I came upon this film through a rather accidental whim, and was immediately aware how unlike Hitchcock it felt - no fear, no thrilling suspense. But talented as I think he is, I am not a die hard fan, so was not disappointed to see him taking on a romantic musical comedy. I see now he calls it his 'lowest ebb', but to watch it you can't really tell. It is filled with lovely frames and graceful long shots, and has a pleasant air with dashes of humour. Judging by the rest of his catalogue this seems to be everything he is against, which is probably why he didn't like it, but anyone with a broader spectrum should be able to find some charm in it. In fact it is probably beneficial that an unromantic like Hitchcock filmed it, for in the hands of another it might have become too sappy, but as it stands, Hitchcock appears to know which moments are the cheesiest, and never lingers on them.
Strauss Jnr. is an aspiring classical musician, and son of a renowned one, Strauss Snr. He is in love with a bakers daughter Resi, yet tempted by the Countess, who has connections which would help him become famous. Resi is jealous of the Countess, and in order to prove his love for her, Strauss Jnr. must give up the music that he loves.
One of the biggest flaws of the film is that it never gives us enough reason to think Resi is worth the ultimatum - to think she is worth giving up your dreams for. Her character, and their relationship, is quite under developed, and thus the ultimatum becomes melodrama. To make matters worse, the original stage play, which ended with Strauss Jnr. and the Countess together, was ditched, seeing him get back together with Resi instead. One minute she appears distraught at his leaving her, the next she is declaring her love. It doesn't make a lick of sense, and is just one of those unpleasing crowd pleasers.
The music, limited as they were in their selection, is a highlight, and provides much of the films charm. I'm not sure if "The Blue Danube" bakery composure was intended as humour or not, I guess so, but either way it was great interplay between sound and image, which seems to be what Hitchcock most took out of this film. The cynic may scoff, but all artists know unlikely scenarios can birth ideas, and that scene - using bread making as inspiration for the song - is a neat depiction of it, even if a little unrealistic!
This film is not nearly as bad as many would have you believe, but neither is it a classic. It is simply a well made studio genre piece - just a different genre to the one we're used to from the director.
Strauss Jnr. is an aspiring classical musician, and son of a renowned one, Strauss Snr. He is in love with a bakers daughter Resi, yet tempted by the Countess, who has connections which would help him become famous. Resi is jealous of the Countess, and in order to prove his love for her, Strauss Jnr. must give up the music that he loves.
One of the biggest flaws of the film is that it never gives us enough reason to think Resi is worth the ultimatum - to think she is worth giving up your dreams for. Her character, and their relationship, is quite under developed, and thus the ultimatum becomes melodrama. To make matters worse, the original stage play, which ended with Strauss Jnr. and the Countess together, was ditched, seeing him get back together with Resi instead. One minute she appears distraught at his leaving her, the next she is declaring her love. It doesn't make a lick of sense, and is just one of those unpleasing crowd pleasers.
The music, limited as they were in their selection, is a highlight, and provides much of the films charm. I'm not sure if "The Blue Danube" bakery composure was intended as humour or not, I guess so, but either way it was great interplay between sound and image, which seems to be what Hitchcock most took out of this film. The cynic may scoff, but all artists know unlikely scenarios can birth ideas, and that scene - using bread making as inspiration for the song - is a neat depiction of it, even if a little unrealistic!
This film is not nearly as bad as many would have you believe, but neither is it a classic. It is simply a well made studio genre piece - just a different genre to the one we're used to from the director.