Best movie ever!

Blistering performances.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I cannot agree at all with the reviewer who wrote that he had seen thousands of films and that this one is the best. "Maskerade" or "Masquerade in Vienna" is an Austrian German-language film from 1934, so this one is already over 80 years old and it is from the early days of sound films still. But this is also almost the only positive achievement I can mention about this movie. The writer and director is Willi Forst, one of the most prolific and successful Austrian filmmakers of his time. But his effort here does not get me interested in checking out more of his works. The cast includes a handful actors who were successful and prolific too back then, but the performances are all mediocre at best and the script is so-so as well. I cannot say I cared a lot for any of the protagonists and I did not find the film funny either although there are many sequences where it attempts to be. Same can be said about the romance aspect. In general, this film lacks expertise and a defining touch in most areas. I do not recommend the watch. The only maybe good thing is that it is not Nazi propaganda despite being from 1934.

Not quite what the legend surrounding it would lead you to believe, "Maskerade" is a quite predictable movie in a Schnitzlerian mode, stylistically akin to any of a number of better Max Ophuls movies of its time (e.g. "Liebelei", "La Signora di Tutti"), not to speak of such later Ophuls masterpieces as "La Ronde" or "Madame de". Willi Forst quite engagingly presents the social life of turn-of-the-century Viennese high society, much as quite a number of the characters he brings into play are stereotypes and character development seems to be outside his range.The great Paula Wessely, an actress with few peers on the stage --- Edwige Feuillère and Laurette Taylor come to mind --- does what is a routine job as a predictable goodie-two-shoes character. On stage her voice was unforgettable (I saw her live once at the Burgtheater and once at the Akademietheater), the kind of voice you would love to listen to even in a reading of the Vienna phonebook. In this movie her splendid voice is not yet fully developed, but admittedly "Maskerade" was made when Wessely was still in her twenties. Moreover, though touched with a considerable amount of Viennese charm, Wessely was never quite a classic beauty like Isa Miranda, Ophuls' Signora, or Audrey Hepburn who would have made an excellent Leopoldine Dur.Hans Moser does his shtick here like in any other Hans Moser movie, but without anything specific to set this supposed masterpiece above routine.In retrospect, the funniest thing maybe is, that Olga Tschechowa, an undistinguished actress with good, though hardly very good, looks, afflicted by an unmistakable frigidity, was revered in the German-speaking world of her time (the Thirties) as some exotic femme fatale.In the role of the dowager, the respectable Julia Serda pales in comparison with say Dame Edith Evans, the doyenne of moviedom dowagers. The Serda character's "In my days things were more exciting" gimmick goes well once, or even twice, but by the time it is getting to be repeated over and over, one feels that Forst is catering to the taste of some Viennese grannies and not to the needs of a movie of genuine integrity.On the whole, the rather far-fetched story still manages to flow quite well. "Maskerade" entertains, but it also disappoints.

I seen thousands of rare films, this is one of the BEST!I saw this film in the mid-1980's a film archive screening of a 35mm pristine print. It had been scheduled because no one had run the print in decades and the programmer was curious. The reviews from Variety and the New York Times said this was a wonderful, sophisticated, romantic comedy but that this Austrian version had been bought so that MGM could remake the film with Myrna Loy and William Powell. Unfortunately Loy was in a contract dispute and Luise Rainer was substituted with mixed results. The German language original version hardly got any play. When I saw it with a small group of surprised film buffs a very unusual experience happened. The lights came up after the end credits were over and we rose to our feet dumb founded. Several strangers near by turned to one anther with the same question on their lips, "Is it just me, or was that the best movie we've ever seen?' Quickly the electricity zoomed around the room and it was confirmed! The rapturous talk about this film spread like wild fire. IT'S A CHARMING MASTERPIECE! Now I'm a student of Ernst Lubitsch, Frank Capra and Billy Wilder and this film should be shown again to the public where they too can celebrate this delightful film on par with the work of these masters. Lets all support classic film and the screening of movies on the big screen where they were meant to be seen. And let's all support the film archives who's job it is to find, preserve and present these forgotten wonders of early cinema. It's been almost fifteen years since I've seen this gem and I still pray everyday to see it again. I hope someday to share more of it's charm with my old friends and to make new friends by giving them the joyous experience of this buried treasure.

A delightful movie, full of atmosphere of the post World War I Vienna. The old elites are officially abolished but still dominant in social life. A scandal - worth the 19th century prudery - is made bearable through the famous Viennese easy-going lifestyle. One can smell the scent of the old Monarchy from every corner along with the tragedy of now only being a small and unimportant country. The story is told quickly, the scenes full of whit and very discreet erotic hints. The leads are cast with two of Austria finest: Paula Wessely and Adolf Wohlbrück (internationally known as Anton Walbrook). If you want to dive deeply into Austrian culture and understanding of the countries roots, then watch this wonderful movie.