1892-1947
One of my own personal all time favorite directors Ernst Lubitsch was born on this day in Berlin, Germany. Lubitsch's father was quite the successful tailor and wanted his son to follow him in the business. Ernst, having had a love of the theater from a young age, balked heavily at this and eventually entered theatrical work as an actor. Before long--by 1911--at the very young age of 19--he was a member Max Reinhardt theatrical company at the Deutsches Theater, under Reinhardt's full management. This is important because, though not discussed often, the two men undoubtedly had an effect on each other in regard to film (topic for an interesting essay/article!). Reinhardt was seen as very much a "theater man" through and through--his management business was a wild success. But in truth, Reinhardt had a deep interest in directing films; this no doubt was imparted to Lubitsch (Reinhardt would go on to actually direct a few films, no doubt spurred on by Lubitsch's success in the industry before him: tit-for-tat). Given his beginnings in the theater, it then comes as no surprise that Lubitsch entered the film business in the capacity of an actor, which he did just a year after his full membership at the Deutsches. He appeared as "Speilman" in the medieval mystery The Miracle, an English language/UK production shot in Austria, in 1912 (the 1913 German film The Ideal Wife is often cited at Lubitsch's film debut). It was not long before he also directed his first film, which he also wrote and starred in. The film was Miss Soapsuds (Fräulein Seifenschaum) was produced in 1914, when Lubitsch was just 22 (in the meantime, he made acting appearances in more the half dozen films). In his earliest directing efforts, it was common for him to direct himself in prominant roles (it was almost as common for him to have personally written the script, many of which were comedic in nature). This arrangement came to end when he started getting directing jobs on feature length films, around 1918. Though The Eyes of the Mummy (1918), starring the delightful Pola Negri, is often cited as his break out film as director, it was pretty clear by his handling of the direction of The Ballet Girl (with the film I Don't Want To Be A Man separating them) that he had arrived as a director of serious merit. By the time his Carmen, also starring Negri, was released later in 1918, he had well and truly arrived one the world stage as a serious talent in the crafting of films (it was only a matter of time before Hollywood took notice, though with some considerable help from the director himself). He would not make his Hollywood move until 1922, and he made a number of important features between Carmen and his Hollywood debut with Rosita in 1923. Negri was a frequent lead and light fantasy elements were common. One of his surviving films from the time was The Doll; released in December of 1919 the film was based on an E.T.A Hoffmann story. Another of his surviging German films is the over two hour long Deception (original title Anna Boleyn) starring Henny Porten and Emil Jannings based on the life of Henry VIII's ill-fated second wife. But it was The Loves of Pharaoh (Das Weib des Pharao) in 1922 that was his crowning achievement during this portion of his career. Again starring Jannings in the lead, as the Pharao Amenes, the film was the first and only film made by his own production company Ernst Lubitsch-Film (the film was the subject of one of the most complicated restoration projects of the early 2000's). He made just one more German film before making a permanent move to California. A much shorter production, The Flame (Die Flamme) was a melodrama based on a Hans Müller play released domestically in September of 1923.
Despite that Lubitsch's Hollywood films would become wildly popular and highly regarded (garnering him Oscar nods by 1930), his relocation there was not seamless. Lubitsch had been intensly interested in making films in the U.S. ever since he saw an exdous of various European directors after World War I; he made a fact finding trip in 1921 and saw for himself the superiority of the equipment and facilities as compared to the increasingly struggling German film industry; but he was burdened with a heavy German accent (and completely ignoring his Jewish ancestry...), was not at all to the liking of Americans fresh off a war they had been drug kicking and screaming into. Lubitsch, however, was persistent and managed to get his foot in the door a couple of years later. His first American film is a well known one. Rosita, which stars Mary Pickford, with Holbrook Blinn and Irene Rich in top supporting roles (the film exists and has been restored, no thanks to it's star; Pickford so disliked the film that she allowed her own personal copy of the film, the only known print at the time--to decay on purpose--a copy was found in Russia in 1960's however). Though made for Pickford's production company, it was under the umbrella of United Artists for distribution, a connection that would be of help to him later on. He next moved over to Warner's to direct Florence Vidor in the comedy The Marriage Circle (February 1924); and the melodrama Three Women (October 1924) starring Pauline Frederick, May McAvoy and Marie Prevost. He finished up the year at Paramount (Famous Players-Lasky) directing the comedy Forbidden Paradise (November 1924) starring his old muse Negri.
