sasrup Reviews

Kleiner Schwindel am Wolfgangsee (1949)

Susi Nicoletti makes it worth a look

[7/10 · 12 June 2006]

I watched this one yesterday, and I guess I can recommend it, provided you share my preference for those old trashy film comedies. It would maybe be pretty boring, but as always, Susi Nicoletti adds a lot of charm, temper and humor to it.

The story deals with a young man (Hans Holt) who does not dare to confess for his uncle that he has spent his money on becoming an artist instead of a doctor. He keeps pretending he is a doctor and very soon he gets a lot of patients - and that means, even more problems. As a result, there are some funny scenes where Holt has to treat his patients, desperately hiding his lack of competence.

WARNING: Hans Holt and Gunther Philipp appear in bathing suits in this movie. *lol*

Immer nur Du (1941)

Misogynous - but witty and charming

[8/10 · 12 June 2006]

This is one of the nicer musical comedies from the 40's. It's got both wit and charm. Plus it includes the well-known song "Man müsste Klavier spielen können".

One is used to the weird gender roles in the movies from that time - still, the ending of "Immer nur du" is quite extreme, with Heesters chastising his wife until she promises to regard him as the "head of the household", to give up her career - and to let him sing the high notes as long as his huge ego makes him.

But hey, what ideology can you expect from a movie made in 1941, so let's overlook that. The rest of the film is good fun, so I can recommend it.

Le nozze di Figaro - Die Hochzeit des Figaro (1991 TV Movie)

The best "Figaro" ever

[10/10 · 27 November 2005]

I have seen lots and lots of "Figaro" productions, this one definitely being my absolute favorite. The director, Michael Hampe, is one big exception in a world where most directors think that they have the most important job in the theater. He leaves the story where it belongs (18th century, Spain) and treats it in a charming and musical(!) manner.

Thomas Allen, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Dawn Upshaw and Susanne Mentzer do a great job both as singers and as actors. The only disappointment is Kazarnovskaya as the countess, her tremolo being much too strong.

Haitink is a fine conductor - the tempi are perfect.

Really the best "Figaro" EVER!

Liebesgrüße aus Tirol (1964)

Watch it from an ironic distance...

[6/10 · 20 November 2005]

... and you'll probably love it! *g* Austrian actor Peter Weck (quite famous in this country) plays a child psychologist who is offered a job on a castle in Tyrol. There is a catch to it, though: The castle belongs to an eccentric American lady, who thinks that only a father can do this job properly. Dr. Burger (Peter Weck) has no children. In comes a Danish girl called Rena (Gitte Haenning), helping Dr. Burger by pretending that she is his daughter and singing some weird songs like "Die kleinen Mädchen haben brav zu sein" ("Small girls have to be good"). That is the basis for a lot of confusions, including a totally illogical spanking scene where Burger and Rena keep pretending as if they were father and daughter, although they are alone in a room.

If you watch this film from a serious point of view, expecting some kind of sophisticated entertainment, you will surely be disappointed or even shocked by its primitiveness. But if you lean back and watch it with loving sarcasm, you will enjoy it!!