Sok hühó Emmiért

I don't know whatever possessed me to watch this (English title 'Much Ado About Emmi') but I'm sure glad I did! It's simply a hilarious movie, and the girl Emmi reminded me very strongly of Katharine Hepburn's Susan from Bringing Up Baby. She was totally and utterly mad, and determined to do anything and everything to get her man!

The only thing that bothered me with the movie was how, when a tramp stole Gabor's clothes (while he and Emmi were swimming), we never even saw him react. We just see him, in the next scene, happily walking along in the tramp's rags. What is with that? And when he accidentally set their rucksack alight. You'd think they'd stamp out the fire, rather than just watch it burn and go "oh well, there goes all our money!" Boy oh boy ;) But apart from that, I can find no fault. And the scene with Emmi singing is lovely, even if I had no idea what words she was saying!

Determinedly frothy Hungarian light comedy, which sets up a few promising ideas that it never explores - a bit of THEODORA GOES WILD with the butler's supposed daughter Szeleczky attempting to take the starch out of employer Javor but becoming discomforted herself.

After disrupting his engagement party, she challenges him to walk with rucksacks from Budapest to Partraynos, like students. Soon it's "I'm worn out from all the play acting."

The over-aged leads are determinedly cheerful and glamorous - not altogether convincingly. the film lacks the charm of the operetta movies of the thirties and just gets by on smooth production. The parade of gesticulating character players must have meant more to its intended audience. Include amiable butler Czortas, once the lead of Michael Curtiz Hungarian silents.

This film was included in a batch of early Hungarian films playing on SBS Australia till the National lobby campaigned to have them removed as insidious right wing propaganda, including an article in the local Communist (I thought they were all in some theme Park, in Latavia now) news paper.

Not a peep from the Freedom of Expression lot!