Gute Nacht, Mary

This social comedy of manners, based on a rather stereotypical stage farce, hasn't aged well. Not only is it not funny, but also the whole situation seems stupid and the "conflict" almost nonexistent: having married for the second time, a gentleman and his young wife prepare for their wedding night. All of a sudden, while the bride is changing in her chambers, the first wife drops in, and refuses to leave. She threatens to scream (tough, isn't it?), and to avoid this, the hubby immediately turns to jelly and begins hiding the woman in the house. There's a lot of forced confusion and secrecy for the first half of the film, and nothing very interesting in the second. The viewer is left wondering, why the hell doesn't the 6'4'' hunk just tell the bitch from hell to go back from where she came from, but instead starts acting like a nervous little schoolgirl. Somewhat weird editing (illogically inserted closeups) doesn't make things run any smoother. Ilse Werner, who showed talent as both a versatile actress and a musical star during the WW II, hasn't much to do and seems herself rather bored. Some good interiors and handsome (albeit not very effective or comic) Curd Jürgens, also some forgettable songs at the beginning and the end. Pretty lame programmer, but helps pass 90 minutes or so if you like old films.