Mädchen in Uniform (1931)

Maedchen In Uniform is one of those odd movies whose very existence -- and the attributes it displays -- place it almost completely outside of the era and attributes of the era in which it was made; in that regard, it stands alongside such unusual Hollywood movies as Joseph L. Mankiewicz's People Will Talk, Herbert Biberman's Salt Of The Earth, and Abraham Polonsky's Force Of Evil -- except that Maedchen In Uniform was the product of an even more repressive culture than 1950's America, made as it was in early 1930's Germany. And it was attacked in its time, though not for the lesbian-oriented, homo-erotic aspects of its story and visuals, but for being a critique of the educational establishment. It thus became an underground classic, taken to heart by iconoclasts of all stripes and, most especially, by lesbian audiences. Even by the standards of the twenty-first century, the honesty of the movie is startling when one considers its origins. The technical side of the filmmaking may be a little frayed, but the acting and direction have endured in their appeal across many decades, and the movie continues to attract attention as something more than an artifact. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide