Searching for Lost Films of long ago

Moderne Mitgift

Marta Eggerth and Jan Kiepura made over 55 sound movies. The search continues to find those few missing so we can enjoy those unique pre-war "Musical comedies" often referred to as "Tonfilmoperette".

We continue with the 1932 movie MODERNE MITGIFT - "Modern Dowry" and the comical story of the fake pearls.

Enjoy two songs from the film and read the exciting plot of the "Wedding Dowry"...

Music: Hans May; lyrics Fritz Rotter with the Bravour Tanz Orchester Hans Bund

Marta Eggerth and Director E. W. Emo at the typewriter

Below: A rare candid photo - showing Georg Alexander, the celebrated cabaret star and comedienne Trude Berliner, the famous Director E. W. Emo - Stars of the Film Marta Eggerth and Hans Brausewetter. Also shown in the photograph on the left is "Production Manager Rosen". After a great amount of research, we discovered this must be the Adolf Rosen who appears to have escaped to France along with Hans May and Ernst Neubach among many others connected to Marta and Jan's early films who had to flee Germany and Austria. Adolf Rosen remained a Production Manager throughout his career. By chance we have a film poster of A Rosen as Production Manager in "Signal Rouge" in an Ernst Neubach production, Paris 1949. He returned to Germany after the war.

Film Kuriers of "Moderne Mitgift" and the Austrian title of the Film "Musik muss sein" showing photos of the film, cast and crew - text in German:

Moderne Mitgift - Modern Dowry 1932
Download Film Kurier of Moderne Mitgift - Modern Dowry as PDF [5.38 MB pdf]

Film Kurier of Musik muss sein 1932
Download Film Kurier of Musik muss sein as PDF [1.82 MB pdf]

The Plot of the film

Young Evelyne (Marta Eggerth) is traveling to Scotland aboard the luxury steamer the "Meteor" to visit her wealthy Scottish uncle Dan Douglas played by the famous Dramatic Tenor turned comedian, Leo Slézak. Aboard, she befriends an engineer from Berlin, namely Fred Keller (Hans Brausewetter) who is on a pleasure trip. The young couple fall in love and three days later they are married by the Captain of the ship.

Arriving in Scotland, the self-proclaimed parsimonious Uncle Dan who famously sings in the film "Sei sparsam und bescheiden" "be frugal and humble" gives Evelyne a pearl necklace as a wedding dowry and here commences the Musical Comedy or what might be referred to in German as a "Tonfilmoperette"

The rich but parsimonious Uncle Dan Douglas at his home in Scotland played by the inimitable world renowned tenor Leo Slézak who later took on comedic roles. Marta Eggerth always recounted how she had a hard time keeping a straight face on the set as he always made her laugh. She made several films with him.

The young married couple return home to Berlin with the pearl necklace safely in their possession. However, the practical Fred decides to contact the jeweler Veltheim (Hermann Blass) prior to putting the jewelry in the safe. Imagine his surprise when Veltheim confides that the pearls are actually fake "Die Perlen sind gefälscht" he exclaims. Fred, shocked by the news, decides to keep this a secret from his wife.

Veltheim (Hermann Blass) and Fred (Hans Brausewetter)

To add to the maelstrom the young couple discover they really do not have that much in common. Fred is passionate about cars and Evelyne about music.

In the meantime, Fred's Valet, Otto (Erich Kestin) and perhaps in another world considered a Gentleman's gentleman, falls madly in love with Evelyne, his love aptly described in the German text as "with fire and flame" "Er ist sofort Feuer und Flamme für Evelyne." His role in the story is revealed at the end!

On board the "Meteor" Evelyne had met Georg Helmbach (Georg Alexander) who shared her passion for music. One afternoon, Evelyne, visits Georg for tea wearing the famous pearls but as he is quick to show his amorous intentions, she runs away.

Fred, in the meantime, is driving his beloved car when he gets into a minor motor accident with the beautiful actress Molly Braun (played by the famous Cabaret Star Trude Berliner).

