User reviews

Jessie Matthews is a song-and-dance girl who loses her job and befriends an actor, Victor, played by Sonnie Hale, who dreams of being a serious stage actor, doing Shakespeare, being Hamlet and all that good stuff, but in the meantime has to make ends meet by being a female impersonator. When he's down to his last dollar and gets his latest call, he has a cold and no voice. The only possible solution is for her to keep his appointment. As fate would have it, Mr. Whozzit is in the audience and says he'll sign him, her, him – because he's so good at impersonating a woman. Also, in the audience is a princess, played by Anna Lee, of "General Hospital" and "The Sound of Music" fame, and her fiancé, played by Griffith Jones. But he came in late and thought she was a girl, until the end of the number, when her/his wig came off. Shocked by his attraction to another man, he means to know if he is a he or she is a she or what. Obviously, the precursor to Blake Edwards' smash hit, Victor/Victoria, starring his wife, Julie Andrews, this film is just as enticing, charming, and lively. I was afraid this was going to be one of the those forgettable 1930s movie musicals with stagy and tedious musical numbers, but this was out-of-this-world great. It's my favorite "new film" now. Having seen and loved Victor/Victoria beforehand, which is why I got this to begin with, helps. But neither one takes away from the other. There are slight variations on how it's discovered and a few details. But this outing is filled with flirtatious and sexy fun. Discover the stars Jessie Matthews and Sonnie Hale, who were married in real life and enjoy her being "First a Girl" and then a guy!

I had no idea when I turned on this film that the story is actually "Victor/Victoria"--and American film from the 1980s. I also had no idea that in spite of this, "First a Girl" is actually a remake as well! It seems that two years earlier, Germany made "Viktor und Viktoria"--and so I decided to watch all three to determine which I thought best.

Well, if any of the Brits who made this one are still alive and kicking, they might be happy that I thought "First a Girl" was the best of them. Or, they might wonder why I am compulsive enough to watch all three! Why did I prefer it? Well, the musical aspects of the films are best in "First a Girl". While in "Viktor und Viktoria" the dialog is often sung, in the British version there are the most amazingly outrageous and funny big musical numbers. In some ways, they look like Busby Berkeley style dance numbers--but a bit smaller and the songs were hilarious. In fact, most of the songs in "First a Girl" are very funny---and among the best I've ever heard in a film (especially the song about the silkworm).

As far as the plot goes, both early films skirt the issue because even in Europe, homosexuality was something the studios generally avoided. In both versions, the one character SHOULD be gay--and they made his straight in order not to offend. However, by 1935, the US had just adopted the rigid production code--which outlawed many things--including any sort of references to being gay or even the implication--so it's not surprising it took many more decades until the Americans took a stab at it.

In the British version, Victor specializes in playing women's roles and singing as a woman. This sort of act would have gone over well in gay clubs, but here the guy is mainstream. However, he's going to a job interview and he's lost his voice! And, when he meets a woman who is very talented but cannot find a job, he trains her to cover for him--and pretend to be a man pretending to be a woman! It's all very confusing but the confusion grows exponentially when a Elizabeth and her male friend find two new friends--and the two new friends (including a princess) are dying to know if Elizabeth is really a guy. It's a cute little film--with lots of great dialog, a cute plot and great music. As for the German film, it's worth seeing but is significantly less entertaining or polished.