CHAMPAGNE & CAVIAR: FOUR WEIMER COMEDIES

Flicker Alley is honored to present four musical comedies from the late years of the Weimar Republic, showcasing the "champagne and caviar" days of German cinema, a stark contrast to the dawn of one of history's darkest periods. This collection is being done with generous underwriting and funding from the Sunrise Foundation for Education & the Arts and the Villa Aurora / Thomas Mann House, Inc. serving as fiscal sponsor.

Featured at the 2022 Il Cinema Ritrovato as part of The Last Laugh series curated by Lukas Foerster, the stories behind the scenes of this unique musical genre (dubbed "Tonfilmlustspiel" or "sound film comedies"), have, unfortunately, become more timely and relevant than ever.

"Even more than other genres of German cinema of the Weimar Republic," Foerster writes, "the Tonfilmlustspiel is inextricably linked to the work of Jewish directors, screenwriters, producers, composers, and actors originating from all over Germany as well as, quite often, Austria, who had found the blossoming cultural metropolis Berlin to be a welcoming place during the 1920s. Almost none of them were able to continue working in Germany after Adolf Hitler's rise to power."

Some big screen stars, such as Peter Lorre (whose role in Die Koffer des Herrn O.F. (The Trunks of Mr. O.F.) arrived on the heels of his star making turn in Fritz Lang's M), expatriated from Europe in the ensuing years. Others, like Renate Müller, who leads Die Privatsekretärin (The Private Secretary), were not so lucky, and met with unfortunate ends during the Nazi regime as Hitler ordered all prints of her films destroyed. Once thought partially lost, two 16mm prints of the film were discovered in 2017 at the Library of Congress, allowing for Müller's charismatic leading performance to be experienced today.

While the films themselves are wholly mirthful, each also includes an informative audio commentary track from a different expert, providing history and context for each, offering viewers the chance to step back in time and feel the expressive, exuberantly artistic era that championed self-expression and creative freedoms, before the extraordinary flame was snuffed out.

THE FILMS:

Die Privatsekretärin (The Private Secretary) (1931) - Renate Müller plays the title role in director Wilhelm Thiele's workplace comedy (adapted from the 1905 novel by István Szomaházy) about a young woman who goes to work in a bank office in search of a wealthy husband.

Der brave Sünder (The Upright Sinner) (1931) - Max Pallenberg stars as Leopold Pichler, a haplessly dedicated banker tasked with transporting money to Vienna, but who is unknowingly part of a larger financial scheme on the part of his boss. Directed by Fritz Kortner, The Upright Sinner is based on Alfred Polgar's play The Embezzlers, in turn based on the novel by Valentin Kataev.

Die Koffer des Herrn O.F. (The Trunks of Mr. O.F.) (1931) - Directed by Alexis Granowsky and starring Peter Lorre and Hedy Lamarr, The Trunks of Mr. O.F. follows a small German town that turns itself upside down in order to impress an imagined visitor whose extravagant luggage has arrived at the local hotel.

Ich bei Tag und du bei Nacht (I By Day, You By Night) (1932) - Ludwig Berger directs the charming romance between Grete (Käthe von Nagy) and Hans (Willy Fritsch), two boarders who rent the same room, one during the day and the other at night. A likely influence on Billy Wilder's The Apartment, I By Day, You By Night is also infused with an all-singing, all-dancing celebration of the power of cinema.

This deluxe Blu-ray edition is made possible thanks to the dedicated restoration efforts of Filmmuseum München, Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, and Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung.

Special Features and Tehcncial Specs:

• Feature Audio Commentaries
• Die Privatsekretärin (The Private Secretary) by Lukas Foerster, German film critic and programmer
• Der brave Sünder (The Upright Sinner) by Nadine Rossol, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at Essex University, with additional insight by Lukas Foerster
• Die Koffer des Herrn O.F. (The Trunks of Mr. O.F.) by Anjeana Hans, Professor of German Studies and affiliated faculty in Cinema and Media Studies at Wellesley College
• Ich bei Tag und du bei Nacht (I By Day, You By Night) by Christian Rogowski, Professor in Language and Literature in the Department of German at Amherst College
• Souvenir Booklet - featuring an essay by Lukas Foerster
• Reversible Cover Artwork
• REGION-FREE