User reviews

As a part of the war debt program, this film was channelled straight into the Soviet Union, distributed by SovExpoFilm. This might explain the total lack of glamor. It's all good, clean working class fun without sex, without pretty clothes, without jazz. The motive of simple workers putting up a community theatre (obviously influenced by Summer Stock) is enough to make the story line rather uninteresting. Another strong motive is that of national culture (remember the golden Soviet word of wisdom? "National in shape, Socialist in essence".) You get a lot of national tunes and dances from several (then new) Eastern Block countries, to underline the friendship of nations and diversity of their cultures (but you were never allowed to forget, that Russian culture is superior to that of the smaller nations, and eventually everything will me melted down into one great Soviet nation with Soviet language and culture).

There's a lot of unnecessary energy and gaiety (no pun intended) in this devastatingly optimistic film of how the workers can overcome every obstacle, once they just stand shoulder to shoulder. Gone is the fun, sex appeal and self irony of earlier Marika Rökk / Georg Jacoby pictures. This one is made to please millions of Soviet workers in the Houses of Culture of their villages, krays and oblasts. I haven't seen them all, but this one is probably the most boring of all Marika Rökk films.

On the other hand, the colours are bright and Marika herself, with her flaming golden hair, is beautifully lit and looks gorgeous in her close-ups. When the camera pulls back, you notice that she wears mostly shapeless aprons and skirts or national costume inspired frocks, and that her waistline has swollen to the point of obscenity. Strangely enough, she looks beautifully slim in the films that were released only a year later.

As in many (dare I say most) of her films, she also gets a trouser scene. But voluptuous Marika in drag makes a repulsively pear-shaped boy who couldn't possibly appeal to even a Peeping Tom of the dirtiest category.

Since I was a little boy I'm a fan of Marika Roekk. Therefore, I was looking forward to get my hands on a copy of this little known film of hers.But what a disappointment. The story is very silly, and the film seems even for the year 1950 very antiquated and stuffy. Marika Roekk acts stiff in this film and the rest of the cast is even more hopeless. Especially the leading man is very annoying. Only Josef Egger acts natural. Watch out for a very young Nadja Tiller, who makes her film debut in this one. - My advice is 'Don't watch this film'! It's only worth mentioning for being the first Austrian colour movie.