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| Lubitsch directing Forbidden Paradise [source: Paramount Pictures] |
Continuing with his track of bringing comedic plays to the screen, he made two films in the vein in 1925 for Warner's. The first of these was Kiss Me Again (August 1925), starring Marie Prevost and Monte Blue, based on the play Divorçons by Victorien Sardou and Emile DeNajac (the film is now considered lost). He next directed a version of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, the film that many consider his silent masterpiece. The film stars May McAvoy and Ronald Colman with Irene Rich as the cunning and coy Mr. Erlynne. Wilde would not be anyone's first choice for source material in a silent film...his brilliant word play is what makes Wilde...well, Wilde right? This is what makes this film such a feat of direction on the part of Lubitsch. It's expertly done, story in-tact and superbly shot...and it is very much still with us today!
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| Rich and McAvoy |
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| Just one of the many rather perfect fades in Lady Windermere's Fan |
In 1926, he next turned his directorial attentions to Halévy/Meilhac play Le Reveillon for his "roaring twenties" dance film (without the song) So This Is Paris starring Patsy Ruth Miller and Lilyan Tashman as a true to form "flapper," with a return performance by Monte Blue (Myrna Loy is also a cast member). Basically a remarriage comedy, the film features the extremely popular dance of the time the Charleston. The New York Times voted it one of the best films of 1926.
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| Lubitsch with his Paris cast. |
Lubitsch's last silent film was The Student Prince in Old Heidleberg, a romance pairing up Ramon Novarro with Norma Shearer. Based on the popular Wilhelm Meyer-Förster adapted play Old Heidelberg, the film was made for MGM and Lubitsch was offered production credit. For his first sound film, he moved over to Paramount to direct The Patriot, a partial silent, filmed completely as a silent with sound added in post-production. And talk about casting...Emil Jannings, Lewis Stone, Florence Vidor, Neil Hamilton....it's a strange line up. It also received multiple nominations for the Academy Awards, including for Best Director (it won for writing achievement). The film is also considered lost; in fact it is the only film within the Best Picture nominations list to have been lost. His next film, Eternal Love, was also a partial silent; with John Barrymore and Camilla Horn in the lead roles, it was produced by Joe Schenck's company and distributed by United Artists. This film survives and is availble; many fans of both Lubitsch and Barrymore cite it as a favoirite film.
Lubitsch's last film of the decade was also his first full sound film. Back at Paramount, he produced and directed The Love Parade, not only his first full sound picture, but also a musical to boot. It would be the first of several for him. It was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture.
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| The Love Parade [source: MoMA] |
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| The Love Parade |
His first two films of the new decade were musicals, Monte Carlo (1930) and The Smiling Lieutenant (1931), he returned to non-music laden film making in 1932 with Broken Lullaby a story of war redemption starring the other Barrymore, Lionel. Form there, he returned to the musical form in his next film One Hour with You (1932). When I was growing up with morning and afternoon films on TBS, I remember watching his next film Trouble in Paradise (October 1932), it was my introduction to Lubitsch, though I didn't know it at the time, I just knew I loved the film. The other film that I also was introduced to on TBS was Ninotchka, a Lubitsch film starring Greta Garbo from 1939. I was introduced to these films just weeks apart, but in Lubitsch's career he had directed several films in the years in between, including Angel with Marlene Dietrich in 1937. The lighthearted The Shop Around the Corner, with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan (and Frank Morgan!) was his first film of the 1940's. He made four films through mid-decade, including To Be or Not to Be, which would turn out to be Carole Lombard's last film. He did not have any films released between the years 1943 and 1946. His romantic war comedy Cluny Brown was released post-war June of 1946 and he then went to work on another musical starring Betty Grable. The Lady in Ermine, which also featured Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Cesar Romero would not only be his last film, it would be left unfinished at the time of his death. Lubitsch died of a sudden heart attack on the 30th of November in 1947. He was just 55 years old. Director Otto Preminger finished his last film, which was released on the 25th of September of 1948, nearly a year after his death. Hollywood was truly stunned by his death, a town that he had spurned him in beginning of his overtures had become a place that, for a moment, could not live without him. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
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| [Source: AJM (Find a Grave)] |
