Her Dark Spot             

Aka - Her Dark Secret

Aka - Ihr Dunkler Punkt

This silent Weimar film is a charming romantic comedy bubble that never pops. It has two of the biggest stars of the period with Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch who were in eleven films together and were called the "dream couple" of German cinema. German cinema of the Weimar era is often thought of today for the expressionistic style, the off-kilter camera angles and sets that were nightmares of imagination and psychosis. Famous for its horror and sci-fi, but more popular were the comedies and when sound was introduced, the musicals. Harvey and Fritsch were part of that world and their films together did very well. It is easy to see why after seeing this one and Lucky Kids a few months ago. He is dashing and she is a bundle of barely contained joy. She is like the first coke of the day. She wasn't able to navigate through the Hitler years - she wasn't Jewish but among her friends were both Jews and homosexuals and she was put on the SS watch list as a suspected person. She spoke German, English and French (some of her films were shot in all three languages with her) and she made her escape to France and then when the Germans invaded left for the USA. Her final film in Germany was made in 1939, then two in France and she retired from the film business for good. She had actually made a few films earlier in the decade in Hollywood, but none of them made her a star. Such a shame because she is delight.


Here she plays two roles - Lilian who is an upper middle-class woman with a zest for life - and Yvette who is jewel thief and seducer of men. When Lilian checks into a hotel in Germany she is arrested because she looks exactly like Yvette - except for a mole on her thigh and while Yvette has dark hair,  she has blonde hair. When she is released with the help of her cousin, Leopold (Harry Halm), she learns from Erik (Fritsch) who thinks she is Yvette, that he will meet her in Naples. Just for the hell of it, Lilian decides to go to Naples and pretend to be Yvette and drags her reluctant cousin along.


Of course, Yvette is there with her three male henchmen who are planning to steal diamonds off of Eric when he arrives. This all leads to lots of confusion and mistaken identities. As Yvette, Lilian has to take on her role as part of a magic act having no idea what she is supposed to do. In her sparkling cat suit, she is so cute and very funny. Harvey is wonderful in both roles - as Lilian she is adorable and sweet and as Yvette she is sexual dynamite with an ability to get any man she wants. At one point two of her gang are fighting over which one Yvette loves and in the same room, she is able to convince them both that she loves them and only them. Comical and sophisticated, I was hoping for a few musical numbers but not in this one.

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