Dreimal Komödie

Germany in February 1945: Hitler was in his Berlin bunker, the Russians were advancing through East Prussia, the British were bombing Dresden, the Americans were preparing to cross the Rhine – and in Bavaria actors and technicians were making "Dreimal Komödie." Although this film was released in 1949, it had been completed four years earlier. From watching it, you would never guess.

"Dreimal Komödie" is a silly, escapist, romantic comedy, set in a prosperous peaceful Germany where politics never impinge. In style, it is very close to what Americans call screwball comedy. The humour arises from the characters telling preposterous lies without the slightest hesitation (and never resenting being told preposterous lies either). Ilse Brand (Margot Hielscher), a young couturier, is worried that her schoolgirl sister, Ulla, may be posing for a sculptor named Professor von Arnim, who specialises in nudes and has an unconscious habit of unbuttoning other people's clothing. Going to rescue Ulla from supposed moral danger, she meets Arnim and his musician friend Geiger. Both are instantly smitten with Ilse, and the rest of the film consists of their pursuing her with a persistence that would amount to harassment in reality - only "Dreimal Komödie" is always very far from reality. The title, "Three times a comedy," seems to relate to the deceptions practised when the men follow her to the countryside: Ilse pretends that her cousin is her fiancé, Geiger pretends that he has a broken leg, and Arnim pretends that the house in which they are staying was once the home of Goethe.

Personally, I found the relentless levity of "Dreimal Komödie" just too inconsequential, but it is a well-made film of its kind. In playing a sculptor, Ferdinand Marian (Professor von Arnim) may be unconvincing, but in playing a humorously urbane skirt-chaser, he is highly accomplished; his 'star quality' is evident. Paul Dahlke makes a thoroughly competent foil as Herr Geiger. Margot Hielscher is not so skilled in comedy, but she is beautiful, and her comparatively straight acting makes it a repeated surprise when Ilse is shown to be as dishonest and mischievous as the men.

What kept me watching "Dreimal Komödie" was the consciousness of when and where it was made. That a film like this could emerge from a nation in the abyss says something about the human spirit - though what exactly is perhaps debatable. Of course, the British during the Blitz made George Formby and Arthur Askey films, but these often contained a hint of patriotism. There is nothing of that sort here, only frivolousness with an under-current of sex, although Marian had earlier taken leading roles in Nazi propaganda films and Hielscher regularly entertained the troops as a singer. Whatever you may think of the comedy, circumstances make this film rather extraordinary.