I am Susanne
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | I am Susanne |
| Original title | I am Suzanne! |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1933 |
| length | 98 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rowland V. Lee |
| script | Edwin Justus Mayer |
| production | Jesse L. Lasky |
| music |
Friedrich Hollaender Louis De Francesco |
| camera | Lee Garmes |
| cut | Harold D. Schuster |
| occupation | |
| |
I'm Susanne is an American romance from the milieu of revue artists and puppet theater by Rowland V. Lee . Lilian Harvey can be seen here in her third Hollywood production.
action
The dancer and acrobat Susanne is the star of a major Parisian revue. Her manager Adolphe “Baron” Herring lets her believe that her skills are hardly worth mentioning, keeps her small where he can, but uses Susanne mercilessly in every imaginable way. One evening the son of a puppeteer family, Tony Malatini, visits the revue. He is so enthusiastic about the petite artist that in future he would like to use her likeness to advertise the family's own marionette stage, the adjoining, but not very successful, Theater des Marionettes. For this reason Tony would like to draw some sketches of Susanne in order to make a new puppet out of her, the doll "Susanne". Susanne agrees with pleasure because she likes the young man, but manager Herring immediately senses the danger that Tony could relax "his" Susanne for him and stands between the two young people. Susanne is afraid of being fired by the "baron" because of her willingness and even agrees to marry him so that she is at least financially secure.
When Tony, who has long since fallen in love with the graceful girl, hears about it, he asks Susanne not to marry this man. When Susanne is very upset, she falls backwards into the orchestra pit and breaks her leg. Manager Herring is now showing his true colors: Now that Susanne can no longer be an attraction in his revue and therefore does not bring in any money, he drops her and no longer cares about her at all. Tony and his puppeteer family step in instead. After the accident, Susanne is no longer able to dance. Tony makes a puppet based on Susanne's likeness, which in the puppet theater takes on Susanne's dance performances as part of a miniature revue. He is so absorbed in his work and says that he is completely infatuated with his dolls and, above all, is the "Susanne" doll, that the real Susanne, whom Tony would like to train to be a puppeteer, soon believes that he doesn't have one Have an interest in her. But that's not true; Tony is as in love with the girl as she is with him. And he even manages to find a capable doctor who will take care of her damaged leg, so that Susanne could eventually dance back into the spotlight if she wanted to.
Production notes
I am Susanne was created in late summer 1933 in Hollywood, where Lilian Harvey set out from Berlin in early January 1933. The film premiered in Austria on December 22, 1933. The US premiere took place on December 25, 1933, the German in March 1934.
The film, shot in black and white, was presented in a viraged version in which the colors pink and yellow predominate.
Rita Kaufman designed the costumes and Max Parker designed the film . The puppet show sequences were provided by Podrecca's Piccoli Marionettes and the Yale Puppeteers. Lynn Bari can be seen in an extra role as a spectator .
A restored version of this film was shown at the TCM Film Fest in 2013.
Reviews
The Österreichische Film-Zeitung wrote: “In the Fox film“ Ich bin Susanne ”, Lilian Harvey found a role that was very appropriate to her acting characteristics, which encompasses all the nuances of her skills and shows her as a consummate acrobat. (...) Director Rowland V. Lee has created a distinctive framework for Lilian Harvey's art, his staging art goes new and original ways. "
On pre-code.com you can read: "Rowland V. Lees" I am Suzanne! " is undeniably an unusual and unique film. With long, elaborate sequences and songs built around marionettes and puppet shows, it comes across like a children's film, but has a deep psycho-sexual side. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ "I am Susanne". In: Österreichische Film-Zeitung , August 11, 1934, p. 2 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ I'm Susanne on pre-code.com
Web links
- I'm Susanne in the Internet Movie Database (English)