Many know Blake Edwards’s 1982 film and the 1995 Broadway production, but few have seen the original 1933 film until now, thanks to this new release by Kino Lorber.

A young woman (Renate Müller) can’t find work as a singer, so she works with a down on his luck actor to revise her act and become a man on stage. Now, Victoria has become Victor, but her life has become even more complicated.

Director Reinhold Schünzel also shot a French-language version of the film as George and Georgette starring Meg Lemonnier and a French cast. Victor Saville directed an English version, First a Girl, in 1935 and there was a West German remake by Karl Anton in 1957. Before the aforementioned Edwards film, there was also the Argentina remake My Girlfriend, the Transvestite.

You can get this on DVD and blu ray from Kino Lorber, along with Mädchen in Uniform, which we covered earlier this week. It comes complete with commentary by film historian Gaylyn Studlar. They sent us a copy and it’s well worth adding to your collection. It taught me that even though I think I know something about film history, there is also something new to discover.