The oldest of a quartet of films based on the same story.

MartinHafer

"Viktor und Viktoria" was directed by Reinhold Schünzel and came out at an unusual time period in Germany. Had it come out just a few years later, the Nazi government surely would have labeled it as degenerate and censored it. After all, the plot has a lot of elements of tranvestism and possible homosexuality--subjects the new Reich would never allow in theaters. But, in 1933, the Nazis just came to power and were slowly consolidating their power and were not yet a dictatorship-- so such a movie was released to theaters and was a success. In fact, the director ALSO filmed a French language version--with the same sets but with different leading actors. In fact, the film worked so well that the Brit made their own version, "First a Girl", just two years later--and of the three, I definitely prefer the British remake. And, speaking of remakes, Hollywood remade this decades later as "Victor/Victoria".

"Vikor und Viktoria" is a musical--but not in the way the British film was made. Instead of having a lot of kitschy musical numbers (which I loved) like the British film, much of the song consisted of sung dialog. It worked okay--but the lyrics lacked the humor of the British ones. Additionally, the gay aspects of the film were REALLY de-emphasized (perhaps to kiss up to the new Nazi regime)--making Viktor, somehow, more 'butch'.

The film begins with Susanne trying unsuccessfully to get a job as a singer. Though she has a lovely job, it doesn't seem to mater. And, after she and Viktor both lose jobs the same day, they meet up and become friends. Unfortunately, soon Viktor loses his voice--and this is a serious problem since he had another interview. So he has an idea-- Susanne should try out in his place. What's the role? He's trying out as a man who dresses and pretends to be a woman---only Susanne now has to pretend to be a man pretending to be a woman! It's all confusing...and rather cute. But, the characters and plot, to me, were missing something. It wasn't only the music, but the British version was just more likable and sweet. This one, in contrast, looked a bit flat. Still, it IS worth seeing--clever and unique for its time.

score 6/10

MartinHafer 15 July 2014

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3050969/