Un semblant d'époux

This 1936 comedy hails from Finland but it could just as easily have come from one of Hollywood's Poverty Row studios like RKO. The leads could easily have been Fred and Ginger, (yes, there are songs), or maybe Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea. It's a typical comedy of 'mistaken identity' where a young secretary needs to produce a husband in order to get a job. The guy she picks happens to be the best friend of her boss's son who's in love her. Things get even more complicated when the surrogate husband's paramour turns up.

It's well constructed but it's not very funny, (I doubt if it would be funny in any language), even if the cast give it everything they've got. Regina Linnanheimo is particularly good as the vamp and Hilja Jorma is excellent in the Billie Burke/Alice Brady role; indeed, it's even got a Mischa Auer lookalike. A curio but an entertaining one.

...and a little later there was Mieheke.They both are from the same year, 1936, and they're both directed and written by the same persons, Valentin Vaala and Hilja Valtonen.Tauno Palo's seen also in this movie.Ansa Ikonen's replaced by the extremely beautiful Tuulikki Paananen in this one, the lady who went to Hollywood.She plays Irmeli Venes who applies for the job as a secretary but finds out they prefer married women.So she lies she's married and makes a total stranger her husband.That stranger is Reino Lahtinen (Palo).All kind of funny stuff comes along as they go on with their little scheme.This is a very good example of old Finnish comedy, a kind of movie they don't make these days.It's of course very well acted.Tuulikki Paananen didn't go to Hollywood for nothing.She's got the talents that are required in the business.Tauno Palo is always great.There's also the beautiful and gifted Regina Linnanheimo in the role of Virma Suokuma.Uuno Laakso is Heikki Markkula, Hilma Jorma plays his wife and their son Ensio is played by Helmer Kaski.There are in smaller roles names like Siiri Angerkoski (Angry woman outside phone booth) and Risto Orko (Manager of Suomi-Filmi).There are plenty of hilarious moments in the film.One of my favorites is where Irmeli and Reino find a big empty house in the middle of nowhere and start playing house.I recommend this movie for all the Suomi-Filmi fans.

After the good success of "Vaimoke" (1936) Valentin Vaala decided to order a complete script for screen from its writer Hilja Valtonen. Instead of Ansa Ikonen the leading role went to a new star Tuulikki Paananen who even managed to get to Hollywood one day.

The idea is about the same as last time when our girl has to pretend a marriage with the first man she meets to keep her job. Temperamental Paananen does her job well and so do the others. In the end the tempo speeds up even near the classic screw-balls of the era.

Though Vaalas directing is somewhat clumsy "Mieheke" is still definitely a great piece of face comedy.