| Sunshine Susie | |
| Director: | Victor Saville |
| Producer: | Michael Balcon |
| Starring: | Renate Müller Jack Hulbert Owen Nares |
| Music: | Paul Abraham |
| Cinematography: | Mutz Greenbaum |
| Editing: | Ian Dalrymple Derek N. Twist |
| Studio: | Gainsborough Pictures |
| Distributor: | Ideal Films |
| Runtime: | 80 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Sunshine Susie is a 1931 British musical comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Renate Müller, Jack Hulbert, and Owen Nares.[1] The film was shot at Islington Studios[2] with sets designed by Alex Vetchinsky. It was based on a novel by István Szomaházy. An alternate German-language version The Private Secretary was made, also starring Renate Müller.
It is also known under the alternative title The Office Girl. The film established Müller as a star in Britain.[3]
A young German woman moves to Vienna to seek work. With the assistance of Herr Hassell, a friendly commissionaire and budding conductor, she gains a job as a typist with a banking firm. Unknown to her, the man she takes to be a lowly clerk with the company who romances her at the local beer garden. is in fact the bank's director.
The film was a big hit and was voted the best British film of 1932.[4] Its theme song "Today I Feel So Happy" also became a major hit.[5]
The New York Times though, regretted that the film was "not up to the mark set by the Teutonic work, for the studio acoustics appear to be faulty and in several sequences the director, Victor Saville, has failed to have his scenes as adequately lighted," although the reviewer praised the work of Jack Hulbert and Owen Nares, concluding that "Both give clever performances, the result being that this Gainsborough feature makes for quite a good hour or so of entertainment";[6] and the Motion Picture Herald praised the film as having "a sparkle in every foot."[7]