Die verliebte Firma

The Company's In Love is the first feature film directed by the legendary Max Ophuls, and that is pretty much the only reason to watch it. It is doubtful that Ophuls had any control over the script because not only is it totally unlike his later movies, but it is also poorly written. The movie is a behind the scenes look at the making of a musical movie. The movie is disrupted when Gretel, a local woman, literally skies onto the set. The lead actress storms off in a huff and the crew gets the idea to replace her with the interloper.

You can't expect the story of a farce to make any sense but in order for the nonsense to work, there must be laughs. Unfortunately, while there are a couple amusing bits, the movie is steadily unfunny. (Although there was a certain irony in watching this a month after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, as nearly every male character tries to Gretel alone for "private counseling". I guess sexual harassment has been in movies from the very beginning.)However, the cast is very talented and they do what they can, and even at this early stage, Ophul's direction is very steady. After this, he would quickly show what he was capable of.