Mamsell Nitouche

After Anny Ondra proved her worth as a singer in the German and Czech versions of Er und seine Schwester and He and His Sister, she produced the first sound version of Hervé's popular operetta "Mam'zelle Nitouche" together with Karel Lamač. The poster really didn't lie and even today, we can look at the Ondra-Lamač production as spectacular. After the fundamentally studio-based approach of He and His Sister, a film that accommodated not only the continuation of the comic partnership of Anny and Vlasta Burian but also the assisting Frič, Mam'zelle Nitouche is a film that is exquisitely crafted, taking place in a monastery, its surroundings, and in a comic theater. Anny, the focus of which of the shots, reigns supreme and dominates with her skill in every way. She is a comedian (she performs scenes of gentle humor as a sleepwalker, and ideal for her are scenes that provoke raucous laughter when she collaborates with a musical prop), a singer (of classical and modern repertoire), she handles both girl and boy roles, rides a horse, jumps out of a window, performs an ancient tragedy and overcomes various other obstacles. Lamač also doesn't forget about romantic Anny to the point of being ethereal; it's almost hard to believe that all of this can be enjoyed in such a short runtime for the entire film. Georg Alexander and Oskar Karlweis also have a secure comedic talent, which means that it is clear and immediate that Ondra-Lamač-Film has produced an excellent and timeless version of Mam'zelle Nitouche. (29.01.2011)