Baby

It’s a great story about a girl from a rich family who would like to go to the theater but it doesn't suit her. However, she's friends with a theater girl who would prefer something less adventurous, so there's a great opportunity for mistaken identities at the two prestigious British schools they're both sent to. Where the story is going in its finale is clear, but more important are the fantastic gags and musical numbers. Anny has great options here for dressing up as the child Baby, a modern girl, a sailor, and a bride. There’s a lot there and it's all wonderful. The film's biggest hits are the songs "Ich liebe Dich," "I Love You," "Je t'aime" and "Auf Wiederseh'n Baby!" There is also an allusion to the fact that Anny was already dating her future husband, boxer Max Schmeling, and perfectly rough Lamač humor in the form of a rude black gate-keeper who protects the boarding school inmates. Also, having recently experienced the original film - Saxophone Suzi, which Baby was a remake of, I remain happy with Baby. Saxophone Suzi is an excellent film, and in both versions, it is wonderful to see the progress that took place on all fronts in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Of course, knowing The Love Hotel, during which I could have melted at the perfection of the pairing of Anny and Adolf Wohlbrück, in this film he has so far been merely pleasant, but the mustache has given him substantial esprit. (14.02.2009)