FREE ON DAILYMOTION Ernst Lubitsch - Trouble In Paradise

FREE ON DAILYMOTION (DU FINDEST DEN GANZEN FILM FREI AUF DAILYMOTION) When I look at adult people in a modern cinema film, it usually fails because there are simply none. Grey youths probably fit better. In Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble In Paradise it's different: Here, unbelievably grown-up people appear who can only be found in the cinema. They are cosmopolitan, cynical, cultured - almost that they leave a trace of slime. Herbert Marshall plays a jewel thief, Miriam Hopkins a thieving woman who admires him and Kay Francis a rich widow who thinks she can buy him. They live in a pure cinema world full of exquisite costumes, butlers, Venetian hotels, lofts in Paris, cocktails and lots of jewels. Impressive how they move in all the adornment! The Love Triangle was Lubitsch's favourite plot, especially when there is a sexual rivalry. Here we realize from the beginning that the thief Gaston Monescu (Marshall) and the pickpocket Lily Vautier (Hopkins) are meant for each other. Not only because they like each other, but also because their profession basically excludes civilians. When Gaston meets Mariette Colet (Francis), both know that it can't last long. The sexual undertones are played out surprisingly openly, at least Lubitsch's film was made in 1932, before the censorship of American movies took over. So we can be sure that none of the three characters runs the risk of thinking sex is love. Lily and Mariette know what they want and Gaston knows that he has! He masterfully hides his true feelings behind the mask of cultivated jokes. Herbert Marshall fills every scene with suspense, simply because he eludes the emotional script through his play. His whole appearance is so elegant that he seems to float through the room! He knows exactly the requirements of a social comedy and finds the right tone to talk to a lady. The dialogues of Lubitsch's favourite author Samson Raphaelson sound like foreplay from Marshall's mouth... Take another look at the scene where he dines with Lilly. He pretends to be a baron, she a countess: "You know," says Lily, "when I first saw you, I thought you were an American." - "Thank you," he replies seriously. (...) "Then I heard your name and found out you were just one of us," she enthuses. - "Disappointed?" - "No, proud. Very proud". Then they kiss and steal from each other. Something feverish resonates in the dialogues and that's what makes Lubitsch's Screwball Comedy so special. Lubitsch had his very own way of transforming the given material through his style: The famous "Lubitsch Touch", which allowed him to express certain things unsaid anyway. The most amazing thing about this style exercise, however, is the fact that his characters still seem to be alive. There is a lot of irony in this director's game, but we are allowed to let ourselves fall into his movies. Ernst Lubitsch is our greatest director in Berlin. Born in 1892, he began to direct himself in 1915. In 1923 he moved to Hollywood to make a lot of successful silent movies. During the 20's and 30's you can call him the regent of the Paramount Studios. Best were his musicals and comedies, where Trouble In Paradise is his masterpiece! Finally, one publicist pointed out the "Lubitsch Touch", which the director himself didn't want to accept. In Trouble In Paradise it's a small wonder how the actors lend dignity to their comic-like characters! In fact, each of the characters here seems full of life experience and with a certain heaviness. Lubitsch's comedy is full of melancholy, even in the funniest moments! Just the scene in which Gaston and Mariette say goodbye to each other. It's clear, both love each other and yet they stole from each other. They try to defuse this situation with a gallant joke - and so does Lubitsch's whole comedy.

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