Theft of the Sabines

Directed by Kurt Hoffmann

Synopsis

The idea of the play on which this film is based, is a nice one and this film adaptation has its funny moments, but director Kurt Hoffmann, known for his light comedies and ditto directing hand, disappoints here in never being able to achieve, let alone maintain, control of the material. While the cast tries hard to make something out of it (and certainly Gustav Knuth and Paul Hörbiger have excellent moments), the film keeps dragging itself from one scene to the next. There are moments of very nasty editing which do not make this film a pleasure for the eyes.The script has also a major flaw: the viewer could have easily done without the voice-over that tells the story. What the joke is of not revealing the face of the story teller in the last scene, will forever remain a mystery to me.