Romeo i Julcia

The film's plot revolves around the activities of a matrimonial agency and a school of good manners called Romeo i Julcia, run by Teofil Rączka (Adolf Dymsza) and Moniek Platfus (Konrad Tom).

Soon, the owners receive an assignment to dissuade the Koziegłowicz family (Antoni Fertner and Irena Skwierczyńska) from an American girl they have chosen as a future wife for their son Roman (Wacław Ścibor-Rylski [pl]).

Docent Teofil Rączka and Professor Moniek Platfus establish a matrimonial agency called Romeo i Julcia, which also serves as a school of good manners.

[3] This situation was due to the lack of suitable actors and creators capable of effectively preparing a comic silent show based on visual gags and the characters' struggles with life's adversities.

[5] Screenwriters from this environment or inspired by its representatives did not strive for originality and used plot patterns from French boulevard farces, Berlin musical comedies, and Viennese operettas, adding characters and motifs developed over the years on Warsaw's cabaret stages.

Viewers wanted to forget their daily worries, so themes of lottery wins, wealthy marriages, and surprising social promotions dominated comedies.

[7][8] Humor, based on banal and improbable situations, was accompanied by cheerful songs, catchy sayings, and satire on the petty bourgeoisie.

[10] The 254th issue of the newspaper ABC [pl] published on 5 September 1932 announced that filming for the movie Romeo i Julcia had begun, produced by Del-film.

[14][15] Józef Fryd from the weekly Kino [pl] gave a clearly positive review of the film, describing the script as clever and humorous, with a large number of visual gags and funny situations.

[16] According to him, the story had a cohesive nature, and the music by Henryk Wars was of high quality; the film fulfilled its primary goal, which was to entertain the audience.

Both reviewers noted that the weaknesses of Romeo i Julcia were the lack of proper pacing, sluggish direction, underutilization of the cast and ideas, gaps in the script, and poor sound quality.

[16][17] Additionally, the second reviewer commented on the first part of the production, stating that it relied too much on "Jewish" humor, while the opening scene with the orchestra and the finale, though "good as an idea", were executed "without proper flair and expression".

[18] Stefania Zahorska from Wiadomości Literackie [pl] called the film trash, made without "any cinematic sense" and lacking "even the most primitive craftsmanship honesty".

[16] Stefania Heymanowa echoed her sentiment, stating that after watching Romeo i Julcia, one feels "shame – that's the only emotion a viewer with at least some refined taste experiences.

[18] When comparing ten Polish comedies from the early 1930s, Leszek and Barbara Armatys gave a negative assessment of Romeo i Julcia, Sto metrów miłości (1932), and Pieśniarz Warszawy (1934).

[21] In their opinion, these films were mass-produced according to prevailing trends, providing easy entertainment suited to the tastes of "sappers, cooks, and domestic helpers".

[21] However, according to them, like other representatives of this genre, they do hold some value, namely in showcasing the style of famous cabaret artists of the time and elements of Warsaw dialect.

Zula Pogorzelska as Franka Krochmalska in one of the film's scenes