There have been many remakes of this movie, mainly in the US and in Germany, but this is the one and only real one!!! Following the book line by line, even the authors comments (given by the author Erich Kästner himself in the movie!) on what is happening, the story is highly enjoyable and more than touching!
Set in Austria/southern Germany in the beginning fifties, the story about the unhappy divorce of the famous musician and conductor Ludwig Palffy and the hardworking (at that time!!!) mother/journalist Louiselotte Körner is ever so realistic. Don't let yourself being prejudiced by it's old appearance; this movie is worth watching! Sentiments and misunderstandings, a laugh and a cry, everything comes up. Here, the switch is kept up for at least a couple of weeks, with all the difficult situations to master. In the later movies, like the latest Parent Trap, how funny and nice that one is, the exchange doesn't last more than a few days. But these original Lotte and Louise had a REALLY hard time, keeping it up so long!
To me, all the main characters are sympathetic, and that's a must in a movie like this. You really want them to get together again, and are so happy when they finally manage! With, as a symbol, Palffy's atelier moved to the condo next door, instead of somewhere else in the city.
The only real minus is the fact that the twins Louise and Lotte don't really look alike. It's quite easy to tell them apart, and therefore rather strange that nobody notices. Their acting isn't all that fantastic either, but on the whole this movie is - at least in my opinion - the best parenttrapmovie ever made.
