Quick (1932) review - A weird, frustrating German comedy that I somehow liked

If you love dusty, weird 1930s German comedies with lots of singing and identity crises, you will probably have a blast with Quick. But if you can't stand old movies where people make incredibly frustrating romantic decisions, skip this one immediately.

It is a very strange little film that doesn't quite know what it wants to be. But that is exactly why I kind of liked it. 🤷‍♂️

The plot is basically about Eva (Lilian Harvey) who is staying at a fancy health spa. She gets completely obsessed with a theatrical performer named "Quick" (played by Hans Albers) who wears a ton of heavy clown makeup.

She sneaks out of the spa constantly just to watch him. He looks pretty creepy in the makeup if you ask me, but she is totally smitten.

Then she goes backstage to meet him. But when she gets there, he is out of his makeup and looks like a normal guy.

Here is the kicker. He falls for her, but instead of just saying "Hey, I am the clown you like," he pretends to be a regular manager guy named Karl.

He tries to make her fall in love with his actual self. But Eva is stubborn. She only wants "Quick" and treats normal Karl like some random helper.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Quick (1932) through its definitive frames.

It is so frustrating to watch! You just want to shake them both and tell them to stop playing games.

Hans Albers is actually pretty charming here, even though his clown character is a bit much. He has this big, booming energy that almost makes the ridiculous setup work.

Lilian Harvey is cute too, though her character is kind of a spoiled brat. She has this way of pouting that gets a little old after the third time.

The spa setting is cool though. It has that clean, slightly sterile early-sound-era look.

It reminds me a bit of the random variety show vibes in Elstree Calling, though this one has an actual plot. Sort of.

There is a scene where they are in a music shop, and it just goes on forever. They are playing records and it feels like the director forgot to yell cut.

Actually, the whole movie has this loose, "let's see what happens" pace. Some scenes just end abruptly.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Quick (1932) through its definitive frames.

Like, one minute they are arguing, and the next, there is a random musical number. It's very jarring but funny.

I noticed the sound quality is pretty rough in some parts. There is this constant hiss in the background that sounds like frying bacon. 🥓

But that is part of the charm of these early talkies, I guess. You can see they were still figuring out where to put the microphones.

If you liked Not Quite Decent for its weird early-sound melodrama, this has a similar antique energy, just with more German humor.

Is it a masterpiece? Absolutely not.

But it has this sweet, innocent stupidity to it that is hard to hate.

Odd things I noticed while watching:

• The weirdly large clown shoes that look painful to walk in.
• A dog in the background of the spa lobby that looks highly confused by the cameras.
• How everyone in 1932 seemed to wear hats even when they were clearly indoors.

Just don't expect the romance to make any logical sense. If you can accept the silly premise, it is a fun time travel trip to Weimar-era cinema.