The Man in Search of His Murderer

Heinz Rühmann tries to kill himself with his pistol, but can't pull the trigger. Fortunately, his apartment is invaded by cat burglar Raimund Janitschek. After some negotiations, Janitschek agrees to kill him before noon of the next day in return for fifteen thousand reichsmarks from Rühmann's insurance policy. That night, however, Rühmann meets Lien Deyers, and they fall in love. They track down Janitschek, but he has sold the contract to Hermann Speelmans.

I looked at a 51-minute cutdown of the 97-minute feature, but it held together well. It's the third feature I've seen based on Jules Verne's LES TRIBULATIONS D'UN CHINOISE EN CHINE, thanks to some fine manic performances, a nice burlesque of the underworld organization from Lang's M, and a score by Friedrich Hollaender filled with silly sound effects. I can see how the longer version could easily fill the gaps in the shorter version, but they're not necessary to make this movie, which includes an early writing credit by Billy Wilder, very funny.