Fanfaren der Liebe (1951, Germany)

This film thought of the idea first, and later the plot was used in Some Like it Hot. Billy Wilder claimed that for the latter film, he only borrowed a few brief ideas from Fanfaren, but it looks like far more than that to me.

Two jobless musicians are desperate to find work. Hans Martens (Dieter Borsche) plays the piano and composes; Peter (Georg Thomalla) plays the double bass. They make regular visits to the booking agent, but there's no work.

Well, there's a couple of nights as part of the cabaret at the Astoria hotel ... a gypsy band. Pity you're not gypsies. They'll take it anyway. We see them vamping through a Csardas. They hate it, and soon the work folds anyway. Back at the agency ... No, no work. The agent's secretary sympathises. Her phone rings ... they listen ... it's a booking for two black musicians for an all-black band at the Trocadero. "Pity you're not black." They run for the door and we see them blacked up playing in the band.

Back at the agency a few days later, well, the secretary is sorry that there isn't any more work for black bands. There's a job notice on the wall, but that's for an all-women band, led by Frau d'Estée, the "Alpenveilchen" (the Alpine Violets). They leave in despair, and when they are outside, the secretary's phone rings. An all-girl band is recording a gramophone record and is rehearsing now. We go over to their rehearsal studio. It's Frau d'Estée's band ... fourteen of them. This forms a musical interlude, and after a lyrical slowish piece they speed up into a light vocal. At the end the manager of the record company congratulates Frau d'Estée and it all looks rosy. But a few seconds later, Frau d'Estée is in the office of the booking agent complaining that "the piano is getting married and the double bass is pregnant". She needs replacements, and quickly. Luckily our two heroes overhear this. The recording company man confirms that the agent's reputation is on the line if he can't conjure up a couple of girl musicians, and everyone is at their wits' ends.

Well, everyone except our heroes; they are with a friendly makeup artiste; at first the gender transformation is slow and difficult.

But after a lot of work practising body language, they are ready. They give some money to a friend who is a street busker, and he doesn't recognise them, so they launch themselves onto the desperate agent, who is with the record company man. Two women musicians ... ? A pianist and a double bass player ... ? And you could be available immediately ... ? Could the ladies perhaps be so kind as to play something by way of audition? The ladies could, and they jazz it up a bit, and the other two are delighted. We can sign contracts immediately ... here is a pen. But our heroes ask for double the pay, and so desperate are the other men, that they agree.

Well, now everyone is on the night train to the venue where the engagement is. [Incidentally, the exterior film clip of the night train is a shot taken in Britain.] Our heroes are being shown to their sleeping berths and quick introductions are made ... they are now Hansi and Petra. There is the predictable giggling about being introduced one by one to the girls in their nightclothes. But they are sharing a two-berth compartment, and eventually they can relax in private.

It's a long journey, and the next morning they take breakfast on the train. Hans decides to do so in male mode, and he takes a fancy to one of the girl musicians, Gabi. Gabi of course doesn't realise who this man is, but as he is writing some music notes, she realises he is a musician too. Eventually they arrive in Ingolstadt, and are taken to the Alpine holiday hotel where they are booked for the season. Changing back for the bus journey from the station to the hotel, Hans quickly reverts to male mode again, and takes a champagne cocktail on the hotel terrace, with Gabi. They agree to go to a night club together after the rehearsals are over. He then changes back again, and is playing the piano for Gabi and her friend Lydia.

But Peter is lusting after female company too, and he dresses in his male clothes, and pretends to arrive at the hotel. One of the girls shows him in to the apartment where Hansi is playing, and Peter introduces himself as her brother, Peter Schmidt. Hansi is furious at this risky business, but Peter explains that he is following Hans' example, from the breakfast on the train. After a nerve-racking few minutes when it looks as if Peter is going to give everything away, Hansi manages to shoo him out of the room. When Lydia says she likes him, Hansi says that some men aren't what they pretend to be, and Gabi says to herself knowingly, "Yes, that's right".

There is a dress rehearsal for the full band, which serves also as a musical interlude in the film. Immediately afterwards, Gabbi and Lydia are getting ready to go out, and Gabi is cooking something up. She is going out with Hans, and she wants Lydia to come with Peter too. But she also wants Petra and Hansi to come. Meanwhile Peter and Hans have rushed to their room to get ready. But Hans locks Peter in his room so as to get the girls to himself. Hans rings to the hotel porter to ask him to unlock the door. Gabi and Lydia leave their room; there's no answer when they knock at Hansi's door, and when they knock at Petra's, Peter has to answer that (s)he has a cold and can't go out. Gabi and Lydia go on and meet Peter downstairs. Gabi, increasingly cottoning on, remarks how much alike he and his sister are.

