Little Man, What Now?

Lovely film, wrongly forgotten! A young couple in 1920s Germany struggle through hard economic times with a baby on the way, and suffer terrible disappointments every time it seems their luck has turned for the better. But this is hardly a typical melodrama or steely message movie: all the misfortunes have a note of whimsy to them (not entirely unlike 49th Parallel) and the lovers mostly manage to keep smiling through it all. And that is not to say this is a happy Hollywood fairytale; it is a responsible and realist film, but wonderfully light on its feet and far from a bummer. Evidently this is one of the first Hollywood films to explicitly challenge fascism, putting common-man notions of peace and fairness in the words of Hans, and establishing a touching search for a place to live simply and freely as the motivation of the beleaguered newlyweds. And this looks to have been released a month before the Hays Code clamped down, so it may be your last chance to see a couple snuggling close in a bed, to hear the words “orgies” and “sex appeal” used freely, and to find prostitution dealt with explicitly (and again, whimsically). Margaret Sullavan is perfect in this sort of plucky, romantic role; Douglass Montgomery is a bit bloodless, but does fine. It is a mature, tender, brilliant film.