When Manny Ziner's father has six new army lieutenants quartered at his inn, Mann and her -- yes, her -- two friends are delighted. Two lieutenants each! Next, there seems to be the set-up for a masquerade party, so she decides to dress in an army uniform herself; the handsomest lieutenant decides she will make a delightful orderly. When she is helping him get his boots off, she loses her cap and he realizes she's a girl.
There's a long thread of women taking men's roles in the theater. Sarah Bernhardt famously played Hamlet, and as I write this, Glenda Jackson is in previews for her portrayal of King Lear on Broadway. It was even more confusing during the Elizabethan era, when women were not permitted on stage, so boys would play girls pretending to be boys. At least here, fraulein Ziner actually is a girl.
Beyond the obvious comedic bits, though, there's nothing added to this low farce. Fraulein Ziner is pretty, Franz Schwaiger, who plays the lieutenant she valets for is handsome, and Rudolph Del Zopp, who plays the father, is appropriately stupid.
There's a long thread of women taking men's roles in the theater. Sarah Bernhardt famously played Hamlet, and as I write this, Glenda Jackson is in previews for her portrayal of King Lear on Broadway. It was even more confusing during the Elizabethan era, when women were not permitted on stage, so boys would play girls pretending to be boys. At least here, fraulein Ziner actually is a girl.
Beyond the obvious comedic bits, though, there's nothing added to this low farce. Fraulein Ziner is pretty, Franz Schwaiger, who plays the lieutenant she valets for is handsome, and Rudolph Del Zopp, who plays the father, is appropriately stupid.
