Victor et Victoria

"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.

I saw this film a number of years ago at a gay film festival at the Tel-Aviv Cinemateque. I knew that it existed -- I think there must have been a credit for it at the end of the Julie Andrews film and just ran to see it while I had the opportunity. The audience seemed to be evenly divided between the gay lesbian community and German/Austrian old timers.

Everyone seemed to have a really good time, despite the poor quality of the copy and the lack of Hebrew subtitles. And, it was quite delightful to overhear two elderly ladies talking about how "Mama" wouldn't let them see the movie when it first came out, and here the were seeing it today!

Viktor und Viktoria is a witty musical comedy of errors: The core idea is that a girl plays a man who plays a girl. Aspiring actress Susanne Lohr (Renate Müller) meets out of work actor Viktor Hempel (Hermann Thimig) while queueing at an agency. Viktor initially boasts about his success on stage, but Susanne pretty quickly sees through him, and from then on they develop a more honest friendship. When Viktor develops a sore throat and can't do his drag act at a vaudeville, Susanne steps in and becomes a huge, international sucess. Complications ensue... 'Viktor und Viktoria' is perfectly charming. It gives us a glimpse of how German cinema might have developed if it had not been taken over by the Nazis - a process that began in the year when this film came out. No wonder it proved influential over decades, inspiring several remakes (none of which I have had a chance to see so far). The plot is fast paced and the gender bending issue is handled with a lot of charm. Dialogues are mostly sung; amazingly, this sounds perfectly natural after a few minutes. Acting is excellent; Müller and Thimig have great comic timing. So have the other actors, of whom Adolf Wohlbrück deserves special praise (he changed his name to Anton Walbrook a little later and emigrated to Britain, where he had a great career). Still, for me the discovery of this film was Renate Müller, whom I had not seen or heard of before. She is simply fantastic as 'Mr Viktoria'. I read up on her and found that while the Nazis courted her for her looks, she refused to seperate from her Jewish boyfriend and to appear in propaganda films. In 1937, she died under suspicious circumstances, falling from an upper floor window soon after the Gestapo had entered the building. I don't know why she did not leave the country like Walbrook did - perhaps she did not trust her English, perhaps she had family in Germany. If she had emigrated, I am sure today she would be as well-known as Marlene Dietrich.

Many are aware that Viktor and Viktoria was remade in the U.S. as Victor/Victoria, but an English-language remake was made the following year in the U.S. starring Jessie Matthews and Barry McKay. The film follows the German script closely including the scene with the geese, but allows McKay to be in on the impersonation much earlier. Intriguingly, neither the German nor UK version contain a single hint of homosexuality -- female and male impersonation were simply accepted theatrical forms. No nudge-nudge wink-wink. One of the more poignant and droll scenes in the German film is when the ambitious thespians descend several flights of stairs in a seedy theatrical booking building, singing to a joyous martial melody that they will climb ever higher and higher-- as they descend and descend.

This film was obviously the inspiration for the 1982 film VICTOR/VICTORIA, but that film went off appropriately in the direction that a contemporary film about gender role-playing should go into. They thankfully did not remake this original film, because this film stands on its own as extremely entertaining, and as a fascinating glimpse into the last carefree days of filmmaking in the Weimar Republic. It is an incredible record of its era. Much of the dialogue is spoken in verse (and very cleverly I might add!), and there are musical numbers that make one reflect on both the Busby Berkeley musicals of 1930s Hollywood and of the film CABARET, made decades later. The cast is exemplary. Renate Muller should have been a bigger star than Marlene Dietrich, and it's exciting to see Anton Walbrook looking younger and more dashing than ever. The film doesn't go into the same risque sexual identity antics that VICTOR/VICTORIA went into, but it still provides some amusing turns on gender role-playing, including a hilarious scene where "Viktoria" gets a shave. It is just a pure delight all the way through, and fans of VICTOR/VICTORIA will enjoy making comparisons.