Victor and Victoria

The Goethe-Institut is thrilled to partner with The Brattle and Wicked Queer for this special program of film screenings, featuring groundbreaking contributions of German filmmakers and offering a diverse array of films exploring the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. Curated by Anne Dymek, Harvard University, this series is a rare opportunity to see some of the most important queer cinema from the first half of the 20th century alongside groundbreaking work from the 1970s through today. Dymek and her students will provide introductions to each film, creating a forum for thought and conversation.
In this dazzling musical romance, a young woman (Müller), unable to find work as a music hall singer, partners with a down-and-out thespian (Thimig) to revamp her act. Pretending to be a man performing in drag, Victoria becomes the toast of the international stage. But she soon finds that her playful bending of genders enmeshes her personal and professional life in a tangle of unexpected complications. Produced in the final days of the Weimar Republic, VICTOR AND VICTORIA received limited exposure in the United States, and is today best known by Blake Edwards’s 1982 remake Victor/Victoria. Viewers will be delighted to discover that the original is every bit as charming and outrageous, reminiscent of the sly sex comedies of Ernst Lubitsch and Billy Wilder. – KinoLorber Films
Germany 1933
Director: Reinhold Schünzel
98 min • DCP