Ulicnice (1936) review - absolute chaotic 1930s Czech energy

If you have eighty minutes to spare and want to see a 1930s Czech girl cause absolute, unfiltered chaos, yes, you should watch this. It is perfect for anyone who loves old-school screwball comedies where everyone talks at twice the normal speed.

But if you hate black-and-white films with subtitles and theatrical acting, please stay far away. 😅

The movie is called Ulicnice—which basically means a tomboy or a street scamp—and it stars the energetic Věra Ferbasová. She plays a young woman who basically refuses to grow up and behaves like a wild child to avoid getting married off.

To escape her fancy family, she disguises herself as a young boy. It is the classic Shakespearean trope, but played with the frantic energy of a cartoon character.

Honestly, her disguise is terrible. She just puts on a flat cap and trousers, but somehow everyone in this movie is completely blind.

There is this one scene where she is hiding under a table and she keeps biting the legs of the guests. It goes on for so long that it starts to feel awkward, and then it becomes incredibly funny again.

The legendary Oldřich Nový shows up too. He plays a rich suitor and his facial expressions are just gold.

He looks like he is constantly trying to smell something slightly off. Every time Ferbasová does something crazy, his left eyebrow does this tiny twitch that I could watch on loop.

It reminds me a bit of the chaotic energy in Impossible Catherine, though this one feels even more low-budget and homemade.

Sometimes the sound design is just... gone. There are scenes where people are clearly shouting, but the background is dead silent, like they recorded it in a tiny wooden box.

Also, the music just starts and stops randomly. One second a violin is screaming at you, and the next second it is like someone unplugged the record player.

But that is exactly why I love these old European comedies. They are so messy and alive.

Stuff that made me laugh (or scratch my head)

• The butler who looks like he has never smiled in his entire life, even when a girl is biting his ankle.
• A very strange song number that feels like it belongs in a completely different movie.
• The fact that no one notices her voice is about three octaves higher than any boy's voice.

The romance at the end is super rushed, obviously. They basically look at each other, realize she is actually a girl, and boom—wedding bells.

Don't expect some deep masterpiece here. It is just a very loud, very fast piece of history that doesn't care about making sense.

If you are in the right mood, it's a total blast.