This was the English-language version of "Die Privatsekretärin". The German language version was directed by Wilhelm Thiele, a talented director of light fluff. Since the German version is unavailable to me, I can't tell how much of the inventive montage work is due to Victor Saville, the director of the English version.
I've checked the cast list of both, and the only talent, beyond the original Viennese operetta, is star Renate Müller, who leaves Germany to go to Vienna for work. She joins the typing pool of a bank, where manager Morris Harvey rips up her day's work and tells her she will have to stay late because she refuses to go out with him. Bank director Owen Nares sees her as she is leaving for the day and, without saying who he is, takes her out for a night on the town.
The prince-in-disguise-courts-poor-girl plot is still with us -- what else is "You've Got Mail"? -- but the time for Viennese operetta has long passed. Still, if you have a taste for the form, you'll take some pleasure in this early talkie version. Jack Hulbert, as a porter, is the lead comic, albeit in heavy make-up. He does a couple of eccentric dances and sings a funny song. Owen Nares, near the end of his matinée-idol phase, serves very well to support the leading lady, and there are a couple of imaginatively staged chorus numbers. I enjoyed myself very much.
I've checked the cast list of both, and the only talent, beyond the original Viennese operetta, is star Renate Müller, who leaves Germany to go to Vienna for work. She joins the typing pool of a bank, where manager Morris Harvey rips up her day's work and tells her she will have to stay late because she refuses to go out with him. Bank director Owen Nares sees her as she is leaving for the day and, without saying who he is, takes her out for a night on the town.
The prince-in-disguise-courts-poor-girl plot is still with us -- what else is "You've Got Mail"? -- but the time for Viennese operetta has long passed. Still, if you have a taste for the form, you'll take some pleasure in this early talkie version. Jack Hulbert, as a porter, is the lead comic, albeit in heavy make-up. He does a couple of eccentric dances and sings a funny song. Owen Nares, near the end of his matinée-idol phase, serves very well to support the leading lady, and there are a couple of imaginatively staged chorus numbers. I enjoyed myself very much.