Der Gasmann

The first of two films that Anny Ondra made during the war and in the 1940s in general. The film was based on Heinrich Spoerl's novel and included the consideration of the "Aryanization" department in the police force, the result was a rather remarkable film. Anny plays second fiddle here for the first time in many years after being used to starring (the last time she did so was in the mid-1920s), and the entire plot is based on the actions of Heinz Rühmann. This German Burian (not in terms of style, but in terms of importance and popularity among the common people today) is in his element when he can march through the city to his home from the train in his pajamas and then curl up in a ball so that his wife doesn't find out where he suddenly got so much money and why he went through the charade with the pajamas. What follows is a rollercoaster ride with a newly charged ego, and cheating on the ideal woman who takes perfect care of the household, two children, and cooks. Poor Anny plays the ideal wife exactly according to the standards of the time and doesn't have many opportunities to do her own thing. There are only small moments, such as the reconciliation through an apology on a gramophone record or the visit of a woman who advises only feeding a man raw food... All's well that ends well? Unfortunately. Despite her balancing act in the politics of the Third Reich, there was no place for Anny in a war film, so she became the star of the next branch of Prag-Film. Of the supporting roles, I only appreciate the epilogue star Charlotte Susa and the episodic actress Gisela Schlüter, who also worked with Anny on her last film of the 1930s, Narren im Schnee. (02/14/2009)