''Tomfoolery'' (German: ''Allotria'') is a 1936 German

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Willi Forst and starring

Renate Müller Renate Müller (26 April 1906 – 7 October 1937) was a German singer and actress in both silent films and sound films, as well as on stage. One of the most successful actresses in German films from the early 1930s, she was courted by the N ...

Jenny Jugo Jenny Jugo (born Eugenie Walter; 14 June 1905 – 30 September 2001) was an Austrian actress. She appeared in more than fifty films between 1925 and 1950. Biography Jenny Jugo was born Eugenie Walter on 14 June 1905, the daughter of a factory ...

and

Anton Walbrook Adolf Anton Wilhelm Wohlbrück (19 November 18969 August 1967) was an Austrian actor who settled in the United Kingdom under the name Anton Walbrook. A popular performer in Austria and pre-war Germany, he left in 1936 out of concerns for his o ...

. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in

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 ...

.Klaus p.19 The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Kurt Herlth Kurt Herlth (1896–1966) was a German art director known for his designs of film sets. His brother Robert Herlth was also an art director active in the German film industry, and the two men worked together a number of times.Bock & Bergfelder p.1 ...

and Werner Schlichting. It premiered at the

Gloria-Palast The Gloria-Palast was a German cinema located on the Kurfürstendamm in the German capital Berlin. It was constructed in 1924 and replaced the existing neo-Baroque Romanischen Hauses designed by Franz Heinrich Schwechten. It became a common loc ...

on 12 June 1936.

Synopsis

A pair of friends fall in love with the same woman, before realizing they are really in love with two other women. Racing to his romantic interest, one of the friends (

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

) takes by chance part in the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...

Reception

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

remarked: "Quite energetic and lively. But it's overdone and therefore not totally satisfying. Less would be more." (original: „Sehr flott und mit viel Tempo. Aber übertrieben an Effekten, und darum nicht ganz befriedigend. Weniger wäre mehr.“)

Cast

References

Bibliography

* Hake, Sabine. ''Popular Cinema of the Third Reich''. University of Texas Press, 2001. * Klaus, Ulrich J. ''Deutsche Tonfilme: Jahrgang 1936''. Klaus-Archiv, 1988.

External links

* 1936 films Films of Nazi Germany German comedy films German black-and-white films 1936 comedy films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Willi Forst Cine-Allianz films 1930s German films Films shot at Johannisthal Studios {{1930s-Germany-film-stub