Fred has met the "women of his dreams". It transpires she is also passionate about cars. She and Fred have such a good understanding, that the car salesman thinks they are a married couple.

Evelyne, alone in the apartment, suddenly discovers her pearls are missing. In a panic she calls Georg who searches high and low in his apartment to no avail. He is bewildered but being the perfect gentleman presents Evelyne with a real pearl necklace. She accepts it believing it is the one she lost and is totally oblivious of the danger that these real pearls could create.

As fate would have it, Fred accidentally discovers that the fake pearls have suddenly become real. He now reveals the truth to Evelyne about the original pearls being fake. He proceeds to accuse her of infidelity, locks the real pearls in the safe and indignantly storms out of the marital home.

Evelyne, insulted and hurt immediately wires her uncle that she is leaving Fred. Dan Douglas arrives in Berlin knowing full well he will have to come clean about his wedding gift, but somehow the shrewd uncle cleverly avoids the subject. When they arrive home from the station, to their surprise and dismay they find the safe is broken and the necklace gone. Fred blames Evelyne of having staged the robbery to avoid her guilt being exposed.

Alone in his apartment Georg Helmbach is immersed in his musical thoughts at the piano, when he suddenly hears a "cling" on the chords and to his amazement discovers the necklace that Evelyne had been wearing the day they were having a musical afternoon over tea. Georg phones Evelyne and her uncle swiftly goes to collect the pearls. The uncle can now tell Fred, that he has caught the thief. But while he's away, a stranger phones Evelyne and confesses to the robbery. Suddenly, the conversation gets interrupted, Evelyne does not know, that the "thief" was the faithful Otto, calling from her husband's office, and that he's just been caught. Otto's affection for Evelyne had inspired him to remove the pearls to save her marriage with Fred.

Fred, now with the evidence that will prove his wife's infidelity goes to the jeweller "Veltheim" as a witness, but the wily Scottish uncle intervenes to his advantage. He takes charge of the whole "necklace debacle", makes the young couple reconcile and from the photograph we see he arranges a formal second wedding for them looking larger than life and in command. He has no qualms about having given his niece fake pearls apparently!

So, there is a happy ending for Fred and Evelyne and we can only imagine by the looks of this picture that the uncle finds a way to bring Georg (George Alexander) and Molly Braun (Trude Berliner) together. This leaves Otto, the loyal Valet who no doubt had his position restored. As for the wily Uncle Dan - one might speculate he ended up with two necklaces. The fake and the real one.

Leo Slézak as Uncle Dan, with Georg and Molly. His hand gesture would suggest he is taking on the role of matchmaker.

Moderne Mitgift was distributed in many countries - here are some of the foreign titles:

• Austrian title : Musik muss sein
• Brazilian title : A Canção do Meu Amor
• Danish title : Kærlighed ved første blik
• Dutch title : Haar schoonste Melodie
• French title : Mariés en cinq sec / La plus belle melodie
• Hungarian title : A boldogság muzsikája
• Portuguese title : A Noiva da Escócia
• Spanish title : La novia de Escocia
• Swedish title : Kärlek vid första ögonkastet (= love at first sight)
• Moderne Mitgift
• Der betrogene Betrüger/Die Reise nach Schottland (Österreich: Musik muss sein)
• P TK Tonfilm 1932
• Regie E. W. Emo
• Berlin-Johannisthal, Drehb. Juli 1932

Compiled and written by Jane Knox-Kiepura and Marjan Kiepura for Patria Productions, Inc. 2024

We thank, as always, our Catalan friend Sonia in Barcelona for supplying photos, posters, films and sharing her wealth of knowledge. We thank Dr. Thomas Gayda for many years of sharing his knowledge of German and Austrian films and his vast collection of memorabilia and what he aptly calls "Eggertheriana". We also thank Thomas Krebs in Switzerland whose tireless research on many of the exiled artists who worked with Marta and Jan, including Ernst Neubach, Hans May and others, is helping to keep their music, films and lyrics alive. We also want to thank Photographer, Diane Brown of Vermont, for restoring and retouching the photographs and bringing them to life.

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