This film was a sensation when it appeared in 1937; and 65 years later, one can still see why, and one is still moved by it. Despite some technical imperfections of picture and sound of those times, and despite the - initially unsettling - fact that it plays in London and Sydney while its characters and language are clearly German, it comes as close to a real work of art as a movie can. Both the tragic core of the story and its upbeat ending are entirely believable; the major characters appear human and differentiated; the sceneries and lighting are convincing; and Ralph Benatzky's songs have become treasured German folk music. Their presentation by Zarah Leander are the high points of the movie, when time stops and the here and now are forgotten. It is just a little sad that Leander's Gloria Vane was prevented from wearing a really shoulder-free evening gown, as those loud-mouthed boors accused her of. What some claimed to be immoral in England of 1846 was decreed immoral in Germany of 1937. One wonders if the '37 viewers caught on to it.
Review of To New Shores
