"Quax, der Bruchpilot" is a German black-and-white movie from 75 years ago. If you do the maths, you will realize that it is a film that was made during the days of World War II. But looking at it, it becomes obvious that this was not a generic Nazi propaganda movie. not at all. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels was in charge back then of everything that has to do with art, especially with films. So it should not be too surprising that those who made the film could not do exactly what they want if they wanted their work not only appreciated, but even released. It is based on Hermann Grote's novel and Robert A. Stemmle adapted it. Just like the director Kurt Hoffmann, he became pretty successful and contributed a lot to the German film industry in the years after the war.
If you know Heinz Rühmann, you will know that his humour frequently relies on lower classes mocking upper classes and this anti-authority message is not an approach that the Nazi would love of course. So Rühmann was definitely limited by politics when it came to showing us his real comedic talent here. Still, there are moments occasionally, such as when he wears a mustache and acts as if he was a famous fighter pilot. These aviation references and probably also the ending with the main character being proud of his country and saying he wants to serve it as a pilot are what the Nazis may have liked the most about the movie. But I did not. And same goes for most of the other aspects here, especially the drama. Rühmann managed to save it occasionally in terms of comedy, but the dramatic moments and romance parts were really fairly generic and disappointing. As a whole, I am glad the film is relatively short, stays under 90 minutes as I did not really enjoy it. Thumbs down and I am glad Rühmann (and the makers here) could show us after the War what they are really capable of.
If you know Heinz Rühmann, you will know that his humour frequently relies on lower classes mocking upper classes and this anti-authority message is not an approach that the Nazi would love of course. So Rühmann was definitely limited by politics when it came to showing us his real comedic talent here. Still, there are moments occasionally, such as when he wears a mustache and acts as if he was a famous fighter pilot. These aviation references and probably also the ending with the main character being proud of his country and saying he wants to serve it as a pilot are what the Nazis may have liked the most about the movie. But I did not. And same goes for most of the other aspects here, especially the drama. Rühmann managed to save it occasionally in terms of comedy, but the dramatic moments and romance parts were really fairly generic and disappointing. As a whole, I am glad the film is relatively short, stays under 90 minutes as I did not really enjoy it. Thumbs down and I am glad Rühmann (and the makers here) could show us after the War what they are really capable of.