The school of love
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The school of love |
| Original title | My weakness |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1933 |
| length | 73 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | David Butler |
| script |
Buddy G. DeSylva Bert Hanlon David Butler |
| production | Buddy G. DeSylva |
| music |
Arthur Lange Cyril J. Mockridge |
| camera | Arthur C. Miller |
| cut | Irene Morra |
| occupation | |
| |
The School of Love is an American music and love comedy from 1933 directed by David Butler . Lilian Harvey , signed by the Fox Film Corporation , played here in her first Hollywood production after leaving Germany in early January 1933.
action
Somewhere in the unearthly, heavenly spheres, a Cupid watches over people's happiness in life and love. Cupid introduces himself to the cinema audience and explains his task from the screen, namely to lead heart to heart and finally to bring lovers who do not yet know about their happiness together. He heads the eponymous school of love, and he wants to reveal this with a special example. So he fires several love arrows seemingly indiscriminately at the earth. But Cupid also makes it clear to the audience that not everything is going as quickly and smoothly as one or the other in the cinema seat might think, and so he begins to tell in flashbacks of a particularly curious case, the focus of which is the fairy Looloo Blake and the Standing boyish charmer Ronnie Gregory.
Ronnie is a charming sniper and day thief and lives on the money that the gnarled manager of the family company's assets, Uncle Ellery Gregory, gives him. But one day he is fed up and no longer wants to give this idiot and notorious understanding of women financial support, especially since Ronnie steadfastly refuses to work in the family's own bra factory. But, so Ronnie grins at Uncle Ellery, he will continue to like to touch the company products - in private and on living objects, of course. Ellery finds this joke far less funny than his nonchalant nephew, and eventually the two men get into a fundamental argument. This ultimately leads to a strange bet that is a bit reminiscent of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion : Ronnie claims that he can transform a loyal, well-behaved girl from a homely wallflower into a sophisticated glamor girl and pair her up with Uncle Ellery's quirky and unprepossessing son Gerald. At that moment, the company's own inconspicuous cleaning lady Looloo Blake snows in, and things take their course, as they once did with Eliza Dolittle, because the object of the bet seems to have been found.
In his belief that no one can fool him when it comes to women, Ronnie is immediately ready to show off his transformation skills on the little tramp Looloo. Uncle Ellery takes it, the bet stands. Heartbreaker Ronnie immediately sets out to turn the inconspicuous assistant Looloo into a glittering lady of the world - chic, glamorous, in short: a real lady of high society. Ronnie's admiring harem, including the well-mannered brunette Jacqueline Wood, for whom all of this is just great fun, a hilarious pastime, help Ronnie with the big makeover. But with every day that he gets to know Looloo better and the makeover takes shape, Ronnie's own feelings get in the way, and he threatens, contrary to his habit, to fall in love with the young lady. But Looloo, who doesn't understand why all this hype is going on around her, becomes a lively and sometimes capricious little diva who suddenly thinks she has to acquire the eccentric cricket-like character of the London upper class. To make matters worse, this princess on the pea now finds her husband, Gerald Gregory, who was intended for herself, rather repulsive. When Uncle Ellery experiences his third spring and reaches out his hormonally controlled antennae to Looloo, the bet threatens to get completely out of hand. Obviously Cupid had shot one or two arrows too many at the protagonists of this story. In the end there is still heart to heart.
Production notes
The School of Love originated in Hollywood in spring 1933 and was premiered in the USA on September 22, 1933. Despite its former UFA star, the film did not open in Germany, but there was an Austrian premiere under the title mentioned.
The costumes were designed by Joe Strassner , Harvey's long-time house couturier for German films, who was also on board with her for America. The film structures were made by Gordon Wiles .
Co-composer Arthur Lange also took over the musical direction. Joseph LaShelle served chief cinematographer Arthur C. Miller as an unnamed simple cinematographer. Joseph E. Aiken set the tone.
criticism
Variety wrote of Lilian Harvey's Hollywood debut in 1933: "An extremely beneficial debut."
Halliwell's Film Guide commented, "Decent comedy with songs that showcase some ingenuity in presenting it to popularize its German star with American audiences."
On Rotten Tomatoes it says: "The baby-faced comedian Harry Langdon, who oversees the storyline, plays one of his best sound film roles as the funny Cupid."
Individual evidence
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 710
- ↑ My Weakness on rottentomatoes.com
Web links
- The school of love in the Internet Movie Database (English)