Movies

Einbrecher [Burglars] (1930) German "musical comedy of marriage." Elderly manufacturer of music boxes and automatons seeks new husband for his too-young wife, but the only contender seems to be a bemonacled little fop. Not quite Lubitsch, but fairly entertaining and bright, with spontaneous songs, a lively dance number, and a startling night club scene which IMDb says features Sidney Bechet and his band in the Palmengarten bar of Berlin's "Haus Vaterland." Lilian Harvey as the wife is a bit sharp-featured at times but quite a sight with her big fluffy hair, in snugly tailored tops and flowing layered skirts. Of high socio-historic interest, and moderate entertainment value. 6/10

My Learned Friend (1943) Somehow I forgot to list this last week. Action farce with British comics Will Hay and Claude Hulbert as failed lawyers (a con man and a ninny, respectively) attempting to prevent a vengeful ex-con from knocking off one by one the folks who put him in gaol, with Hay's character the final name on the list. A cut above the US factory-made equivalent of the day. 7/10