thread of musical notes. Sometimes the singing is actually quite nice, and then suddenly someone says something so silly you have to pause it and look at the wall for a second.

If you’ve seen Little Miss Nobody, you might appreciate the shift in tone here. This is much more 'old world' and dusty. 🎭

Don't expect to walk away thinking about the human condition. You’ll just walk away humming a tune you’ll forget by dinner time.