Champagne & Caviar: Four Weimar Comedies (1931-1932)

Description

Flicker Alley is honored to present four musical comedies from the late years of the Weimar Republic, showcasing the “champagne and caviar” days of German cinema, a stark contrast to the dawn of one of history’s darkest periods. These innovative and oft-risqu works feature some big screen stars, such as Peter Lorre, Hedy Lamarr, and Renate Mller, whose starring role in The Private Secretary was once thought partially lost after all prints of her films were ordered to be destroyed by the Nazi regime. A miraculous discovery of two surviving 16mm prints at the Library of Congress now allows us to experience Mller’s charismatic leading performance after decades of silence. While the films themselves are wholly mirthful, they are also case studies of an exuberantly artistic era that championed self-expression and creative freedoms, before the extraordinary flame was snuffed out. Feature Films Include: Die Privatsekretrin (The Private Secretary) (1931) – Renate Mller plays the title role in director Wilhelm Thiele’s workplace comedy (adapted from the 1905 novel by Istvn Szomahzy) about a young woman who goes to work in a bank office in search of a wealthy husband. Der brave Snder (The Upright Sinner) (1931) – Max Pallenberg stars as Leopold Pichler, a haplessly dedicated banker tasked with transporting money to Vienna, but who is unknowingly part of a larger financial scheme on the part of his boss. Directed by Fritz Kortner, The Upright Sinner is based on Alfred Polgar’s play The Embezzlers, in turn based on the novel by Valentin Kataev. Die Koffer des Herrn O.F. (The Trunks of Mr. O.F.) (1931) – Directed by Alexis Granowsky and starring Peter Lorre (arriving on the heels of his star making turn in Fritz Lang’s M) and Hedy Lamarr, The Trunks of Mr. O.F. follows a small German town that turns itself upside down in order to impress an imagined visitor whose extravagant luggage has arrived at the local hotel. Ich bei Tag und du bei Nacht (I By Day, You By Night) (1932) – Ludwig Berger directs the charming romance between Grete (Kthe von Nagy) and Hans (Willy Fritsch), two boarders who rent the same room, one during the day and the other at night. A likely influence on Billy Wilder’s The Apartment, I By Day, You By Night is also infused with an all-singing, all-dancing celebration of the power of cinema.