A Viennese Bonbon!!!
Lilian Harvey was a European star who truly did get "lost in translation". She was one of Germany's top musical stars (even though she was English, her father was a diplomat) but when she was bought to Hollywood because of the success of "Der Kongress Tanze" the timing couldn't have been worse. Her fey romanticism was completely out of step with "42nd Street" and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" depression reality and her films "My Lips Betray" and "My Weakness" were flops. But in the Germany of the early 30s she and leading man Willy Fritsch (an extremely versatile star who had the misfortune to be Hitler's favourite actor) were dazzlingly popular and they positively sparkled in this movie. It was a huge international success and was helped by Lil Dagover as a glamorous sophisticate, the wonderful Conrad Veidt as the Machiavellan Metternich and a delightful score that captured the free spirit of Vienna of the 1810s.Charell used the Vienna congress only as a background to the real story of Christel (Harvey), a kittenish glove sales girl who is causing an uproar because of her unconventional methods of advertising (she throws flower bouquets advertising her shop "The Beautiful Shepherdess" to all visiting dignitaries as they ride by in their coaches). She is determined to do the same to the Tsar Alexander (Fritsch) of Russia - unfortunately the townsfolk think it is a bomb!! (a hilarious sequence where the poor little bouquet is kicked and stamped on!!!) and Christel finds herself in prison facing "25 beatings of the cane on her naked behind"!!!
The Tsar has a double (also played by Fritsch), Ulralsky, a good natured buffoon who stands in for him at public appearances. The real Tsar gets Christel pardoned. Again a funny sequence where the prison guard is pretty upset at being stopped from beating her behind by the Tsar - his face says it all!! Christel and the Tsar go to a beer garden and there is a beautiful rousing song "Das Muss ein Stueck Von Himmel sein, Wien und der Wein" - it is such a pretty, popular song and it originated in this movie. This is followed by the spectacular Polovetsian Dances by Borodin.
The highlight, to me, is Christel's ride in an open carriage to the castle she has been given by the Tsar. Her happiness and emotion come out in the song "It Only Happens Once in a Lifetime". The refrain is picked up by people along the journey, farmers, flower sellers, children in the fields. While all this is going on, Metternich, who doesn't want the Tsar at the congress, enlists the help of the seductive Countess (Lil Dagover) to charm the other "Tsar" from his duties. The film ends on a bitter sweet note - the Tsar returns to Russia and Christel to her ever faithful sweetheart, Pepi.
It is just an extraordinarily joyous musical - at the end there is also a "dance of the chairs". This movie was popular world wide - it had a sumptuous, almost fairy tale appeal and hit American shores when cinema owners were trying to lure patrons in with signs that said "This is Not a Musical". Americans had over-dosed on tons and tons of often substandard musicals - these frothy European bonbons proved there was a place for musical perfection.
Director Eric Charell was also bought to America on the strength of this movie but his only directorial credit in the States was "Caravan" (1934) and it wasn't very good.
Highly, Highly Recommended.
score 10/10
kidboots 9 June 2011
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2441173/35199
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