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Plot

In this musical comedy, Fred Von Wellingen (Ben Lyon), the scion of a wealthy German family, has fallen in love with Lia Toerrek (Marilyn Miller), a poor but beautiful girl who has gladly agreed to marry him. However, when Fred's father Otmar (Ford Sterling) decides to hold a banquet to celebrate his son's imminent marriage, he's thoroughly appalled by Bela Toerrek (W.C. Fields), Lia's father and a man with a severe lack of good breeding. When Bela announces that he earns a living as a barber and that Lia is a barmaid, the assembled bluebloods are less than amused, and their ire turns to disgust when Bela grabs some of the dinnerware and uses it to demonstrate his juggling techniques. Otmar wants to call the wedding off and offers his son a high-paying job in the family business if he leaves Lia for good. Fred breaks off the engagement, and Lia meets another wealthy man, Baron von Schwarzdorf (Leon Errol), who offers to marry her. However, both Lia and Fred are miserable without each other, and when he learns that she is to wed, he leaps into action to win her back. Field's juggling routine provides the high point of this film, which marked his first appearance in a sound feature.
MPAA Rating:
Genre(s):
Comedy,Family,Musicals
Run Time:
75min.
Distributor(s):
First National
Director(s):
William Dieterle
Starring:
Marilyn Miller , Ben Lyon , W.C. Fields , Ford Sterling , Leon Errol
Themes:
Class Differences,Otherwise Engaged
Keywords:
Germany,aristocracy,bar [pub],barmaid,business,church,diner,disapproval,engagement,family,father,forbidden-love,fortune [wealth],heir,infatuation,juggling,love,manager,marriage,offer,parent,playboy,proposal,shock,suitor,waiter/waitress,weapons,wedding