Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten (1941) User Reviews

Knocked together first Agfa Colour Feature

[J. Steed · 3/10 · 30 March 1999]

The shooting of this film took almost 2 years due to ongoing innovations of the colour processing and some personal problems. Whether these were the causes or not, fact is that this a knocked together, as good as unwatchable bad film, that is far below the standards of director Georg Jacoby whose aspirations were already never that high.

With a clumsy told story, there is an incredible obtuse ballet on the grass, and Marika Rökk's dancing that is plumper than ever. Even Willy Fritsch and Franz Grothe's music can not save this one.

This film is worth watching for one aspect only: being the first feature in Agfa colour.

Bumpy, but cheerful fairy-tale

[mart-45 · 8/10 · 16 October 2005]

I prepared myself to watch a bad film with many embarrassing moments, but I was very pleasantly surprised to actually enjoy this film very much. It is a bit uneven: it leaves an impression that the filmmakers were about to shoot a straight comedy first, and only then decided to add some big production numbers to make it "a musical". The main storyline runs quite smoothly and is only interrupted when an absolute necessity to introduce a new song arises. There are many legends about shooting the ballet on the grass ("A waltz for you and me") - it was redone repeatedly over a long period of time, and the result is... let's say, weird. But very campy at the same. Another song ("The music that never sounded") is totally unnecessary as well, and a bit above Miss Rökk's abilities, but features some nice closeups of the very young and fresh looking actress. "When a young man comes" is woven neatly into the action, and the last big revue, "Oh I love all the men", is a joy to watch. In her 1944 film "Die Frau meiner Träume", Miss Rökk and her husband-director recreate the Spanish setting, even her dress is pretty much the same. (In the same film she also sings a few bars of that very song in a seductive scene, wearing only a shower curtain.)

I wouldn't call "Women are the best diplomats" a bad film. With all its faults it still is quite entertaining. Marika Rökk's acting is not bad, and regarding her dancing... well try to be pirouetting on your toes on a lawn that's painted green with oil paint yourself! She was a superb tap dancer, but as the action takes place in the early 1800s, wearing a fluffy dress, bonnet and a parasol, that wouldn't have been a good idea. Otherwise some nice shots, rather rich colours and a kiss at the end. What else would you wish for?

Superbly restored, this film has now been released on DVD in Germany.