Victor and Victoria

For the 1957 remake, see Victor and Victoria (1957 film).

Not to be confused with Victor/Victoria.

Victor and Victoria (German: Viktor und Viktoria) is a 1933 German musical comedy film written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel, starring Renate Müller as a woman pretending to be a female impersonator. The following year, Schünzel directed a French-language version of the film titled George and Georgette, starring Meg Lemonnier and a French cast.

Victor and Victoria
Theatrical release poster
German	Viktor und Viktoria
Directed by	Reinhold Schünzel
Written by	Reinhold Schünzel
Produced by	Alfred Zeisler Eduard Kubat
Starring	Renate Müller Hermann Thimig Hilde Hildebrand Friedel Pisetta Fritz Odemar Aribert Wäscher Anton Walbrook
Cinematography	Konstantin Irmen-Tschet
Music by	Franz Doelle
Distributed by	Universum Film AG
Release date	23 December 1933 (1933-12-23) (Germany)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Germany
Language	German

In 1935, Michael Balcon produced an English version titled First a Girl, directed by Victor Saville and starring Jessie Matthews and Sonnie Hale. A West German remake by Karl Anton was released in 1957.

In 1982, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released Victor/Victoria, an English-language remake by Blake Edwards.^[1] Edwards later based a successful stage musical on the film. Both the film and the musical starred Julie Andrews.

Plot

Susanne, an aspiring singer, steps in to replace Viktor, a mediocre actor, at a small cabaret in Berlin where he performs as a female impersonator.^[2] She catches the attention of an agent, who mistakenly believes that she is actually a man. As a result, Susanne rises to fame, but her situation becomes complicated when she finds herself falling in love with Robert.

Cast

• Renate Müller as Susanne / Monsieur Victoria
• Hermann Thimig as Viktor Hempel
• Anton Walbrook as Robert
• Hilde Hildebrand as Ellinor
• Fritz Odemar as Douglas
• Friedel Pisetta as Lilian
• Aribert Wäscher as F. A. Punkertin, Victoria's agent

Remakes

• 1934: George and Georgette (Germany, French language)
• 1935: First a Girl (UK)
• 1957: Victor und Victoria (Germany)
• 1975: My Girlfriend, the Transvestite (Argentina)
• 1982: Victor/Victoria (UK/US)
• 1995: Victor/Victoria (TV, US)

Reception

The film was well-received in the German-American community of New York.^[3]

See also

• List of films made in Weimar Germany