Was Frauen träumen: A weird, old-school heist-romance

Is this thing worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for pre-war German cinema and don't mind a plot that feels like it was scribbled on a napkin in a cafe, then sure. It's short, it's light, and it’s surprisingly nimble. But if you need your movies to be gritty or make perfect logical sense, you might find yourself staring at the wall halfway through.

Nora Gregor plays a singer who just can't keep her hands out of other people's pockets. It’s not about the money. It’s just the adrenaline. There’s a particular look she gets when she’s eyeing a trinket in a department store that’s actually kind of funny—like she’s genuinely offended by the existence of security.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Was Frauen träumen (1933) through its definitive frames.

Then she meets a guy. The shift in her personality is immediate, which is the kind of storytelling shortcut that only works in movies from this era. She goes from a professional shoplifter to a blushing mess in the span of one scene. It’s a bit jarring, honestly.

The Wilder touch?

You can see the seeds of what Billy Wilder would do later, especially in the way the dialogue snaps back and forth. It isn't Double Indemnity, obviously. It’s much more like a polished, upscale version of Sto metrów milosci but with better hats.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Was Frauen träumen (1933) through its definitive frames.

There is a scene in a hotel corridor that goes on for a few seconds too long. You can see the actors waiting for their cue to start the next bit of business. It’s charming in a 'we’re all just doing our best' kind of way.

• Peter Lorre is in here, obviously. He has this way of blinking that makes you think he’s hiding a bomb in his vest pocket.
• The department store sets feel surprisingly big. They have that weird, cavernous echo that old black-and-white films have.
• I spent most of the movie wondering if she was actually going to get caught or if the film was just going to ignore the law entirely. Spoiler: it leans toward the latter.

It’s not as chaotic as Kicked About, but it has that same frantic energy. The pacing is weirdly uneven, like the editor was sprinting for a train. One moment we're in a high-stakes shoplifting scenario, the next we're in a slow-burn romance, and then suddenly the whole thing is over before you can really digest it.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a fun way to spend an hour? Yeah, I think so. 🕵️‍♀️