Mascarade

I seen thousands of rare films, this is one of the BEST!

I saw this film in the mid-1980's a film archive screening of a 35mm pristine print. It had been scheduled because no one had run the print in decades and the programmer was curious. The reviews from Variety and the New York Times said this was a wonderful, sophisticated, romantic comedy but that this Austrian version had been bought so that MGM could remake the film with Myrna Loy and William Powell. Unfortunately Loy was in a contract dispute and Luise Rainer was substituted with mixed results. The German language original version hardly got any play. When I saw it with a small group of surprised film buffs a very unusual experience happened. The lights came up after the end credits were over and we rose to our feet dumb founded. Several strangers near by turned to one anther with the same question on their lips, "Is it just me, or was that the best movie we've ever seen?' Quickly the electricity zoomed around the room and it was confirmed! The rapturous talk about this film spread like wild fire. IT'S A CHARMING MASTERPIECE! Now I'm a student of Ernst Lubitsch, Frank Capra and Billy Wilder and this film should be shown again to the public where they too can celebrate this delightful film on par with the work of these masters. Let us all support classic film and the screening of movies on the big screen where they were meant to be seen. And let's all support the film archives who's job it is to find, preserve and present these forgotten wonders of early cinema. It's been almost fifteen years since I've seen this gem and I still pray everyday to see it again. I hope someday to share more of it's charm with my old friends and to make new friends by giving them the joyous experience of this buried treasure.

Beautiful film. Everything is perfect, the acting, the scenes and the plot fit together perfectly.

For me as a German, the direct language used without anglicisms and modern language elements is very refreshing. It is simply fun to watch this film.

The two main actors fit together so well that I can watch this film again and again. There are no weaknesses in the whole cast.

A few years ago I saw this film by chance and was immediately impressed without remembering the name or the names of the actors. I found it again by chance and watch it again and again.

It is a tragedy what happened politically in Germany and Austria, and in this context the Second World War. Unfortunately, the whole film industry has changed in both countries.

Most reviews by IMDB members of this film are ecstatic and with very good reason. This must surely be director Willy Forst's greatest achievement. There is a magic alchemy at work here by which everthing gels. Cinematography by Franz Planer and music by Willy Schmidt-Gentner,played by the Vienna Philharmonic, only add to the films irresistible appeal.What can one say about the cast?! Olga Tschekowa is the woman scorned; Peter Peterson is the doctor who has to make a choice between personal feelings and professional ethics and Hilde von Stolz is his deliciously flirtatious wife whose reading of the line' I am not interested in art, only artists' is unforgettable. Anton Walbrook as the painter brings as always his particular air of mystery. What woman could resist his magnificent chat up line 'You are too beautiful not to be painted'! This film however really belongs to Paula Wessely. It took me a while to forgive her for appearing in the egregious 'Heimkehr' but artistes in those extraordinary times very often made decisions which they had cause to regret and which came back to haunt them. A talent such as hers comes very seldom however and in this she is simply magnificent. As a post-script there is an uncredited appearance by Lisl Handl who was married to the co-writer Walther Reisch. He was a fine director in his own right for whom Lisl starred in 'Silhouetten' in 1936. They went together to Hollywood where she was condemned to appearing in anti-Nazi propoganda films in which she acted under the professional name of Poldi Dur which just happened to be the name of Paula Wessely's character in 'Masquerade'! Willy Forst's masterpiece is also sub-titled, so how could one possibly not see it?! Full marks all round.

A delightful movie, full of atmosphere of the post World War I Vienna. The old elites are officially abolished but still dominant in social life. A scandal - worth the 19th century prudery - is made bearable through the famous Viennese easy-going lifestyle. One can smell the scent of the old Monarchy from every corner along with the tragedy of now only being a small and unimportant country. The story is told quickly, the scenes full of whit and very discreet erotic hints. The leads are cast with two of Austria finest: Paula Wessely and Adolf Wohlbrück (internationally known as Anton Walbrook). If you want to dive deeply into Austrian culture and understanding of the countries roots, then watch this wonderful movie.

Not quite what the legend surrounding it would lead you to believe, "Maskerade" is a quite predictable movie in a Schnitzlerian mode, stylistically akin to any of a number of better Max Ophuls movies of its time (e.g. "Liebelei", "La Signora di Tutti"), not to speak of such later Ophuls masterpieces as "La Ronde" or "Madame de". Willi Forst quite engagingly presents the social life of turn-of-the-century Viennese high society, much as quite a number of the characters he brings into play are stereotypes and character development seems to be outside his range.

The great Paula Wessely, an actress with few peers on the stage --- Edwige Feuillère and Laurette Taylor come to mind --- does what is a routine job as a predictable goodie-two-shoes character. On stage her voice was unforgettable (I saw her live once at the Burgtheater and once at the Akademietheater), the kind of voice you would love to listen to even in a reading of the Vienna phonebook. In this movie her splendid voice is not yet fully developed, but admittedly "Maskerade" was made when Wessely was still in her twenties. Moreover, though touched with a considerable amount of Viennese charm, Wessely was never quite a classic beauty like Isa Miranda, Ophuls' Signora, or Audrey Hepburn who would have made an excellent Leopoldine Dur.

Hans Moser does his shtick here like in any other Hans Moser movie, but without anything specific to set this supposed masterpiece above routine.

In retrospect, the funniest thing maybe is, that Olga Tschechowa, an undistinguished actress with good, though hardly very good, looks, afflicted by an unmistakable frigidity, was revered in the German-speaking world of her time (the Thirties) as some exotic femme fatale.

In the role of the dowager, the respectable Julia Serda pales in comparison with say Dame Edith Evans, the doyenne of moviedom dowagers. The Serda character's "In my days things were more exciting" gimmick goes well once, or even twice, but by the time it is getting to be repeated over and over, one feels that Forst is catering to the taste of some Viennese grannies and not to the needs of a movie of genuine integrity.

On the whole, the rather far-fetched story still manages to flow quite well. "Maskerade" entertains, but it also disappoints.