Terribly dull comedy/drama about Teddy, 'the greatest clown ever' who lost the will to perform after the accidental death of his son (and clown partner). Now he runs a Joke shop, but when his landlady's foster child Ulli kicks his window in, the old performer starts to liven up. Teddy even starts to learn the boy some of his old routines. Unfortunately, Ulli's mother is about to remarry in New York (they always had to have some sort of American connection) and calls for him to be send over. The old clown misunderstands, packs up Ulli and his dog and heads for Switzerland. Once there, they immediately start plastering home made posters on the walls, as if they had this planned all along.
Brief side note. I simply must mention a totally out of place reverse shot that is inserted at the swimming resort: divers are shown catapulting out of the water onto the diving board. At first I thought something was wrong with my video, but using my own rewind button, it turned out they added this on purpose for a cheap laugh. Since this kind of thing normally only happens in Kung Fu fantasies, it makes little sense in an overly sentimental film like this. I mean, who needs a clown act when you can break the laws of gravity?
Finally we get to see the act, once again called Teddy und Teddy (apparently old Teddy has shaken of any nasty memories). As this was supposed to be the funniest clowns act ever, our expectations are high. It turns out to consist mainly of moving suitcases and stuff (quite impressive seeing as they have no accomplices), while both the Teddy's are playing instruments. Apparently Ulli learned all this while driving from Germany to Switzerland. But the sister of his mothers fiancée is on Ulli's trail. When she finds them, the woman decides to follow them a while longer, probably so their parting will have an even greater impact near the end. Unfortunately for us, this means more shots of them driving around town.
Actor Heinz Ruhmann (the original Teddy) was incredibly popular with German audiences at this time and if you can make it all the way through, you do realize why. His performance as the sad clown can hardly be faulted. Still, unless you're going through a depression of your own, you will have a hard time sitting this one out.
5 out of 10
