Catherine the Last

Hans Holt and Dorothy Poole are in love, but her father refuses to let her marry him. Holt is a wastrel, and father promises that the servant who lets Holt into the house will be fired. They take careful note of this, except for the scullery maid, Franciska Gaal. Seeing his chance, Holt borrows his chauffeur's uniform, asks the country bumpkin out, makes love to her, and charms Miss Gaal into falling in love with him. She lectures him on not smoking his master's cigarettes, and when she thinks he has been fired, buys him the second worst taxi-cab in the history of the movies.

Miss Gaal is an utter delight as the little country mouse who, every time someone speaks to her, is astonished. As the movie goes on and the situation grows more complicated, her confusion and pain becomes more telling.

Looking at this, it seemed to me very much like a Deanna Durbin movie - Miss Gaal even sings a reprise of a novelty love song. It's hardly surprising, because the producer is Joe Pasternak, and the director is Henry Koster (as Herman Kosterlitz), and their next film would be THEEE SMART GIRLS, the movie that made Miss Durbin a star, and saved Universal Pictures. One of the writers is Felix Joachimson; as Felix Jackson, he would move to Hollywood, write for the Durbin combine, and eventually become her husband and producer.

The Hungarians - including Miss Gaal - who made this movie in Germany were a canny bunch. They gave it the polish of Hollywood, and soon wound up there. They also made a funny, touching picture.