Elizabeth, a delivery girl, dreams of being a music-hall singer but she is refused at the first casting she takes part in. A bit depressed, she gets to know Victor, a would-be Shakespearean...
(78 min) Released 1935-11-07
Director: Victor Saville
Stars: Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Anna Lee
Comedy | Musical
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026361/
Remake of
Viktor und Viktoria (1933)
Remade as
Viktor und Viktoria (1957)
Victor Victoria (1982), the Blake Edwards/Julie Andrews film
Victor/Victoria (1995), also Blake/Julie, but the Broadway play
I've seen an episode of the Dick Cavett show where Julie & Blake are promoting the release of the '82 film, and I don't remember them mentioning theirs was the 4th incarnation of the 1933 German script.
Dancing begins in scene 1, where JM dances mostly alone in the shop stockroom. A large ensemble and her "mentor" (Victor, Sonnie Hale) assist her first professional female impersonation in scene 6, and another act in scene 8. In scene 11 we get an inspiration for La Cage aux Folles (1978 and '96 as The Birdcage), where JM sings on a swing, dressed as a bird, set in a cage, again with an ensemble of dancers. SH takes the lead in the reprise of that number in scene 12 of 13. So this qualifies as having a fairly good ratio of song/dance to plot.
The Riviera looks gorgeous in black and white. Anna Lee and handsome Griffith Jones add charm as the scheming princess and the male romantic lead, respectively. The plot is similar to the 1982 Edwards/Andrews remake, but not identical.
Co-star Sonnie Hale was JM's husband 1931-44.
Gaumont British Picture Corporation, dir. Saville; 6+
