The Girl and the Legend

It's true that Daniel Dafoe's career ran into difficulties with the government,because of his pamphleteering and political activities under queen Ann 's reign ."Robinson Crusoe" was an instant success but he was often in debtors prison where he died .

So why not Dafoe's son as the bad lot who 's crippled with debts ,in a chocolate box England ?

Dafoe's Great Britain is as credible as Sissi's Austria .And here she is, Romy, fresh from the second episode of the empress' adventures;as if it were not enough ,add her mother Magda-who's cast in almost all her early efforts- and Gustave "papili" Knuth .

Hindsight displays the same kitsch charm as the Marischka trilogy ;Horst Buchholz and Romy Schneider were then the most handsome couple of the German cinema ;they were to make another movie together, less mawkish , "Monpti" .

So Dafoe's son, Tom ,short of the readies, steals the "Robinson " manuscripts to soak up his debts ; the king had all the books forbidden because of the bad influence they had on his beloved son .But Maud and her young friends ,who slave in a cotton mill and who dream of a faraway island in the sun , will help the dying writer find back his precious manuscript.

Like Sissi,it happens in a magic kingdom,where the sovereign intervenes , treats the poor boys to a sumptuous tea , promises to improve their awful working conditions ;it is a fairytale where every dream comes true .Or something like that.