In my mind this is a pale comparison to the 1972 musical "Cabaret" (based on the 1966 musical.) The actors all seemed horribly miscast, overacting, and the performance all too literary--like they know they are performing 'great literature.' In the end it all falls terribly flat. The scene in the middle of the film with Christopher getting a massage, electro-shock treatment--is comedy genius. In one brief moment--as the burly mustachioed masseuse gives Christopher a massage, Christopher is giving a mock massage to the shoulder of the masseuse. Well, I thought it was funny.
The story lines, more or less match. But the Kander and Ebb music--elevated the musical to the dark realm that Christopher Isherwood intended. He wanted to portray the decadence of Germany with Hitler's rise and reflect that decadence in Sally Bowles Kit Kat Klub. Where "I am a Camera" fails, "Cabaret" succeeds.
But "I am a Camera" was filmed in 1955 so allusions to homosexuality had to be veiled; it surprising that in a relatively short span of eleven years--"Cabaret" could speak directly to the topic. And not just the topic of homosexuality, but the topic of a drag queen using the men's room to take a leak; speak to that dark side of polymorphous sexuality.
As an historical film that pre-dated "Cabaret"--"I am a Camera" is worth seeing, even if the film leaves much to be desired.
The story lines, more or less match. But the Kander and Ebb music--elevated the musical to the dark realm that Christopher Isherwood intended. He wanted to portray the decadence of Germany with Hitler's rise and reflect that decadence in Sally Bowles Kit Kat Klub. Where "I am a Camera" fails, "Cabaret" succeeds.
But "I am a Camera" was filmed in 1955 so allusions to homosexuality had to be veiled; it surprising that in a relatively short span of eleven years--"Cabaret" could speak directly to the topic. And not just the topic of homosexuality, but the topic of a drag queen using the men's room to take a leak; speak to that dark side of polymorphous sexuality.
As an historical film that pre-dated "Cabaret"--"I am a Camera" is worth seeing, even if the film leaves much to be desired.