Zwei glückliche Tage (1930) review - A loud, sweaty relic of early talkies

You should only watch Zwei glückliche Tage if you have a weird obsession with the very beginning of sound cinema. If you want a smooth, sensible story, you will probably hate this with a passion. 🤷‍♂️

It is basically a filmed stage play where everyone is terrified the microphone hidden in the flower vase won't hear them. Everyone shouts their lines like they are trying to be heard over a passing train.

The plot is something about a family mix-up and some supposedly happy days, but honestly, I lost track after the third time someone entered a room and gasped. The story is just an excuse for people to slam doors and look highly stressed.

Ida Wüst is here, looking like she wants to strangle the sound engineer. She spends half her scenes shouting at Max Gülstorff, who has this incredibly nervous energy.

I kept staring at his mustache during his big speech. It looks like it might slide right off his face if he sweats any harder. 😅

The whole thing has the frantic, messy energy of older silent comedies like Das Eskimobaby, but with way more clinking tea cups. Seriously, the sound effects are the funniest part of the whole experience.

Every single time a character puts a glass down on a table, it sounds like a small explosion. Early sound technology was really something else.

There is this one scene where Paul Hörbiger shows up, and you can instantly tell why he became a massive star later on. He just has that natural charm.

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

He is the only actor who doesn't look like he is trying to shout down the microphone. Instead, he just glides through the room while everyone else is sweating through their heavy suits.

Oskar Sima also pops up, looking incredibly young and slightly confused about where he is supposed to stand. I think he actually missed his mark in the hallway scene because he awkwardly shuffles backward for two seconds.

It is those little mistakes that make these old films so fun to watch today. It feels much more alive than the sterile, green-screen movies we get now.

Sure, it is not a beautiful masterpiece like Venus im Frack, which had that gorgeous silent visual flow. But there is a stupid, clumsy charm to these two happy days.

By the way, the title is a total lie. Nobody in this movie looks happy; they all look like they are on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Especially the extra playing the maid. There is a moment where she just stares directly into the camera lens for a solid five seconds while holding a tray.

I wonder if anyone noticed that during editing, or if they just couldn't afford to shoot another take. I like to think it was the latter.

Anyway, if you like dusty old comedies where people run in and out of rooms screaming, give it a go. Just turn your volume down first. 🔊