Seine Tochter ist der Peter (1936) review - Sugary Austrian nostalgia

If you're looking for a lost masterpiece, keep walking. But if you have a soft spot for weird old European films where kids act like miniature adults, Seine Tochter ist der Peter is a fascinating, sugary relic from 1936.

Most modern viewers will probably find the kid's endless cuteness slightly exhausting, though. 🧸

The whole thing revolves around little Elisabeth, who everyone calls 'Peter' for some reason. Her parents are getting a divorce, which is pretty heavy stuff for what is supposed to be a light comedy.

Honestly, the divorce stuff is handled with the subtlety of a car crash. The dad looks like he's about to cry in every single scene he's in.

Traudl Stark plays Peter. She was basically Austria's answer to Shirley Temple back then, and boy, does she know how to work the camera.

Sometimes she's genuinely charming, but other times you can see her waiting for her cue. It's that classic, slightly stiff child-acting style of the thirties where every line is delivered with extreme enthusiasm.

There's this one scene where she is trying to mend her parents marriage and it just goes on for way too long. It is definetly trying to force a tear out of you.

The film reminds me a bit of how they handled family drama in Der Ball, where the kid is stuck in the middle of adult nonsense.

But here, the tone is all over the place. One minute they are joking around with Paul Hörbiger, and the next, everyone is sobbing about custody rights.

Speaking of Paul Hörbiger, he's easily the best part of this. He just has this warm, tired face that makes you wish the movie was actually about him.

The background music is also incredibly loud. Like, they really wanted to make sure you knew when to feel sad.

And the editing is... well, let's just say some transitions are so abrupt you think a scene was cut in half by accident. ✂️

There's a weird subplot with a dog too. I lost track of what the dog was doing, but it seemed very important to the director.

It's not a great movie, but it has this strange, dusty charm. It's like finding an old postcard in an antique shop; you dont really care about the people on it, but you still look at it for a few minutes.

If you liked other light dramas from this era like The Meanest Gal in Town, you might find some enjoyment here.

Just don't expect it to make much sense. It's mostly just a vehicle for a kid star who probably retired five years after this.