IMDb > Little Man, What Now? (1934)

Little Man, What Now? (1934) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   162 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Frank Borzage
Writers:
Hans Fallada (novel)
William Anthony McGuire (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Little Man, What Now? on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 May 1934 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
A young couple struggling against poverty must keep their marriage a secret in order for the husband to keep his job, as his boss doesn't like to hire married men. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
Moving tale of struggling young couple in 1920s Germany more (7 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Margaret Sullavan ... Emma 'Lammchen' Pinneberg
Douglass Montgomery ... Hans Pinneberg
Alan Hale ... Holger Jachman
Catherine Doucet ... Mia Pinneberg
DeWitt Jennings ... Emil Kleinholz
G.P. Huntley ... Herr Heilbutt
Muriel Kirkland ... Marie Kleinholz
Fred Kohler ... Karl Goebbler

Mae Marsh ... Wife of Karl Goebbler
Donald Haines ... Emil Kleinholz Jr.
Christian Rub ... Herr Puttbreese
Alan Mowbray ... Franz Schluter
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
91 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)
Company:
Universal Pictures more

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
Version of Kleiner Mann - was nun? (1973) (TV) more

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User Comments

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful.
Moving tale of struggling young couple in 1920s Germany, 1 April 2004
Author: Arne Andersen (aandersen@landmarkcollege.org) from Putney, VT

Similar in tone and approach to Vidor's THE CROWD and Borzage's own BAD GIRL, this film looks at a struggling young couple in 1920s Germany. Douglass Montgomery and Margaret Sullavan are perfectly cast as the young couple, in love and in turmoil trying to make ends meet.

They marry because she is pregnant (a racy situation for just-pre code Hollywood). He is employed as a single man by a father who is looking to find a husband for his daughter and therefore tries to keep his marriage a secret. He is found out and sacked. The couple then go to live with his stepmother, who runs a sort of brothel for middle aged men seeking companionship. Both he and his wife are in the dark about this. He has a low paying job, made available by his stepmother's beau (and co-owner of the brothel), who constantly makes advances towards his wife.

In the end he is out of work again, the brothel broken up, and his wife gives birth. Here the story should end, perhaps with tragedy (the child's death, a suicide?) to stay within the Germanic heaviness of the plot - but Borzage provides a last minute happy ending that does not fit with the rest of the film.

Montgomery is very appealing and acts well, as does Sullavan. Alan Hale is memorable as Jachman, the brothel owner and Catherine Doucet makes the most of her role as the dotty stepmother.

A good little film worth seeing. Although its official timing here on IMDB is 91 minutes, the print I saw ran for 98.

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