Little Man, What Now? (1934) review - This one actually hurts

If you are currently stressed about your bank account, Little Man, What Now? is either going to make you feel seen or completely ruin your night. You should absolutely watch this today if you love old-school dramas that actually have teeth and do not just feel like dusty museum pieces. But if you hate fast-talking 1930s characters who cry over pocket change, you will probably want to skip it.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Little Man, What Now? (1934) through its definitive frames.

The setup is so simple it almost feels like a sitcom, but it plays out like a quiet thriller. Pinneberg and Lammchen are madly in love, totally broke, and secretly married because Pinneberg's boss is a weirdly intense guy who refuses to employ married men. 🤫

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Little Man, What Now? (1934) through its definitive frames.

Honestly, the boss's rule is so cartoonish that it made me laugh at first. But then you realize how desperate people were back then, and suddenly it is not very funny anymore. It makes the struggle feel much more realer than most modern dramas that try to depict poverty.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Little Man, What Now? (1934) through its definitive frames.

Margaret Sullavan is the absolute heart of this whole thing. She has this raspy, crackly voice that makes every single line sound like a cozy secret she is sharing only with you.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Little Man, What Now? (1934) through its definitive frames.

There is this one tiny scene where she is staring at a cheap baby carriage in a shop window. She does not even cry, she just smiles with her eyes getting all watery, and it completely wrecked me. 😭

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Little Man, What Now? (1934) through its definitive frames.

Douglass Montgomery is okay as the husband, though he mostly just looks like he has a permanent migraine. I guess I would too if my mom ran a sketchy boarding house and my boss was a tyrant.

The movie does have some really bizarre pacing issues, to be fair. One minute they are literally starving in a freezing attic, and the next they are hanging out at a wild party with Alan Hale.

It is not quite as chaotic as Betty Boop, M.D., but the tonal shifts definitely make you blink a few times. You can almost feel the director trying to figure out if this is a tragedy or a romance.

Odd things I wrote down in my notes:

• The way Lammchen cooks on that tiny stove looks totally real, unlike most actors who handle frying pans like they are alien technology.
• There is a dog in the background of one street scene that keeps staring directly at the camera operator.
• The music gets incredibly loud whenever something sad happens, almost like it is grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you.

Pinneberg's mother is basically a cartoon villain, and her scenes go on way too long. I found myself wishing the movie would just get back to the tiny apartment with the main couple.

Because when the movie is just focusing on them, it is pure magic. It feels so incredibly warm and cozy despite the crushing weight of the world outside their door.

"We have each other, and that's everything."

It sounds cheesy when you write it out on a screen, but when Sullavan says it, you actually believe her. The ending feels a bit rushed, like they suddenly realized they were running out of film, but it still leaves a lump in your throat.