"Whyever not," he says, "we are related!"

"And can't she come with us?"

"No, she is in bed with a slight cold."

"How odd, we knocked at her door when we came down."

"Ah, she sleeps on her ear and can't hear a thing."

He takes them on to the club.

The record company manager Hallinger has had amorous designs on "Petra" from the beginning, and now goes to her room to make good. He seems to have a pass key and lets himself in. Hans is not in drag and tries to stop him, eventually hiding under the bedclothes. Hallinger comes on even stronger, but fortunately the porter now arrives with the pass key and is surprised to see that the door is open. Hans uses his arrival to make Hallinger go. He dresses and follows on to the club where the others have gone.

He catches up with them, and Gabi is dancing with Peter. Hans is piqued that he has apparently been outdone, and he decides to stir things a little himself; so he starts to discuss Hansi Schmidt, whom he knows very well. But she is in the hotel, the girls explain. Why don't you telephone and see how she is? So he pretends to phone her and has an imaginary conversation with her. At first Gabi, and Peter, are startled by this, but Gabi soon realises it is a pretence. She rushes to the phone to have a quick word with Hansi, but when she gets the phone from Hans, it is dead. She must have hung up, he says. Gabi is now certain that she has rumbled his game.

The four eventually get back to the hotel, and Peter accompanies the two women upstairs. Hans has to pretend he is not staying at the hotel, but upstairs Peter tells the girls he can show them something: Hans creeps up the stairs, thinking they have all gone to their rooms, and Peter shows them that Hans is going into Hansi Schmidt's room ... what do you think of that? Disgusting, they all agree. Peter says goodnight and goes to his room, but Hans has come through the connecting door and gives him a good hiding for his behaviour.

The next morning the hotel proprietor complains to Hansi that she has had a man in her room ... from the girls seeing Peter go in last thing ... what scandal. Hansi is strangely insouciant about it, and Hallinger, who is with the proprietor, signals her not to give the game away, as he assumes it is because of his visit. When the fuss seems to have died down, Hallinger goes to Hansi's room with a bottle of champagne as a sweetener.

Unfortunately for him, the girls collectively dress in bedsheets and storm into the room in a Teutonic ritual to drive out the spirit of immorality, by beating the presumed fallen woman. When Hallinger realises they are coming, he hides in the bed under the sheets, but still gets the (justified?) beating.

The band leader goes to Hansi's bedroom; (s)he appears to be ill, and can't play in the recording session this afternoon. Gabi also visits her. As soon as she is gone, Hans comes downstairs in his male self, and Gabi lets on that she knows what has been going on. Hallinger incidentally, is seen walking stiffly after the beating he received.

Hans has evidently decided not to bother with the pretence any more, and is talking to Gabi and the others. Hallinger is incensed that the booked orchestral group is not ready. Without Hansi the pianist, they have a problem. Someone suggests that Peter might take the part, but Hallinger gets even more cross saying that as far as he can see, Hans is a man and he has booked an all-woman band. Petra now bursts in and says that everything is all right; Hansi must be well again, because she is not in her room.

Gabi privately asks Hans to take the role of Petra again, and he agrees; Lydia (who doesn't yet know the secret) and Petra get Hans ready, with Petra getting carried away and giving Hans deportment instructions. When Hansi is ready, Lydia says (s)he is not as beautiful as Hansi.

So Hans now appears downstairs again, dressed as a woman and obviously everyone recognises him as Hansi. Hallinger then demands to know what she is playing it, first being sick, and not answering the phone and so on. For some reason Hans answers by raising his wig and saying "What do you think about that?" Hallinger is flabbergasted, so Peter (as Petra) lifts his wig as well and says the same thing. The lady bandleader now appears, all unaware. "Ah, Mr Hallinger, are all my girls on stage now?" Hallinger is so distraught that he wrenches at her hair, taking her for another impersonator, and says "Fine girls they are, my dear sir!"

The recording starts all right, but Hans suddenly leaves and dashes to his room, and comes back dressed properly as Hans. As only happens in films, he gets back in a few seconds, and right on cue he sings a tenor part to Gabi's soprano. Petra suddenly reverts to Peter, and the lady bandleader collapses in shock ... just after the last chord and a successful recording.

There is no doubt that the Billy Wilder version ("Some Like It Hot") is miles better, but this lighter film is fun, and it did get there first.

HF June 2004

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