Meet the Sister

The German version of Him and His Sister created a perfect link between the first sound films of Anny Ondra and Karel Lamač. While most of the actors and filmmakers switched from another version, Anny had André Pilot as her partner again, as in her second sound film "Eine Freundin so goldig wie du...". The main cast here is also dominated by Roda-Roda, the marshal from the German version of Der k. u. k. Feldmarschall and now the post minister, who also wrote the dialogue for both films. On the other hand, a new face at O-L is Berthe Ostyn, who reunited with them in Kiki and reprised the main fight with Anna to great success. It's a real treat to compare sound versions of films from the early 1930s, and that's especially true here. The German version premiered two weeks earlier, but looking at the fact that the vast majority of the cast were Czech actors, the extras and the silent roles are the same ones who played bigger roles in the Czech version, it is clear that the German language version was created as a supplementary version. It is refreshed with quoted stars and some partial gags are replaced with German equivalents. In particular, pub chants, national songs, and various puns have a new jargon. Instead of veal with stuffing, we long for Wiener schnitzel. ;) The most interesting comparison is the casting of Berthe Ostyn and Olga Augustová in the same role. (01/28/2011)