...nur ein Komödiant (1935) review - Big wigs and slow drama

Look, if you have a soft spot for dusty, 1930s European costume dramas where everyone looks like they need a good nap, ...nur ein Komödiant is actually a decent watch tonight. But if you can't stand slow-moving black-and-white political schemes and giant powdered wigs, this will probably put you right to sleep. 😴

It's basically about an actor named Florian Reiter who gets a little too flirty with Countess Beate. This is a big no-no back in the 18th century, apparently.

Then we have this lazy Duke who doesn't want to do his job. So he hands all his power over to this incredibly shady minister named von Creven.

Honestly, von Creven is the best part of the movie because he just sneers a lot. You can tell the actor playing him was having a blast being evil.

The whole thing feels a bit like La Tosca but with less singing and more awkward pauses. Actually, the silence in some scenes is so long you think the projector broke.

There is this one scene where Florian is trying to act all noble, and his wig is visibly crooked. I couldn't stop staring at it.

Nobody else on screen seems to notice. Or maybe they were just too polite to say anything to him.

The pacing is pretty uneven, to be honest. The first half drags like a wet blanket, but then the political plotting kicks in and it gets way more interesting.

It reminds me of the weird pacing in The Power of Silence, where you're just waiting for something, anything, to happen.

The dialogue is super dramatic. People don't just say "no," they gasp and turn their whole bodies away from the camera. 🎭

I watched this on a scratchy old copy, and the muffled audio actually made the classical music sound kind of spooky. It worked for me.

Is it a masterpiece? Nah, not really.

But there is a weird charm to how seriously everyone takes themselves. Especially during the ballroom scenes where the extras look like they were kidnapped and forced to dance at gunpoint.

If you're into obscure German-language cinema from before the war, give it a spin. Just don't expect a fast-paced thriller.

Stuff I noticed while watching:

• The Duke's chair looks incredibly uncomfortable. Like, zero lumbar support.
• That one guard in the background who definitely blinked when he wasn't supposed to.
• The Countess has some incredible side-eye skills. 10/10.
• The music swells up so loud during a kiss that it scared my cat.