We Make Music (Wir machen Musik) (1942), directed by Helmut Käutner. Monday, March 6, movie night.

Apparently, there was someone named Ilse Werner, pictured above, who was known as the “whistling star”. She whistled, and quite a bit, in this strange little musical We Make Music, crafted as a diversion to the Germans during World War II. It’s pure escapism, a silly plot and jazzy music, two leads with decent chemistry, some impressive camerawork. Voila! A fun distraction from the war. But Ilse Werner is fascinating, aside from her whistling (which I admit is pretty amazing, if limited in interest), she’s got such magnetism you can’t take your eyes off of her, and think of her whenever she’s not in the film. Her work was banned by the Allies after the war for participating in propaganda, one can only wonder what she would’ve done had she moved to America.