Sadly, the name Ernst Lubitsch isn’t one that’s batted around much by the hip young gunslingers of the movie world. Given that he passed away in the 1940s, there are many whose grandparents were barely out of short trousers the last time a Lubitsch picture was in theaters, and only a few filmmakers (Wes Anderson the most recent) mention him as a touchstone these days. But we’re firmly of the belief that cinema would be much improved if every screenwriter and director sat down for a weekend with the films of the much-missed director.
Lubitsch, born in Berlin in 1892 to Jewish parents, started off life as an actor before becoming a director in the Weimar era, quickly establishing himself as a promising filmmaker while still only in his 20s with melodramas like “The Eyes of the Mummy” and “Anna Boleyn.” In 1922, the director left for Hollywood to work for Mary Pickford and found success with a series of silent films, and eventually, musicals and talkies. Over the next twenty-odd years, he knocked out a string of outstanding comedies, each one displaying the famous, slightly intangible “Lubitsch touch” (Billy Wilder has a good explanation here), even running Paramount for a year in 1935, and picking up a Special Academy Award in March 1947.
Before the year was out, sadly, Lubitsch had passed away, dying from his sixth heart attack, 65 years ago today on November 30th, 1947. At the funeral, Billy Wilder (a protégé of the older director, who worked on him on films like “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife,” and “Ninotchka“) remarked sadly to another great director, William Wyler, “No more Lubitsch,” to which Wyler replied, mournfully, “Worse than that. No more Lubitsch pictures.” And while his influence lives on (Wilder hung a sign on his desk saying “How would Lubitsch do it?” for the rest of his life), it’s hard not to feel that sadness still today. To mark the anniversary of the director’s passing, we’ve picked out five of our favorites, which will serve as a good introduction to any of you unfamiliar with the director’s work. And there’s plenty more where that came from; feel free to add other recommendations in the comments section below.
“Trouble In Paradise” (1932)
It may be eighty years old, but few rom-coms since have matched the cleverness, wit, sexiness and sheer joy of the meet-cute (a term that barely holds a candle to the sophistication of the film) that opens Ernst Lubitsch’s “Trouble In Paradise.” The dashing and infamous Gaston Monescu (Herbert Marshall) and the gorgeous Lily (Miriam Hopkins) — both thieves — are in Venice, and on a date under the guise of being a Baron and a Countess. But it isn’t long before the crooks realize they are in like-minded company. After they flirt by showing what they have lifted off one another over the course of the evening, they fall swiftly in love. Fast-forward and Gaston and Lily are happily together, scheming their way around Europe, when Gaston sets his eyes on Madame Mariette Colet (Kay Francis), the widowed owner of a lucrative cosmetics company, but he’s soon forced to choose between his love of money and the love of his life. Marshall carries the film with a confident swagger that makes you believe this man could work his way into the heart and business of a woman in a matter of weeks. And Hopkins and Francis are no mere shells, showing two wildly different women — one cool and collected, the other impulsive and passionate — who both have plenty to offer Gaston. It’s a tricky balancing act but the film’s finale, which sees Lubitsch masterfully write his way to an ending that sees all three get what they want and then mirror the opening sequence to top it all off (has pickpocketing ever been done as an act of affection since?), is a total joy to behold. Yes, the film is a total fantasy — two thieves moving from European capital to another, swindling their way through life — but Lubitsch knows if the feelings aren’t genuine it won’t work, and by the end of the picture, you really are rooting for Gaston to make the right choice. Brilliant and breezy (the movie runs at a crisp 82 minutes), deeply romantic and laugh-out-loud funny, “Trouble In Paradise” is pretty much divine. Made just before the Production Code was brought in, the film was effectively banned once it did arrive, remaining mostly unseen until 1968. Thank god it did resurface, not least on an excellent Criterion edition.