Ich bei Tag und du bei Nacht

I by Day, You by Night (Ich bei tag und du bei nacht) is an enjoyable black and white Germany musical comedy -- fully subtitled, even the songs. It was filmed in the spring of 1932 and released in November of that year (this was the year before Hitler became Chancellor and Goebbels started exerting authority over German cinema). There are some great songs in the movie and the Director takes the audience to some nice exterior shots around old Berlin and Potsdam, a beautiful suburb of Berlin where the Sanssouci Palace and other estates of Germany's House of Hohenzollern are located. The film also seemed to have some subtle pokes at Hitler, as there is a character in the film called "Wolf" who is a sort of a hanger on, sponging off of the wealthy executive's daughter in the film (Wolf was Hitler's nickname that some old friends and comrades called him). But the film is not overtly political, and is filmed with good humor. Much German cinema of that period, when it wasn't political (and not all of it was, even in the '30s and '40s), is enjoyable and well-acted. Fans of TCM and the old films should rediscover classic European cinema of the interwar period like this one. Käthe von Nagy is delightful and Willy Fritsch is funny as always. Longtime stage actress Elisabeth Lennartz is also very good, though underused. The Comedian Harmonists also make an appearance.