There aren't too many silver screen romances able to get way (even in subtitles) with lines like, "I'll love you for all eternity!" But this early German talkie is a notable exception, despite showing all the (typically primitive) technical shortcomings of a fledgling sound production. The tragic story offers no surprises, following a young soldier who falls in love with a shy, pretty singer, after ending an unhappy affair with a demanding and possessive baroness. But the familiar plot unfolds with disarming simplicity, which helps keep the melodrama fresh and involving even after all these years. Complications naturally follow: the young lieutenant finds himself accused by the cuckolded husband of his earlier paramour, with duty and honor demanding the two men settle their differences at gunpoint. The duel ultimately results in more than one fatality, but as the young singer explains in an earlier, happier interlude: eternity means beyond life, another sentiment that could only work behind the forgiving screen of subtitles.
Review of Playing at Love
