Evening star., 1948-05-12

Inc screen MUSICAL WHICH OpcI
Is really quite an interesting affair,
to be appearing under the trade m
idle rich, but instead of painting
them as moral monsters, 1t suggests
that they are amusing and that,
whatever the faults of their system,
everybody really has happy time.
Die Fledermaus," which you may
we'll want to see, is not really Rus
sian, which may be Pravda's ex-
cuse for it. The Russians merely
seized it as a kind of German art
treasure and are now sending it
around to such countries as this for
exhibition.
The picture is in German, Ian
euage that sounds good-certainly
better than Russian-when it is
concerned with careless love among
the highly placed.
More Importantly, it is in that
new German color photography,
Afga, which permits the employ
ment of pastel shades. There is
piuuant novelty about some Of these
in Die Fledermaus," but there also
are some sequences that seem seri-
ously flawed. One of the latter is
the Princes red room. This is the
section of his palace in which the
royal ones courtships are conducted.
1t is quite mysterious why the beau
ties summoned there did not take
one look at the interior decoration
and run screaming to their oculists.
Geza Won Bolvary, one OF Ger
nlany's better film directors, is re-
sponsible for making die Fielder
maus" a piece of entertainment
worth seizing by the invading Rus
SLAMS. He is a man with an amused
respect for the German tradition OF
romantic revelry. Moreover, he has
assembled a cast Of handsome
Aryans, male and female, Wnlcn
ioins him Fundamentally in musl-
cal reminiscence of Germany in the
DAYS of Johann Strauss.
There is every reason why this
should be their attitude. Strauss
wrote some gay, romantic music
which not only is the best single
feature of the Little's film, but also
must have filled the cast with a
sense of Germany's past being bet
ter than the present In Whlcn tne
picture was being made.
The basic story which is orna-
mented with all this music and
colored photography Is amuslngly
absurd by now.
The genius of its inspiration is a
fat egotist, one Fake, VINO Is a
director of the State Theater. he
goes dressed as a fledermaus (pat
in English) which is more abrupt
languagel to costume ball one
night. In the course Of this AFFAIR,
he becomes uproariously alcohoilc.
His friends, in a heavy Teutonlc
humor. decide to deposit him on
nearby park bench to let him sleep
off his jag.
His idea upon awakening the next
morning is to get revenge, not olt-
ter revenge, but an amusing one.
His plan involves making saps OF
two of his best friends, Warden
Frank of the city prison, and Her
bert EiSenstein, handsome play
bow, Both men are highly vulner-
able to women and, without getting
into it too deeply, the plot involves
his scheme to bemuse the Jallor with
a pretty maid, and the playboys
wife with an available romantic
tenor.
What happens thereafter is not
susceptible of reduction to luclo
English. In it's absurd way, however,
it is rather arresting, and whenever
the complexities threaten to over
whelm the spectator the acting COM
pany breaks into song. 1t sings ex-
cellentE, at least to ears that nave
been reserved exclusively for the
last few months to baritone versions
of Now Is the Hour"
The general idea of Director Won
Bolvary was to make comedy OF
die Fledermaus." This he succeeds
In doing rather better than one
expects of the Germans. There Is
nothing that is light and Gallo. OF
course, about the lusty goings on in
the picture. Instead, the best parts
of its comedy might well be the
slapstick areas, the high, drunken
revelry In the city jail. This Is
such spirited fun that it seems the
Germans were fools for staying out
of the nearest lookup.
The un-Russian passages OF Die
Fledermaus" are the grand ball
scenes where amour and the music
both reach their climaxes. These
are gorgeously dressed and set and
the people look so happy and hand
some and we'll fed that Artkino
probably might be shot for even
thinking to show the picture In
Russia.
American audiences are flagrantly
unfamiliar with the German per-
formers on the Little's screen.
1t is certain, however. that they will
be impressed by Marie Harrell and
Dorit Kreysler, the principal femi-
nine members of the cast. And,
among the males, Hollywood has
nothing more impressive to offer
than Johannes Heesters, Hans
Brausewetter and Will Frisch.
With apparently the full approval
of the Politburo, you may want to
see Die FledermauS' as an enter
tanning specimen of German film
making, as seized by the Russians.