"Little Man, What Now?" is a miserable story. Now I am NOT saying it's bad...but it is hard to watch and even painful to watch at times. It's the story of a young married couple who are struggling just to survive the economic malaise in post-war Germany...where their Depression was far worse than that which hit the States. Jobs were very hard to come by and life was a serious struggle.
When the film begins, Hans and Emma (Douglass Montgomery and Margaret Sullavan) marry. However, Hans works at a peculiar place...where they ONLY employ bachelors and will fire him if he marries! And, there's a constant push to make the company meaner and leaner--and the employees are warned that one could easily be fired! Well, eventually he is exposed and loses the job and they are poor and hungry. He accepts an offer from his mother to move into her place. Yet, when they arrive, you see his mother is a shallow bi...um...not nice person. She wants to charge them rent and only things about herself and her live-in lover (Alan Hale)...and life is STILL a struggle. Fortunately, Hans gets a job...but ends up losing it and they are miserable once again...a pattern that continues throughout the film. And, oddly, despite their financial problems, the couple seem to occasionally plan and spend very poorly.
If you are looking for a feel-good film, this is NOT it!! It's a portrait of the Depression and Depressions are, by their very nature, depressing!! The film is well made and an interesting historical portrait...but how many folks wanna see something this unappealing and awful?! Yes, post-war Germany (1919-1932) REALLY sucked...and here is sucks in spades!!
By the way, you can tell this is a Pre-code movie when the film begins (it came out a few months before the new Production Code was put into effect). Douglass Montgomery's character is standing outside a gynecologist's office...and it says 'Gynecology' on the sign! You'd never see this in Post-Code films of the 30s, 40s or 50s. Well made but dreadful.
