About the work
Musical comedy in four scenes by Ralph Benatzky, who wrote both the music and the book after the French farce La petite chocolatière by Paul Gavault. It was composed in 1932 and first performed on 24 May 1933 at the Deutsches Volkstheater in Vienna.
Plot
The civil servant Paul is engaged to the dull Louise until his friend Felix brings the lively Annette into his circle, leading to nocturnal complications. Out of the initial chaos grows a love story: in the end, Annette gives up her financial independence to be with Paul.
Cultural significance
The work dates from Benatzky's productive Viennese period following his international success with The White Horse Inn (1930). The 1953 film version was dismissed by the Lexikon des internationalen Films as routine boulevard fare, conceding it only "a few nice tunes".