Maedchen in Uniform

Critics Consensus

Beautifully filmed and performed, Mäedchen in Uniform avoids easy melodrama with its sensitive handling of oft-sensationalized subject matter.

90%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 704

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Maedchen in Uniform Photos

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Movie Info

After the death of her mother, teenage Manuela (Hertha Thiele) is sent off to a boarding school run by the autocratic Fräulein von Nordeck (Emilia Unda). Initially withdrawn from the other girls due to her grief and anger at being sent away, Manuela is drawn out of her shell by the beautiful and sympathetic young teacher Elizabeth von Bernburg (Dorothea Wieck). But when Manuela's fondness for her teacher turns into a romantic attachment, it becomes a school-wide scandal.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

German
Director:

Leontine Sagan
Producer:

Carl Froelich
Runtime:

1h 30m
Sound Mix:

Mono

Cast & Crew

Hertha Thiele
Manuela von Meinhardis

Dorothea Wieck
Fräulein von Bernburg

Emilia Unda
The Principal

Leontine Sagan
Director

Friedrich Dammann
Writer

Christoe Winsloe
Writer

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Mädchen in Uniform (Girls in Uniform) (Maidens in Uniform)

All Critics (42) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (42)

No outline of the story could attempt to convey a sense of the adroitness with which the producers have caught the schoolgirl spirit that bubbles even under such repressive conditions, the naturalness of manner revealed by the youthful players.

December 10, 2020 | Full Review…

Len G. Shaw
Detroit Free Press
It is acted and directed with forceful simplicity, and is a strong example of Germany's return to assurance in the talkie field.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

Robert Herring
Guardian
The conclusion is highly satisfying. And indeed the whole picture is extremely interestingly done as to continuity, performances and direction.

November 18, 2020 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Irene Thirer
New York Daily News
I found no suggestion of anything scandalous about this cinema's subject matter, and that its "sensationalism " lies solely in the marvelously natural acting, keen direction, and superb camera work that make it a photoplay gem among gems.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
The abyss of false sentimentality on the one side and downright unpleasantness on the other wait hungrily for one mistake, but Leontine Sagan, the director, avoids them both magnificently.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

Times (UK) Staff
Times (UK)
It is a simple picture, as great as it is simple.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

Philip K. Scheuer
Los Angeles Times
[The story] might be of less importance in itself than the way in which it has been moulded. A way which expresses naturally and with charm the delicate side of the subject and which characterizes distinctly but not abruptly.

January 14, 2021 | Full Review…

Andor Kraszna-Krausz
Close Up
I cannot begin to tell you of the amazing skill of the casting, of the authenticity of the scenes, nor of the wonderfully sympathetic performances of Miss Hertha Thiele as Manuela and Miss Dorothea Wieck a Fraulein von Bernburg.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

E.W. Harrold
Ottawa Citizen
Of all the motion pictures which have come out of the German studios this year the one called Maedchen in Uniform is probably the most important and, incidentally, the most successful.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

Martin Dickstein
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Something unusual, something fine in motion pictures.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

Charles Aaronson
Motion Picture Herald (Exhibitors Herald)
It is a beautifully conceived drama, masterfully directed and acted by the principals. It's a thought-provoking film, handled with a strange charm and sensitive touch.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

Film Daily Staff
The Film Daily
There is a sensitiveness about Maedehen In Uniform... which no other film has achieved. There is also beauty of thought and a deep pathos which becomes vibrant in its intensity.

November 18, 2020 | Full Review…

E. de S. Melcher
Washington Star

View All Critic Reviews (42)

Audience Reviews for Mädchen in Uniform (Girls in Uniform) (Maidens in Uniform)

Jun 18, 2010

This film is not about sex among lesbian schoolgirls. No "hot girl on girl action". It's a touching story of a lonely teenage girl who develops a crush on her older female teacher. Very well-made, as most 1930s German films are, IMHO. Haven't seen it in years, and when/if I get to see it again, I'll write a more complete review.

Cindy I Super Reviewer