"Große Freiheit Nr. 7" (and there are so so many alternate titles in both English and German that I won't mention them) is a German movie from 1944, so this one will have its 75th anniversary soon. And if you read Germany in 1944, you will immediately think of Nazi Germany of course and yes this is where this film was made. But by then the war was (pretty much) lost for the Germans and this is certainly not a propaganda film anymore. It is a story of fiction written and directed by Helmut Käutner fairly early in his career and a while before he went on to become one of Germany's most successful filmmakers. I personally found that this film looked a lot newer than 1944 and this is probably due to the fact that it is in color, like many films during the Nazi reign, and due to the fact that even in the late 1960s there were still German movies in black-and-white. But this is really the only truly progressive aspect about No°7. The best thing about it is probably Hans Albers. I can understand somehow if people say he was too young for the role, but he still shows how talented he is and makes the character his own. Unfortunately, nothing else about this film is on par with one of Albers' career-defining performances. Of course, the role also fits him perfectly with his Hamburg background. Other than him, there is no reason to see this one. The script and plot is really forgettable, it lacks realism on many occasions, the supporting cast is not memorable either in terms of performances. But you have to say in their favor that the characters other than Albers' were also not written interestingly at all. For me, Albers alone cannot carry this film on his shoulders so that I would recommend it. He relies on quality efforts from other people in front of and behind the camera. And these just aren't there. The result is a movie that drags a lot during its overlong 110 minutes. I give it a thumbs-down. watch something else instead.
Review of Great Freedom No. 7
