“Für wen macht eine Frau sich schön”
Hans Söhnker und die Metropol-Vokalisten, vocal; with Robert Renard Tanzorch
(Odeon 0-25913 a mx 11734) June 23, 1937
Here is a very catchy tune from the 1937 German film Der Unwiderstehliche (The Irresistible Man), which starred Hans Söhnker, who also performs the vocal on this recording. The song’s title translates to “Who Does A Woman Make Herself Beautiful For?”
Hans Söhnker was a well-known actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1933 and 1980. During World War II, Söhnker lived a double life, obediently appearing in propaganda films while, at the same time, using his summer house to hide Jews from the authorities. He was one of a small group of actors and actresses who were part of a network that smuggled Jews out of Nazi German to the safety of Switzerland. Had he been caught, it would almost certainly have cost him his life.
The Metropol-Vokalisten was a vocal quartet that patterned itself after the Comedian Harmonists (who, in turn, patterned themselves after imported recordings by the American harmony group The Revelers).
Robert Renard was one of many recording pseudonyms used by Otto Dobrindt’s in-house orchestra for various record labels produced by the Carl Lindström Company, such as Odeon, Parlophon, Gloria, and others.
This recording was made in the Lindström recording studios in Berlin at
26 Schlesische Straße. The huge complex, which included a record pressing plant, printing plant, and company offices, survived the war and is still in use by a variety of tenants.