Helsingin kuuluisin liikemies: A weirdly charming 1930s mess

Is it worth your time?

If you like old movies where people wear unbelievably tall hats and talk about money in fancy rooms, you might like this. It is a good pick for a rainy Sunday when you feel like traveling back to 1930s Finland.

If you hate slow-moving black and white films where the jokes take five minutes to land, you will absolutely hate this. It is definitely not for people who need explosions or fast editing.

So, Helsingin kuuluisin liikemies. The title means Helsinki's most famous businessman.

The main guy, Kalle, is basically a 1930s 'hustler' before that was even a word. He wants to be the big man in the city, but his bank account is basically empty.

Tauno Majuri plays Kalle. He has this look like he is constantly worried his mustache might fall off in the middle of a sentence.

He is trying to woo Regina Linnanheimo. She is the big star of that era, but here she mostly just looks pretty and slightly confused by everything Kalle says.

There is this one scene in a restaurant that feels like it lasts for an eternity. They talk about 'business' and 'concessions' but nobody ever actually explains what the business is.

It reminds me a bit of the vibe in Mr. Cinderella but with way less charm and more sweating. Kalle is just not very good at being a con man.

The camera work is... okay for 1934. The best part is actually the outdoor shots of old Helsinki.

You see these old tram cars and the way the streets looked before everything became glass and steel. It is almost like a documentary if you ignore the silly plot. 🚋

Aku Korhonen shows up and he is easily the best part. He has this way of blinking that makes everything he says seem like a secret joke.

The movie gets way better when he is on screen. He actually knows how to deliver a line without sounding like he is reading from a textbook.

Things I noticed while watching:

• The hats are incredibly tall and look heavy.
• Everyone drinks a lot of coffee, even when they are angry.
• The doors in the sets look like they are made of cardboard and shake when they close.
• Tauno Palo shows up and he is clearly the most charismatic person in the room.

The business deals in this movie are hilarious because they make no sense. They talk about stocks like they are playing a board game with fake money.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Helsingin kuuluisin liikemies (1934) through its definitive frames.

I think the writers didn't actually know how business works. It has that weird logic you see in Hemliga Svensson.

The grammer in the subtitles I had was also a bit weird, which added to the confusion. He look very happy in one scene, then suddenly he is crying about a debt.

Wait, did I mention the music? It is very loud and very happy all the time.

Even when Kalle is about to get caught, the music is like "HEY LOOK AT THIS FUN MOMENT!" It is a bit much for my ears.

It is definitely not as well-timed as the music in something like The Music Box. That movie knew when to be quiet.

There is a moment where a dog walks into a shot and just stares at the camera for a few seconds. Nobody stops the scene or edits it out.

I love stuff like that. It makes the movie feel real and human, even if the acting is very stiff. 🐕

Regina Linnanheimo’s sister, Rakel, is also in it. They have a scene together where they just talk about nothing for three minutes.

It’s actually kind of relaxing to watch. It feels like eavesdropping on a real conversation from 90 years ago.

It is a bit like The Crackerjack in how it tries to be a fast-paced comedy but ends up being mostly just strange. The timing is always a second or two off.

The ending of the movie feels like they literally ran out of film. It just... stops.

One minute they are at a party, and then the screen says 'The End' and you are left wondering what happened to the money. I sat there for a second wondering if my file was corrupted.

But nope, that is just how they did it back then. They didn't feel the need to wrap everything up in a neat little bow.

Is it a great movie? No, not really. But it is a fascinating relic of a time when Helsinki was trying to look like a big global city.

Give it a shot if you are bored. Just don't expect it to change your life or even make much sense. 🎩