Dutch film stars of the 30s: Unspoiled youth
All through her short film career, Rini Otte was always casted as the ‘archetypal Dutch girl’: sporty in her looks but also always ‘fair playing’, honest, hard working, and jovial in spirit.
Rini’s career started almost by accident: as she was volunteering as a sketch artist at the Cinetone Studio’s, she was cast as an extra in Suikerfreule. About the ballroom scene, in which she appears, she said to De Telegraaf: “I was drawing, when I heard the assistant director shouting ‘Eleven! There’s only eleven of them! We’re supposed to have twelve!’. So I was invited to join in. And with all those people out there, I was even the one who was given a line.”
Jonge harten is a movie that would break with the tradition of the Dutch cinema of the times. Static studio images where replaced by lively exterior shots; theatrical acting was replaced by a more naturalistic approach. Rini plays Annie, a girl who goes camping with some friends on the island of Texel and suffers when her boyfriend Peter falls in love with a mysterious tourist. Het Vaderland got quite lyrical about the cast of Jonge harten, describing them as “unspoiled Dutch youth who has nothing outlandish to them…” and also praised “ the simple charm of the faces of young Dutch girls, Rini Otte and Martha Posno.” While Het Nieuw Weekblad voor de Cinematografie thought that “the sporty girl” was the best characterization of Rini’s role.
Komedie om geld had the international allure and status of its famous German director, Max Ophüls. It is considered one of the best pre-war Dutch productions. Rini is Willy, the daughter of a bank employee who loses her job as a gym teacher when her father is wrongfully accused of theft. When later in the film the man becomes rich, she plays the role of his conscience.
In an interview to Het Vaderland, Ophüls confessed that, in his opinion, theatrical acting was much more of a problem than lack of experience – thus indirectly praising Rini’s performance. Het Nieuw Weekblad voor de Cinematografie was once again enthusiastic about Rini and quoted the words of the German master: “…as a non-actress, she can take directions better than more experienced theatre actors.”
Ergens in Nederland was Otte’s last film. In the movie she plays the role of Marijke, a girl who helps to evacuate her parents’ farm. The film, a drama set in times of the mobilization, is about the troubled marriage between a lawyer, who in his mobilization days secretly works as a mine sweeper, and his naive wife. In a scene, Rini dances with the protagonist, Jan de Hartog, who only had little stage experience and was best known as a writer.
In an interview the director Ludwig Berger commented her performance: “Rini Otte. The girl with striking looks, the fresh newcomer, the honest type, a tool in the hands of the director: an instrument that merely responded here.” In contrast, the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant stated: “And the sign of the poor use of human material in this film is that Rini Otte steals the scene. Even if she has nothing of the farmer girl she is supposed to play, she is credible and it’s clear that when she appears in the movie the pace of the film feels better.”