The old story: Leo Hansen (Helmut Fischer) is pilot for a commercial airlines; a natural charmer, with a girl waiting in every airport he's heading to. His wife, Milly (Susanne Uhlen), has nothing to do but to wait for her husband, killing time with her boyfriend Peter Raven (Herbert Herrmann).
Alas, while cavorting in the bathtub, Peter is struck by a case of the old Lumbago (in German: "Hexenschuss"), immobilizing him for the better part of the movie. Even worst: Leo's trip is cancelled and the husband is on his way home for a relaxed evening with his wife. Add a blind Piano tuner (Hans Clarin), a nosy housekeeper (Beppo Brem) and Peter's wife Lilly (Birte Berg), and chaos ensues. Will there be a happy end? Will Peter make it out of the bathtub (and apartment) in time, will the blissful harmony of two marriages remain intact, or will everything go downhill?
Based on a play of John Graham, the story is – like almost every Graham play – a harmless game of Hide & Seek with the most improbable twists and case-scenarios. But who cares? It's as entertaining as it is harmless, and the chemistry between the seasoned TV-actors is perfect. Fischer (in Germany eternally known as "Monaco Franze", and hence another variation of this character) plays his usual amiable charmer, who just can't help but attract the attention of any beautiful woman. Ever unnerved Uhlen is cute as a button, Hermann as likable as a cuckold can come; Clarin and Brem, as in every other film they're in, cannot help but steal the scenes.
The closest thing that comes to mind is Peter Bogdanovichs "What's Up, Doc" (with Ryan O'Neal Barbara Streisand). If this weren't a German TV-production, and if this would have been produced a few years earlier, actors like Doris Day, Cary Grant or Rock Hudson would have been the natural choice for the cast. If that sort of thing is your cup of tea, you really cannot go wrong with "Hexenschuss".
7 from 10 points; three for the actors, three for the directing and one because they just don't make them like that anymore.
Alas, while cavorting in the bathtub, Peter is struck by a case of the old Lumbago (in German: "Hexenschuss"), immobilizing him for the better part of the movie. Even worst: Leo's trip is cancelled and the husband is on his way home for a relaxed evening with his wife. Add a blind Piano tuner (Hans Clarin), a nosy housekeeper (Beppo Brem) and Peter's wife Lilly (Birte Berg), and chaos ensues. Will there be a happy end? Will Peter make it out of the bathtub (and apartment) in time, will the blissful harmony of two marriages remain intact, or will everything go downhill?
Based on a play of John Graham, the story is – like almost every Graham play – a harmless game of Hide & Seek with the most improbable twists and case-scenarios. But who cares? It's as entertaining as it is harmless, and the chemistry between the seasoned TV-actors is perfect. Fischer (in Germany eternally known as "Monaco Franze", and hence another variation of this character) plays his usual amiable charmer, who just can't help but attract the attention of any beautiful woman. Ever unnerved Uhlen is cute as a button, Hermann as likable as a cuckold can come; Clarin and Brem, as in every other film they're in, cannot help but steal the scenes.
The closest thing that comes to mind is Peter Bogdanovichs "What's Up, Doc" (with Ryan O'Neal Barbara Streisand). If this weren't a German TV-production, and if this would have been produced a few years earlier, actors like Doris Day, Cary Grant or Rock Hudson would have been the natural choice for the cast. If that sort of thing is your cup of tea, you really cannot go wrong with "Hexenschuss".
7 from 10 points; three for the actors, three for the directing and one because they just don't make them like that anymore.