Ihre Durchlaucht, die Verkäuferin: A Charming Old-School Mess

If you're the type who finds comfort in pre-war European fluff where everyone is constantly bowing and pretending to be someone they aren't, you'll probably get a kick out of Ihre Durchlaucht, die Verkäuferin. It is not exactly high art, but it has this weird, frantic energy that makes the ninety minutes zip by, even when the plot starts to feel like it is running in circles.

Who is this for? Honestly, just the die-hard fans of 1930s continental comedies or people who just really, really like Theo Lingen’s face. If you need a movie that challenges your worldview or makes you cry, stay far, far away. This is for the Sunday afternoon crowd.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Ihre Durchlaucht, die Verkäuferin (1933) through its definitive frames.

The whole premise hinges on this shopgirl suddenly being thrust into the orbit of nobility, and the movie spends a lot of time letting her look confused in fancy rooms. It feels a bit like Monsieur Beaucaire in terms of the whole 'who are you really?' vibe, but with significantly more shop-counter banter and less swashbuckling.

There is a specific scene where the dialogue gets so fast it feels like they’re trying to hit a quota. I had to rewind twice just to catch who was supposed to be the Count and who was just pretending to be the Count’s cousin. It’s all very silly. The actors seem like they are having a grand time, though. Especially Liane Haid; she’s got this way of looking at the camera like she knows exactly how ridiculous the script is.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Ihre Durchlaucht, die Verkäuferin (1933) through its definitive frames.

Some of the background extras look like they wandered in from the street five minutes before the cameras started rolling. There’s one guy in the back of the ballroom scene who just stands there for an entire three-minute take, not moving, not talking, just... staring at a fern. It was the most interesting part of that whole sequence. 🌿

It’s not as sharp as some of the other stuff from that era, and it certainly doesn't have the grit of something like White Man, but it’s fine. It’s just fine. The pacing is a bit of a rollercoaster, mostly because they clearly didn't know how to end the damn thing. It just stops. It doesn't conclude, it just hits a wall and credits roll.

• Theo Lingen is, as always, the best part of every scene he’s in.
• The costumes look like they were borrowed from three different centuries.
• I’m still not sure what that one guy was doing with the fern.

If you’ve got nothing better to do and you want to see people in monocles running around being frantic, give it a shot. Just don't expect it to stick in your brain for more than a day. It’s a bit like eating cotton candy; sweet for a second, then it just vanishes.