Was Frauen träumen

This film essentially begins with a kleptomaniac by the name of "Rina Korff" (Nora Gregor) being observed by an extremely wealthy man known simply as "Mr. Levassor" (Kurt Horwitz) stealing a precious stone from a jewelry store. However, when the store manager calls the police to report the theft, Mr. Levassor pays for the item to partially alleviate the situation. Yet even though the owner is quite satisfied with the transaction, the knowledge that an infamous international thief may have just entered his jurisdiction sparks the interest of a police detective named "Agent Kleinsilber" (Otto Walburg) who sees a promotion in his future if he can apprehend her. So, with the assistance of his bumbling colleague "Otto Fuessli" (Peter Lorre), they immediately question everybody who may have some knowledge related to the case. Of particular interest is the information supplied by a perfume salesman named "Walter Koenig" (Gustav Frohlich) who successfully identifies the rare fragrance from a glove she left behind. Having now obtained a complete description of her, their task is much easier--and this makes Walter feel quite guilty. So much so, that he decides to help her evade the law. But what he doesn't realize is, that the more they get to know each other, the stronger their feelings for each other increase. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an entertaining movie which benefited from good performances by both Nora Gregor and Peter Lorre. Admittedly, it is a bit dated but, even so, I enjoyed this film for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly.

If you were to watch a few scenes from this film with the sound off, you would see elegantly dressed, upper class people in swanky settings, sipping cocktails and exchanging meaningful looks. Next, you'd likely notice a pair of tubby, comic relief detectives who can't seem to do anything right. You would see some nicely composed shots, with occasional flashy effects using sharp perspective, and a close-up or two filmed through heavy cigarette smoke. You might well conclude that this film was made in Hollywood, perhaps at Paramount. It's not quite up to the quality level of an Ernst Lubitsch picture, but looks like it was made by filmmakers who admired the Lubitsch style.

Turn up the sound, however, and you'll find that the actors are speaking German. Was Frauen Träumen ("What women dream") was made in Berlin, and released shortly after Hitler came to power. But there's nothing about politics here; this is a light romantic comedy, not unlike Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise, made the previous year. This one also concerns jewel thievery, committed by the sort of glamorous people who would look perfectly comfortable dining at the Yacht Club with the cream of society, smoothly exchanging quips—only to depart, late in the evening, with a satchel full of stolen goods.

The story concerns a nightclub singer named Rina (Nora Gregor), who compulsively steals jewelry from the finest shops. She's cool and smart, but even she can't figure out what's happening when a mysterious older gentleman begins trailing her. Every time she steals a gem, this gent arrives on the scene soon afterward and pays for it. (His motivation is not explained until late in the game.) Meanwhile, Rina is investigated by a pair of bumbling detectives (Peter Lorre and Otto Wallburg). Füssli, the cop played by Lorre, happens upon the clue that breaks the case: a glove that Rina left behind in a jewelry shop, which bears the aroma of a distinctive perfume. Füssli's young friend Koenig (Gustav Fröhlich) happens to work in a parfumerie, and recognizes the scent as a very expensive one called "What Women Dream." This leads the police—and Koenig—to Rina, but she eludes capture. A romance develops between the lady thief and the perfume dealer. She swears she'll reform, but then the older gentleman intervenes. He too is a thief, and admires the lady's technique. He wants her to team up with him, but she resists. Will Rina go straight? Or will those hapless cops finally catch up with her before she can make amends?

Several of the actors here are familiar from other, more widely seen films. Gustav Fröhlich is remembered for his performance as Freder in Fritz Lang's classic Metropolis, while Nora Gregor is best known for Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game. Incidentally Miss Gregor is strikingly attractive, and looks elegant in every scene of this film, even when she's lounging about in the leading man's dressing gown. (Perhaps then in particular.) But needless to say, Peter Lorre is the most familiar player of all. He has a prominent featured role, and his spirited comic turn is something to savor. His detective Füssli distinguishes himself by repeatedly trapping himself in his own handcuffs, but his best scene comes when he sits at a piano at Koenig's apartment and jauntily sings a silly song about how cute policemen are, bobbing up and down to the rhythm as he accompanies himself. (Lorre's piano playing was obviously faked, but the singing voice is his own.) The punchline comes when Rina joins him in a duet, and deftly picks his pocket of several items before the number ends.

Was Frauen Träumen is quite enjoyable and well worth seeking out, but, as with all German productions from this period, no matter how light-hearted, there a dark undercurrent impossible to ignore. When watching German films of the early '30s I always wonder what became of the actors and crew members behind the scenes during the subsequent years. Sadly, the lives of Nora Gregor and Otto Wallburg, who were Jewish, ended too soon. Gregor managed to escape the Nazis but eventually died by her own hand, while Wallburg was detained, and later murdered at Auschwitz. Other personnel were more fortunate. Billy Wilder, who co-authored the screenplay, was surely the biggest success story to emerge from the project. He made it to America, wrote for Lubitsch and others, and subsequently became one of Hollywood's top directors.

This pleasant romantic comedy stands as an entertaining but poignant memento of its time and place, a souvenir of an elegant, classy world that, all too soon, would be destroyed.

Nora Gregor is a cabaret singer who gets a kick out of stealing gemstones. Gustav Fröhlich runs a perfume shop, and his expertise with scents helps clever-stupid police detective Peter Lorre track her down, while his supervisor, Otto Wallburg, bumbles along. Kurt Horwitz is the fellow who stops Miss Gregor from being arrested by following her around and paying the jewelers for the stones she's just stolen. Obviously he wants her, but Fröhlich and Miss Gregor are in love, and they believe that love will keep her from stealing.

It's a musical comedy, with a couple of songs. Lorre gets into a duet with Miss Gregor, singing a song about how all the girls love policemen; his piano-faking is awful. There are a couple of big production numbers towards the end, but once Lorre stops getting stuck in the handcuffs he's invented, not that many good jokes.

This early German comedy of the era of sound films has really aged well and remains surprisingly entertaining. It's a light comedy, probably made for the female audience, including some musical numbers (the title song "Der Weg zu dir" is repeated in various versions plus there is the song "Ja, die Polizei.." sung by Peter Lorre and Nora Gregor).

This is the plot:

In this pre-WWII German mystery-comedy, a lovely kleptomaniac with a taste for fine jewelry is unable to resist temptation. Strangely, every time she steals something, a mysterious man pays for it. A clumsy detective begins investigating and finds a crucial clue: a strongly scented woman's glove. The perfume is an expensive scent and the detective's pal realizes that it belongs to a popular nightclub singer. The friend quickly becomes enamored of the girl, but then so does her mystery man, a notorious international criminal. Eventually he gets arrested, leaving the detective's pal to move in on the singer.

The beginning is very promising, everything is put on in a very clever way... but to get to the big happy ending the film then tends to a more conventional romantic comedy plot. The kleptomaniac central character promises that she will end her criminal career for the man she truly loves. It is THAT easy to get rid of your addictions!

Anyway it is a film worth seeing, well done, with a lot of nice funny ideas and characters esp. Peter Lorre's part of Herr Fuessli.