Original Title: Ein Mann mit Herz. Musical 1933; 102 min.; Director: Géza von Bolváry; Cast: Gustav Fröhlich, Maria Matray, Gustav Waldau, Paul Kemp, Georg Heinrich, Kurt Horwitz, Ali Ghito, Erna Fentsch, Gina Falckenberg; Super-Tobis-Klangfilm.
A bank employee is entrusted with delivering a file to the bank president’s apartment. Along the way, he encounters the president’s daughter and unknowingly befriends her. Misunderstandings and playful antics ensue as the daughter joins the bank and becomes involved with the employee, leading to jealousy and eventually a revelation that resolves all doubts.
Summary
Two friends, bank employee Paul Ritter and graphologist Rochus Sperling, are staying in the vacant luxury villa of a banker who fled the country. The villa was put at their disposal free of charge by the bankruptcy judge in exchange for their promise to keep an eye on it.
Paul Ritter works at the large Monti Bank and is one day required to bring a document to the bank president’s home for his signature. On his way to the president’s villa, he encounters the president’s daughter, who has just returned from an overseas trip. Unaware of her identity, Paul tries to strike up an acquaintance with her. After much effort, he succeeds. Outside the villa, Paul intends to say goodbye and go inside, but Carla Ponti quickly grasps the situation and asks him to take her in with him and introduce her to the president. Paul feels awkward about the situation and quickly finds an excuse to get rid of her. He heads into the villa and waits in the foyer for the president’s return. Suddenly, Carla, who has introduced herself as Miss Monkau, reappears. As Ritter desperately tries to get Carla to leave, voices sound from the next room. Carla swiftly slips through a side door. Just then, the president enters the hall and invites Ritter into his study, where he signs the document as requested. Ritter rushes out of the office, frantically searching for Carla, but she has disappeared without a trace.
Secretly, Carla gets herself hired as a minor employee at her father’s bank, where she becomes a colleague—and even a direct subordinate—of the charming young Ritter. This leads to a series of amusing incidents in this comedy of mistaken identity. Carla moves into an apartment recommended by a coworker who also lives there, and soon this colleague and Mr. Sperling become as enamored with each other as Carla and Paul. But things go beyond a mere game; it isn’t only love that develops. Through her new role, the wealthy daughter comes to understand everyday life, the life of millions of employees, becoming one of many, one among them.
Over the weekend, the two couples decide to take a trip together. They hop on a bus run by a land-parceling company and head out to the countryside. There, they happen to meet the bank president, who invites them for coffee. The president dances with his daughter, sparking jealousy in the young Ritter. Suddenly, it’s time to head back, but when they return to the bus station, the bus has already left, and they’re forced to walk home.
The next day, the bank is buzzing with excitement: the employees have received an invitation from the president to a company party. Immediately, everyone starts practicing the latest dance steps in the office. However, their little dance rehearsal is cut short when the office manager appears unexpectedly, and Carla is promptly dismissed. Out of jealousy toward the president, Paul decides not to attend the dance party.
That evening, the employees gather at the president’s villa, where they are astonished to find their recently-dismissed colleague Carla. The situation is resolved when the president introduces Carla as his daughter. Meanwhile, Paul sits alone in his empty villa, plagued by jealousy. Then he hears on the radio that a major client of his bank has been arrested for fraudulent dealings. A few days earlier, forewarned by his friend, the graphologist Sperling, Paul had held back a contract with this fraudster, thereby saving the bank from a major loss. He rushes to the president’s villa to inform him. The president wishes to thank him, but Paul’s jealousy flares up again at Carla’s presence. Finally, the president explains everything to Paul… and two young hearts find each other.
j-n.’s review in Film Kurier No. 11 (January 12, 1933)
The genre of operetta films was decisively influenced from its outset by director Géza von Bolváry with an exemplary work, Two Hearts in Waltz Time [Zwei Herzen im ¾-Takt, 1930]. His touch elevated this film genre to a level that, one could say, has become both stylish and respectable at home and abroad.
Today’s film operetta, now far superior to the stage operetta, owes its refinement and sophistication to Bolváry. He doesn’t simply rely on charming actors and good looks to create an entertainment piece. He moved beyond that formula long ago.
Bolváry realized that even within a lighthearted, musical film genre, a theme can be included, and that contemporary issues can resonate here without venturing down steep paths toward drama and weighty issues.
Sometimes it’s much more delightful to receive the lesson of life’s wisdom through music rather than through philosophical formulas. Many a tension in everyday life would surely have a less stormy tone if a song could appear at just the right time.
Thus, it’s particularly fitting today to applaud this refined approach to sound film as cultivated by Bolváry.
The story in brief: the daughter of a wealthy bank president wants to experience the demands of business and everyday life firsthand. Under an assumed name, she joins her father’s company, steadfastly handling all the consequences, and in the end finds herself by the side of a young bank employee whose initiative has saved the bank from serious losses.
Gustav Fröhlich plays the bank employee, and Paul Kemp his friend. The former is determined, manly, willing to break through walls if need be. The latter is helpless, indecisive, yet also always ready to step up for others; this inevitably leads to the greatest and most amusing complications.
Together, Fröhlich and Kemp present a refreshing, invigorating spectacle.
Bolváry also succeeds in creating an ensemble cast of wonderfully natural, human characters.
Maria Solveg plays the wealthy daughter who, without any sentimental fuss, decides to embrace office work and camaraderie with her colleagues. Three female employees in the bank each bring a vivid authenticity: Gina Falkenberg is the somewhat dreamy, sharp type, portraying her character with extraordinary depth, better than she has in any previous role. Ali Ghito (now blonde, though this doesn’t particularly suit her type) plays the coquettish office flirt seeking favoritism. Her talent is quite versatile.
Erna Fentsch offers a very likable portrayal of the modern, sports-obsessed young woman.
Kurt Horwitz portrays the well-defined character of a department head, while Gustav Waldau brings the charm of his great acting talent and personality to the role of the bank president.
The script by Hans H. Zerlett is a bit drawn out and contains some psychological implausibilities, yet it’s more thought-provoking than typical material for comedies.
Goldberger’s luminous cinematography pairs beautifully with the cheerful, airy sets by Ludwig and Willi Reiber.
The score by Robert Stolz injects a lively energy in the film’s second half, and Bolváry uses catchy hits rhythmically without interrupting the story’s flow.
Production manager Julius Haimann has once again demonstrated his sharp sense for the material’s impact. He can count this as a major audience success, as he does not underestimate his audience but understands that it appreciates taste and quality. With this film, Bayerische Filmgesellschaft delivers what theater owners urgently need today.
At the Capitol, the film was shown using the new Kinoton system, with acoustic details superbly modulated.
The film’s momentum quickly swept up the audience, and applause accompanied it in increasing waves, culminating in a grand ovation at the end as the cast, with Bolváry, Stolz, and Haimann at the center, took the stage.
