''Dolly Gets Ahead'' (german: Dolly macht Karriere) is a 1930 German

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Anatole Litvak Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...

and starring

Dolly Haas Dolly may refer to: Tools *Dolly (tool), a portable anvil * A posser, also known as a dolly, used for laundering * A variety of wheeled tools, including: **Dolly (trailer), for towing behind a vehicle **Boat dolly or launching dolly, a device fo ...

Oskar Karlweis Oskar Leopold Karlweis (often credited Oscar Karlweis; 10 July 1894 – 24 January 1956) was an Austrian-American stage and film actor, active internationally. Career Born in Hinterbrühl, Austria-Hungary, he was the son of playwright Carl Ka ...

, and

Grete Natzler Grete Natzler (19 June 1906 – 10 June 1999) was an Austrian actress and operatic soprano. Born in Vienna, she was the daughter of actress Lilli Meißner and actor and opera singer Leopold Natzler (1860–1926). Two of her younger sisters we ...

. It was shot at the

Babelsberg Studios Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The film's sets were designed by Heinz Fenschel and

Jacek Rotmil Jacek Rotmil (1888–1944) was a Russian-born art director and production designer who worked on 100 films during his career Following the First World War, Rotmil entered the booming German film industry and worked prolifically until 1933. Follo ...

Plot

Boyish Dolly Klaren, who makes a living as a hat shop clerk, is an energetic tomboy. She would like to live out her full power as an artist and dreams of an acting career in the theater. She is close friends with the equally talented and unsuccessful musician Fred, who only laughs at Dolly when she tells him about her stage plans. With a trick, she can visit the local theater director Silbermann, who is in dire need: the leading role in a play has to be filled again because the previous star has ignominiously let him down. Silbermann, a compact, always a bit hectic and spirited theater man through and through, knows how PR works. Since he recognizes talent in Dolly, he vigorously beats the publicity drum and praises the completely unknown to the public with great Bohei. In order to make the delicate girl a little more interesting for the audience, Silbermann also started the rumor that Dolly was the mistress of the noble Duke Eberhard von Schwarzenburg. Of course, he doesn't know anything about his happiness and is now beginning to develop an interest in the young girl. For this reason he attends the first performance of the new revue with Dolly, which turns out to be quite a failure for the debutante. The nobleman takes care of Dolly and tries to comfort her as much as possible. The man "in his prime" quickly falls in love with the girl, but has to rethink his attitude when he overhears a conversation about Dolly's (supposedly platonic) friend Fred. The duke withdraws in his calm, elegant manner. After various misunderstandings, not only do Dolly and Fred come together as a couple, but the lively theater novice also succeeds in turning the unsuccessful clarinettist into a sought-after hit composer who, thanks to Dolly's efforts, is soon able to land his first big hit.

Cast

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1930 films Films of the Weimar Republic German musical films 1930 musical films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Anatole Litvak UFA GmbH films German black-and-white films 1930 directorial debut films 1930s German films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios {{musical-film-stub