Plot

Elizabeth dreams of being a music-hall singer. She gets to know Victor, that quite unexpectedly gets a female part in a music-hall number. He unfortunately finds himself voiceless, so, why wouldn't Elizabeth replace him in it?

Elizabeth, a delivery girl, dreams of being a music-hall singer but she is refused at the first casting she takes part in. A bit depressed, she gets to know Victor, a would-be Shakespearean actor and another audition victim. When Victor quite unexpectedly gets a female part in a music-hall number he unfortunately finds himself voiceless. Why wouldn't Elizabeth replace him in it? His new friend hesitates but finally makes her debut as ... a man posing as a woman! She is noticed by McLintock, an influential talent agent who hires Mr. Victoria (Elizabeth's stage name) and launches his/her brilliant international career. One day, Robert, a handsome young man engaged to Princess Mironoff, makes friends with this young man posing as a woman posing as a man ...—Guy Bellinger

I caught this film early one morning after having to drop my husband off at the airport; I have collected old movies for my own personal movie collection since I was 10 years old. Remakes have always fascinated me. I have always been intrigued with how most movies. So many movies of today are remakes that most of my contemporizes have no idea about. This was one for me. I had no idea of this stories history. To be honest I was never a fan of the 1982 version. This film was from an in-between error for America when we didnt have a censor boards. I do not know much about the history of British censorship laws. I do know they had one starting in the early 1900s with a list of things to object too to help rate a film. The film includes a close call of the men going to sleep in the same bed and a nude swimming scene in which the girls love interest finds out the truth of her sex. I dont know of any controversy this film may have caused in the 1930s. I did run across a review written by Andrew Senndwald in 1936 for the New York Times. The review I think is one that would hold up today. He talked about the storyline held a complicated reason behind the hoax that he felt didnt make much since. He criticized the acting but seemed charmed by the Jessie Matthews the star. In the end he said the film gave a pleasant smile. I wondered why the film had this name. In the last scene the Victor character is stopped by a police officer and has to her pass port. She is dressed as a woman running off into the sunset with her man. The officer remarks how it her passport is for a man in shock. She concedes he is correct but she says first a girl. Her bow just drives off and there are not more questions. Thus the name of the movie is First a Girl, I guess.