User Reviews

Produced in 1937/38, this comedy was surely under the control of Goebbel's propaganda ministry, and it indirectly endorses Nazi rule by showing how "ridiculous" the Weimar republic was in 1930.

The waiter Karl Kramer (Heinz Rühmann) works in a Baltic beach resort, but takes an opportunity for temporary work in a renowned restaurant in Berlin. Here he gets in contact with Lu (Sybille Schmitz) and her upper-class family and their political friends, where he makes such favorable impression that they even plan to nominate him as Reichstag (parliament) candidate for their fictional Freisinnige Wirtschaftspartei. The main political issue seems to be a law to prescribe gussets (Zwickel) in swimwear, which at least in part reflects a real event, the "Zwickelerlass" of 1932. Some snide remarks on the Soviet Union, and life of the workers there, are also included. Famous satiricist Werner Finckh is seen as the man from the press. The tension comes mostly from Karl's double role as waiter vs. upper-class gentleman.

Substantial parts of this movie deal with horse-racing, betting, and cheating in those. Karl wins a lot of money, loses it again, "finds" a lot, to lose it again, and after some mild thriller action in Baden-Baden ruefully returns home to the unnamed Baltic place to marry his Grete.

The unspoken message is, "Aren't we happy that the pre-Hitler days of 1930 are over?" But 50 years later, this is still an interesting document of the times. Just keep in mind it was endorsed by the propaganda ministry.

Carl Froelicks picture has the same kind of fast editing as the American Russ Meyers films.For some strange reason the titles end after the name of the film ends. It doesn't contain the name of the actors or the technical casts. Obviously some one was in a hurry to release this film . It makes you wonder how the audience and critics felt about this. Heinz plays Karl who works as a waiter in a sea side resort. He rooms with a fellow waiter, the actor who played Rudolph Clopper friend in DAs Goldenstadt and owned the detective agency in French Un Verliebt, he has an unusual head shape.After work he meets his fiancé Grete,played by Karin Hardt, and her family. Later on he talks over with his room mate and decide he's going to improve his self by moving to Berlin.Well as he already arrived he observes at a park that a women is being attacked by a purse snatcher.He rescues her. Lu ,played by Sybille Schmitt. Being grateful she takes him home to meet the family a bunch of upper class political opportunist lead by her father ,played by Paul Bildt. Theirs a funny moment when he forgets that he's off work. He falls for Lu but finds her family disgusting. Working at a new restaurant, his new waiter friend is a horse gambler who deal with an dishonest bookie who rigs races.One of Lu's fathers members of his political organization deals with him to make sure his favorite horse wins.Well his fiancé visits him in Berlin and they have an argument.His waiter friend asks Karl to loan him some money for a sure bet rigged up by the crooked bookie. Karl discovers the horses chances to win . He ends up being fired by the manager of the restaurant, who looks exactly like an American character actor that appeared in films in the forty's, for leaving early to check the chances. He later visits Lu again he notices an antique ring on the floor he tries it on it's her fathers he gives it back but she give it too him, earlier one of her fathers member of his committee had noticed the ring.He feels that they have been engaged. well he arrives home his girl friend show up and they make up hiding the ring.

They are celebrating at a café with her family . but when he calls up his friend for the money that he put on the bet thinking he won. His friend informs him that he lost. He get more drunk up setting her. He later on makes more bets and wins giving his old fiancé a box of candy and taking Lu to a musical stage show which looks like the scene came out of g.w. Pabst," Three penny opera.He spend his winning fast. Meantime Lu's father and his committee are planing more dishonesty politically.Karls loose again a bet and decides to go to the dishonest bookie for a sure bet. He talks to the man, who's a member of Lu's fathers committee who gets a hosed rig for a sure bet . He notices that Karl is wearing the ring he saw at Lu's place and gets jealous since he's in love with her too. He gets the police thinking Karl stoled it.When the manager tells every body the police is coming and blacks the whole place out Karl and friend takes off. When they are both working at the restaurant the police inspectors show up to question Karl's friend about the ring . They take him to the police head quarters. this forces Karl to go and clear things out.He ends up being arrested for allegedly stealing the ring . His girl friend finds out and pleads with Lu to straighten it out He gets out of jail and Lu's father tries to pay him off not to see his daughter any more.Karl takes that sure bet but looses when Lu's father's member of his committee is caught changing the race.The bookie leaves and forgets his money . Karl steals it and takes off. He meets the criminal couple who are wanted on a train he later hides in a elegant hotel. He sees a policeman following him he thinks that he's after him for the money only to discover that the plain cloth police were after the couple. He had already threw the money into the river . He ends up going home back to his old waiter job on the seaside. his fiancé makes up to him. This had propaganda against communism and capitalism but it's light. You should double feature this with Jude Sus or The 1943 version of titanic the Zara Leander 1939 picture "song of the dessert", or the 1938 Technicolor film Kentucky or the 1940 musical down Argentine way.