Director: CARL BOESE. Original story and screenplay: Karl Georg Külb. Music: Peter Kreuder. Art director: Albert Frohberg. Photography: Konst Irmen-Tschet. Film editor: Milo Harbich. Production designer: Erick Kettelhut. Song lyrics for "One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven" by Hans Fritz Beckmann. Producer: Max Pfeiffer.
Copyright 1939 by UFA (Berlin). 93 minutes.
COMMENT: No less than 43 feature films directed by Carl Boese were released in New York from 1931 through 1940. One of the veterans of German cinema, Boese actually started his career way back in 1919. He was still making films in 1957. If this is a fair sample of his work, rate him as extremely polished, occasionally stylish.
The singing, dancing actress Marika Rökk also has a lengthy filmography in German cinema, commencing in 1932. She was still starring in 1962. Billed as Marika Roekk, eight of her numerous films were released in the U.S.A. from 1936 to 1964. The simple fact is that Miss Rökk outclasses many of her Hollywood rivals. Hallo, Janine is an excellent vehicle for her talents.
Though the mistaken identity and chorus-girl substitutes for star in musical revue plots are old-hat, Miss Rökk, her dark, tall and handsome, singing hero, Johannes Heesters (he had a 21-year starring career in German cinema from 1936 and played the David Niven role in Otto Preminger's German version of The Moon Is Blue) and the most agreeably comic, singing "composer", Rudi Godden (whose life and career were tragically cut short by the Nazis early in 1941), contribute performances of charismatic skill, assisted by a couple of creatively inspired production numbers and turns, brilliantly underscored by a catchy music score built around two or three most agreeable songs.
Photography, costumes and art direction are also most attractive, whilst film editing rates as admirably smooth.
Copyright 1939 by UFA (Berlin). 93 minutes.
COMMENT: No less than 43 feature films directed by Carl Boese were released in New York from 1931 through 1940. One of the veterans of German cinema, Boese actually started his career way back in 1919. He was still making films in 1957. If this is a fair sample of his work, rate him as extremely polished, occasionally stylish.
The singing, dancing actress Marika Rökk also has a lengthy filmography in German cinema, commencing in 1932. She was still starring in 1962. Billed as Marika Roekk, eight of her numerous films were released in the U.S.A. from 1936 to 1964. The simple fact is that Miss Rökk outclasses many of her Hollywood rivals. Hallo, Janine is an excellent vehicle for her talents.
Though the mistaken identity and chorus-girl substitutes for star in musical revue plots are old-hat, Miss Rökk, her dark, tall and handsome, singing hero, Johannes Heesters (he had a 21-year starring career in German cinema from 1936 and played the David Niven role in Otto Preminger's German version of The Moon Is Blue) and the most agreeably comic, singing "composer", Rudi Godden (whose life and career were tragically cut short by the Nazis early in 1941), contribute performances of charismatic skill, assisted by a couple of creatively inspired production numbers and turns, brilliantly underscored by a catchy music score built around two or three most agreeable songs.
Photography, costumes and art direction are also most attractive, whilst film editing rates as admirably smooth.