Victor and Victoria

Victor and Victoria (Viktor und Viktoria) is a 1933 German musical comedy film written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel, starring Renate Müller as a woman pretending to be a female impersonator. The following year, Schünzel directed a French-language version of the film titled George and Georgette, starring Meg Lemonnier and a French cast.

In 1935, Michael Balcon produced an English version titled First a Girl, directed by Victor Saville and starring Jessie Matthews and Sonnie Hale. A West German remake by Karl Anton was released in 1957.

In 1982, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released Victor/Victoria, an English-language remake by Blake Edwards. Edwards later based a successful stage musical on the film. Both the film and the musical starred Julie Andrews.

Plot
Susanne, a hopeful singer, steps in to replace Viktor, a mediocre actor, at a small cabaret in Berlin where he performs as a female impersonator. She catches the attention of an agent, who mistakenly believes that she is actually a man. As a result, Susanne rises to fame, but her situation becomes complicated when she finds herself falling in love with Robert.

Cast

 * Renate Müller as Susanne / Monsieur Victoria
 * Hermann Thimig as Viktor Hempel
 * Anton Walbrook as Robert
 * Hilde Hildebrand as Ellinor
 * Fritz Odemar as Douglas
 * Friedel Pisetta as Lilian
 * Aribert Wäscher as F. A. Punkertin, Victoria's agent

Remakes

 * 1934: George and Georgette (Germany, French language)
 * 1935: First a Girl (UK)
 * 1957: Victor und Victoria (Germany)
 * 1975: ''My Girlfriend, the Transvestite (Argentina)
 * 1982: Victor/Victoria (UK/US)
 * 1995: Victor/Victoria (TV, US)

Reception
The film was well-received in the German-American community of New York.