Curt Goetz understood how to write comedy and how to play the parts to perfection. "Das Haus in Montevideo" is about a very proper school "professor" whose firmly rooted ethics are awfully tempted when his sister, the "black sheep" of the family, sends from her exile in Montevideo an offer for the oldest daughter, which is utterly immoral, thoroughly despicable, yet hard to refuse. The people in the theater still laughed after the lights came back on, and everyone went at least twice to see it.
6 Reviews
Best German comedy
Ucurian11 June 2002
For me, this is the best German comedy of all times. First I saw it as a child and it still works for me now, ca. 25 years later. Curt Goetz and his wife had a lot of humor and it's great to join them. The remake with Rühmann is not half as good as the original. And this is the same with the other films from Curt Goetz.
Delightful and a good example of Curt Goetz's mastery
harald-leinweber25 July 2011
Curt Goetz has a unique place in German entertainment as a writer, playwright, actor and director.
He has a very refined humor, is a master of speech and profound allusions. The type of character he often played has no more a place in German cinema but as a laughing stock - it is a conservative man with rather backward mannerisms, but always with a heart and a keen understanding of people and events. (It may be not by chance that Scott Guber of "Boston Public" springs to mind.)
In this movie Goetz creates a scenario of bad morals and high standards, where especially those with the high standards are made fun of. And those standards are viewed very critically, without any educational attitude (the main character played by Goetz is a teacher!).
A very funny movie with a very humane subtext.
A play from a German tradition long since abandoned - unfortunately.
He has a very refined humor, is a master of speech and profound allusions. The type of character he often played has no more a place in German cinema but as a laughing stock - it is a conservative man with rather backward mannerisms, but always with a heart and a keen understanding of people and events. (It may be not by chance that Scott Guber of "Boston Public" springs to mind.)
In this movie Goetz creates a scenario of bad morals and high standards, where especially those with the high standards are made fun of. And those standards are viewed very critically, without any educational attitude (the main character played by Goetz is a teacher!).
A very funny movie with a very humane subtext.
A play from a German tradition long since abandoned - unfortunately.
Curt Goetz is funny.
cynthiahost30 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
He is funny actor as well as a screen play writer and play right.He even invented the double yoke egg, when he and his wife ,Valerie Von Marten had stayed in the united States and did chicken farming during world war two.He also wrote the play ,in which people will talk was based on.He and Velarie Both showed up in the 1938 Napoleon is am Allen Should,They also both appear in this movie.This was bases on a play he wrote and premiered in Broadway.He plays a stuffy professor Nagler.His Wife , actress Valerie Von Martins, plays his wife Marianne.They have a big family,as big as the family in Cheaper by the dozen. The oldest daughter Atlanta,played Ruth Niehaus.Her boy friend Anwalt, played by John Mylong.Well the professors diseased sister, black sheep of the family, his sister, just died and he inherited a house in Montevideo.Every one thinks it might be a whore house.Albert Florath, in his post war role, plays professor Nagler friend,Pastor.This one of his longer roles too.Well He and pastor , along with his oldest daughter,Atlanta , go to Montevideo to see the inheritance.Well it isn't a whore house.It a music school academy.Well after hearing the will of his sister, he discover he can have the money and the house if he gets his daughter pregnant .Up setting what he has to do he and pastor and Atlanta go back home.They are met by the mayor that compel him to tribute an new boat that was built.From the Mayor,played by Rudolph Reist.Every body thinks he has money.He had got her boyfriend to Monte video to get him to get her pregnant but he refuses and slaps him.So he find a rule to bend to get his inheritance,I did not understand but getting remarried to his wife solved the problem.The funny part is the beginning when the whole family is eating,.Every on of the children to the youngest is wearing glasses ,except for Atlanta.but then that disappears a little later on.I thought Albert Florath role was a preacher,but I was wrong his name was just Pastor.Good comedy. 04/30/12
STIFF ADAPTATION
J. Steed20 July 1999
In December 1950 Curt Goetz and Valerie von Mertens were for the first time after their exile back on the German stages. Their first and immediate success was the play Das Haus in Montevideo. Obviously prompted by this, Curt Goetz adapted the play for film and took the direction in his own hands.
Went it all quickly, maybe? The adaptation went no further than adding a few scenes to give the impression that the play was now a film script. Goetz's direction is aimed at the play and the cast, not aimed at film direction. The result is that it is nothing more than a registration of the play, in which the humour and wit never gets the chance to rise to the surface. Now it is only important as documentation of Curt Goetz/Valerie von Merten's life and work.. Plain, sometimes less than that, cinematography add to the tedium.
An also not completely successful but far better adaptation was made by Helmut Käutner in 1963.
Went it all quickly, maybe? The adaptation went no further than adding a few scenes to give the impression that the play was now a film script. Goetz's direction is aimed at the play and the cast, not aimed at film direction. The result is that it is nothing more than a registration of the play, in which the humour and wit never gets the chance to rise to the surface. Now it is only important as documentation of Curt Goetz/Valerie von Merten's life and work.. Plain, sometimes less than that, cinematography add to the tedium.
An also not completely successful but far better adaptation was made by Helmut Käutner in 1963.
Did almost nothing for me (from the comedic perspective)
Horst_In_Translation5 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Das Haus in Montevideo" is a West German German-language movie from 1951, so it has its 65th anniversary this year. This is one of the later career efforts by German filmmaker Curt Goetz, who was in his 60s already when he made this one. And with "made", I am talking about him being a co-director, co-writer and lead actor here. And he also plays the central character here. The plot here on IMDb actually sounds pretty interesting for this 105-minute movie. A clean tidy family who lives in accordance with morals has a daughter who earns a fortune, but she only gets the money if there is a big event of immorality taking place. So can you sell your approach to life for a huge sum? It sounds actually pretty deep and significant, also from a drama perspective, but it really isn't. It is pretty much all about the hullabaloo and shenanigans, especially these of the father, Goetz' character. His performance is also pretty solid I guess, but I found none of the other performances memorable whatsoever. And as decent as the plot sounds (and as funny), it is still a film that really drags a lot on many occasions I have to say. Maybe it would have been best to keep it relatively short in the tradition of old German movie legends like Ernst Lubitsch and Karl Valentin. At 35-40 minutes, it may have been a really funny watch. But at not much under 2 hours, it certainly isn't. There is an okay moment here and there, but there are also weak moments with comedic intent that isn't working and has not aged well at all. And I don't think that this is just by today's standards. As a whole, the film lacks focus, essentiality and significance. This is also the main reason why I do not recommend this German-language black-and-white film. Thumbs down from me. If you still went/want to watch it, let me tell you that there is a Heinz Rühmann version of the film from more than a decade later and that one may be better. I haven't seen it (yet), but Rühmann usually always delivers. Then again, it's not really difficult or a challenge to be better than this one we have here.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
