''A Mad Idea'' or ''A Crazy Idea'' () is a 1932 German

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (born Kurt Gerson; 11 May 1897 – 30 October 1944) was a German Jewish actor and film director. He had a very successful career in cabaret and film before World War II, but was then forbidden to work and was sent to Theresienstadt ...

and starring

Willy Fritsch Willy Fritsch (Wilhelm Egon Fritz, 27 January 1901 – 13 July 1973) was a German theatre and film actor, a popular leading man and character actor from the silent-film era to the early 1960s. Biography Early life He was born Wilhelm Egon Fritz ...

Dorothea Wieck Dorothea Wieck, born Dora Bertha Olavia Wieck (3 January 1908 in Davos, Switzerland – 20 February 1986 in Berlin, West Germany), was a German theatre and film actress. Early years Dorothea Wieck was born Dora Bertha Olavia Wieck and grew up in ...

and Rosy Barsony.Waldman p. 45 It was made by UFA, Germany's biggest studio. It was shot at the

Babelsberg Studios Babelsberg Film Studio () (also known as Studio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, producing films since 1912. With a total area of about and a studio area of a ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The film's

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

was by

Julius von Borsody Julius von Borsody (8 April 1892 in Vienna – 18 January 1960, also in Vienna) was an Austrian film architect and one of the most employed set designers in the Austrian and German cinemas of the late silent and early sound film periods. His youn ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

took place around

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is based on the 1887 play ''A Mad Idea'' by

Carl Laufs Carl Laufs (1858-1900) was a German playwright who concentrated largely on creating farces, notably the 1890 work '' Pension Schöller'' which he co-authored with Wilhelm Jacoby Wilhelm Jacoby (1855-1925) was a German playwright, who concentrated ...

Synopsis

Penniless

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

-based

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Paul Lüders goes to stay at his uncle's

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

. His equally impoverished uncle has gone to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in order to try and sell the property to wealthy Mr. Miller. A series of misunderstandings lead to Paul renting out the various rooms as if it were a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

, including a large booking by the Miller Girls, a

dance troupe A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a sport, spectacle or entertainment. There are many different types of dance companies, often working in different list of dance ...

led by impresario Theo Müller. Further confusion arises when Paul mistakes Müller's daughter Evelyn for the daughter of the wealthy Englishman. The real daughter, Mabel, also turns up, as does Paul's ex-girlfriend Anita. Despite the mix-ups, the hotel is now so successful that his uncle abandons the idea of selling it.

Cast

as Paul Lüders *

as Mabel Miller * Rosy Barsony as Anita *

Max Adalbert Max Adalbert (born Johannes Adolph Krampf; 19 February 1874 – 7 September 1933) was a German stage and film actor. Biography Adalbert was born in Danzig (Gdansk), Imperial Germany as ''Maximilian Adalbert Krampf'' to a Prussian Officer. Usi ...

as Birnstiel *

Jakob Tiedtke Jakob Karl Heinrich Wilhelm Tiedtke (23 June 1875 – 30 June 1960) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1914 and 1955. Selected filmography * '' The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' (1918) * '' The Doll'' (1919) * ' ...

as Michael Lüders *

Harry Halm Harry Halm (born Harry Hermann Hahn; 17 January 1901 – 22 November 1980) was a German film actor who appeared in numerous films between 1920 and 1955. He was the son of director Alfred Halm and took acting lessons with Eduard von Winterstein ...

as Bob *

Heinz Salfner Heinz Salfner (31 December 1877 – 13 October 1945) was a German stage and film actor. Salfner appeared in more than sixty films during his career. He played the lead in the 1932 crime film ''A Shot at Dawn''.Youngkin p.465 Selected filmography ...

as Herr Miller *

Leo Slezak Leo Slezak (; 18 August 1873 – 1 June 1946) was an Austrian dramatic tenor. He was associated in particular with Austrian opera as well as the title role in Verdi's ''Otello''. He is the father of actors Walter Slezak and Margarete Slezak ...

as Theo Müller, Manager der Miller Girls * Ellen Schwanneke as Evelyn Müller *

Wilhelm Bendow Wilhelm Bendow (29 September 1884 – 29 May 1950) was a German film actor who appeared in many films during his career. Bendow made his debut in the 1913 film '' Aus eines Mannes Mädchenzeit''.Elsässer p.106 Selected filmography * '' Lust for ...

as Wendolin *

Fritz Odemar Fritz Odemar (13 January 1890 – 6 June 1955) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1927 and 1955. He was born in Hannover, Germany and died in Munich, West Germany. Odemar's father was the actor Fritz Odemar ...

as Werner Schubart *

Genia Nikolaieva Genia Nikolajewa (1904–2001) was a Russian-born German actress who made films in several countries, notably in Germany where she appeared in films such as Robert Siodmak's 1932 comedy ''Quick''Alpi p.345 in a succession of supporting or minor ro ...

as Marga Schubart * Gerda Bunnemann * Aenne Goerling as Minna *

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrians, Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the ...

as Emil *

Ferdinand Hart Ferdinand Hart (28 October 1893 in Písek – 12 January 1937 in Prague) was a film actor from Czechoslovakia. Selected filmography * '' The Hungarian Princess'' (1923) * ''The Queen of the Baths'' (1926) * '' You Walk So Softly'' (1928) * '' Und ...

Theo Lingen Theo Lingen (; 10 June 1903 – 10 November 1978), born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960. Life and c ...

as Oberkellner *

Adele Sandrock Adele Sandrock (; 19 August 1863 – 30 August 1937) was a German actress. After a successful theatrical career, she became one of the first German movie stars. Early life Sandrock was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the daughter of the German ...

as Mieterin *

Oskar Sima Oskar Sima (31 July 1896 – 24 June 1969) was an Austrian actor who is best remembered for appearing in supporting roles in countless comedy films from the 1930s to the 1960s. Born in Hohenau an der March, Lower Austria, Sima attended high sc ...

as Steuer-Inspektor *

Leopoldine Konstantin Leopoldine Konstantin (born Leopoldine Eugenie Amelie Konstanti; 12 March 1886 – 14 December 1965) was an Austrian actress. She played in Frank Wedekind's ''Spring Awakening'' (1907), Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1907), ''A Winter's Tal ...

* Klaus Pohl as Schneider *

Gustav Waldau Gustav Waldau (27 February 1871 – 25 May 1958) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1955. Selected filmography * '' The Gentleman Without a Residence'' (1915) * '' In Thrall to the Claw'' (1921) * '' The Wr ...

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1932 films Films of the Weimar Republic German comedy films 1932 comedy films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Kurt Gerron Films scored by Walter Jurmann Films scored by Bronisław Kaper German multilingual films UFA GmbH films Films shot in Switzerland Films set in Switzerland Films set in Munich German black-and-white films 1932 multilingual films 1930s German films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios German-language comedy films {{1930s-Germany-comedy-film-stub