Underplayed Gems

Little Man, What Now? (1933)

Little Man, What Now? poster
Original title
Kleiner Mann – was nun?
Directed by
Fritz Wendhausen
Genre
drama film
Country
Germany
Runtime
1h 40m
Rating
7.0 of 10 from 1 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A young couple struggles to make ends meet during the economic hardship of early 1930s Germany. The story follows their efforts to build a life together despite poverty and social pressure.

naturalisticmelancholicgroundedperiod piecemoodyrestrainedsadrealistic

What happens

Little Man, What Now? (German: Kleiner Mann – was nun?) is a 1933 German drama film directed by Fritz Wendhausen and starring Hermann Thimig, Hertha Thiele and Viktor de Kowa. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Hans Fallada. The original concept for the film was to take a naturalistic approach, the same way the novel did, with Kurt Weill composing the music. Fallada had already remarked in 1932, after falling out with the producers and script writers, that the film had little to do with his novel, and that the script writers "would take a different approach," which they did. The Nazi Film Review Office insisted on extensive cuts, including all scenes featuring the Comedian Harmonists. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Willy Schiller and Otto Guelstorff. Location shooting took place around Swinemünde. It was well received by contemporary critics, many of whom considered it the best German film of 1933. A separate American film adaptation of Fallada's novel, Little Man, What Now?, was released in 1934. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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