I’ve never cared much for Design for Living, and I’m not quite sure why. It doesn’t seem to be a favorite of many other critics, either. It’s respected, but not loved. James Harvey, whose Romantic Comedy in Hollywood from Lubitsch to Sturges is like Scripture for me, makes an interesting claim about this. He arguesContinue reading “Design for Living (1933)”
Category Archives: Ernst Lubitsch
“Who’s Lubitsch?” — Ninotchka (1939):: Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
Until recently, Lubitsch was rarely mentioned as one of the great Hollywood auteurs. Maybe it was because his bailiwick was comedy. Maybe it was because of his self-effacing mien. Even now, when no one would contest his place in the Hollywood pantheon, he’s rarely discussed as a reflective artist capable of making “meta-comedies,” like VictorContinue reading ““Who’s Lubitsch?” — Ninotchka (1939):: Sullivan’s Travels (1941)”
Ninotchka (1939) – 1.
As a film comedy, Ninotchka is as close to perfect as the Hollywood studio system could ever produce. As an event — the conjunction of Garbo, Lubitsch, Brackett and Wilder, and MGM — it’s almost supernatural. As a Hollywood product, it’s that exceedingly rare thing: it’s a unique comedy. It’s both a loving parody ofContinue reading “Ninotchka (1939) – 1.”
The Merry Widow (1934)
The Merry Widow is probably my favorite of Lubitsch’s film. Until recently it didn’t get much love from film critics and historians, compared with many other Lubitsch comedies. I suspect that was because it appeared to many folks to be just the final sigh of the Jeanette Macdonald-Maurice Chevalier Ruritanian frou-frou musical farces, and itContinue reading “The Merry Widow (1934)”
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
Ernst Lubitsch’s Trouble in Paradise is one of the films on Classic Hollywood’s Mount Rushmore. It’s the most concentrated example of Lubitsch’s famous style, so distilled that it’s almost abstract. Lubitsch himself considered it his greatest stylistic achievement. But there’s trouble in paradise in more ways than one. For me, this dazzling artifact lacks bothContinue reading “Trouble in Paradise (1932)”
Desire (1936)
I’m on the fence about Desire. I’m not sure whether I dislike it or I’ll think of it as really good sometime down the road. A lot of talent was involved in it. Frank Borzage, a romantic darling of the French cinéastes, directed it. Lubitsch, newly named as producer at Paramount Studios, produced it, choseContinue reading “Desire (1936)”