ERNST LUBITSCH BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Ernst Lubitsch was one of Hollywood’s most sophisticated directors, with movies that boasted wit and a hint of elegant sexuality. His style was so unique and graceful, that the only phrase that could describe it was the “Lubitsch Touch”. He set the precedent for all romantic comedies that ensued, bringing lightness to the pictures, as well as revolutionizing the movie musical. For his many great efforts, he was a recipient of an Honorary Academy Award as well as a nominee for three Oscars.
Lubitsch was born to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany, on January 28, 1892. During high school, he was drawn to the stage. At age sixteen, despite his father’s wishes for him to continue with the family’s clothing manufacturing business, he left to join the theater. By 1911, Lubitsch was a part of Max Reinhardt’s Deutsches Theater. He quickly rose up from playing small parts to stealing leads. Next, he transferred his skills to the silver screen. His debut acting role was in Berlin’s Bioscope film studio’s “Das Mirakel” (1912). He continued to appear in the studio’s silent one reel comedies, eventually becoming known as the comedic screen persona “Meyer”, a hilarious Jew. His directorial debut came with 1914’s “Fräulein Seifenschaum”. Gradually, Lubitsch discontinued his acting and stuck primarily with directing, although he had stints as writer and producer on some of his pictures.
In 1918 the director began to show his seriousness for the art with the horrific drama “Eyes of the Mummy Ma”. Soon after, he turned out numerous pictures, mainly large scale historical dramas and escapists comedies. He found international success with films such as “Carmen” (1918), “Madame du Barry” (1919), and “Anna Boleyn” (1920). Upon direction of over forty German films, Lubitsch was hired by Adolph Zukor to direct the American romantic comedy “Rosita” (1923), starring Mary Pickford. The director chose to stay in Hollywood with Warner Brothers after its success, marking the start of his reign as a great Hollywood director, as well as the beginning of the coining the “Lubitsch Touch”. This “touch” was a combination of understated sensuality, sarcastic humor, and sophistication.
He first demonstrated his 'touch' with movies like “The Marriage Circle” (1924), “Forbidden Paradise” (1924), “Kiss Me Again” (1925), “Lady Windermere’s Fan” (1925), “So This is Paris” (1926), and “The Student Prince in Old Heidelburg” (1927). Although this series of achievement featured pictures from the silent era, his hugely triumphal chain could not be broken even with the transition to sound. In 1928, upon the introduction of sound to Hollywood, Lubitsch moved to Paramount Pictures.
His first talkie, “The Love Parade” (1929), starred the famous Hollywood pairing Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, and showed his true talent for creating delightful musical comedies. He additionally made them more refined, as he was the inaugurator of introducing song into the plot in a flowing fashion. Lubitsch continued this refinery with other operettas like “Monte Carlo” (1930) and “The Smiling Lieutenant” (1931). All three were hailed as critical masterpieces. He next surprised audiences everywhere by releasing his only dramatic film of the period, “Broken Lullaby” (1932). However, he quickly returned back to his favorite kind of picture: the urbane comedy. “One Hour with You” (1932), “Trouble in Paradise” (1932), “Design for Living” (1933), and “The Merry Widow” (1934) all showed his genteel wit.
In 1935, Paramount made Lubitsch their production chief, turning him into the only major director in Hollywood that also ran a large studio. Unfortunately, he found it hard delegating as an authorial figure and was fired only a year later, allowing him to return full-time to movie making. The director made some features for MGM and 20th Century Fox, including successes such as the typical popular Lubitsch type “Ninotchka” (1939), “The Shop Around the Corner” (1940), “To Be or Not To Be” (1942) (which was redone in 1983 with Lubitsch’s original script), “Heaven Can Wait” (1943), “Cluny Brown” (1946), and his final, “That Lady in Ermine” (1948).
Lubitsch was unable to finish “That Lady in Ermine” (1948), as he suffered from his sixth heart attack on November 30, 1947, which ultimately ended up killing him. The movie was eventually finished by director Otto Preminger and released posthumously. During his funeral, Billy Wilder exclaimed “No more Lubitsch”, to which brought the response by William Wyler of “Worse than that – no more Lubitsch films.” For his contributions to the motion pictures, Lubitsch received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Filmography
1948 That Lady in Ermine
1946 Cluny Brown
1946 Dragonwyck
1945 A Royal Scandal
1943 Heaven Can Wait
1942 To Be or Not to Be
1941 That Uncertain Feeling
1940 The Shop Around the Corner
1939 Ninotchka
1938 Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
1937 Angel
1936 Desire
1935 La veuve joyeuse
1934 The Merry Widow
1933 Design for Living
1932 Trouble in Paradise
1932 One Hour with You
1932 Broken Lullaby
1932 If I Had a Million
1932 Une heure près de toi
1931 The Smiling Lieutenant
1930 Galas de la Paramount
1930 Paramount on Parade
1930 The Vagabond King
1930 Monte Carlo
1929 The Love Parade
1929 Eternal Love
1928 The Patriot
1927 The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
1926 The Honeymoon Express
1926 So This Is Paris
1925 Lady Windermere's Fan
1925 Kiss Me Again
1924 Forbidden Paradise
1924 The Marriage Circle
1924 Three Women
1923 Rosita
1923 Die Flamme
1922 The Loves of Pharoah
1921 Die Bergkatze
1920 Anna Boleyn
1920 Romeo und Julia im Schnee
1920 Kohlhiesels Töchter
1920 Die Wohnungsnot
1920 Sumurun
1919 Rausch
1919 Madame DuBarry
1919 Das Schwabenmädel
1919 The Doll
1919 Käsekönig Holländer
1919 Meyer aus Berlin
1919 Der lustige Ehemann
1919 My Lady Margarine
1919 Meine Frau, die Filmschauspielerin
1918 Carmen
1918 Das Mädel vom Ballet
1918 Eyes of the Mummy Ma
1918 Fuhrmann Henschel
1918 I Don't Want to Be a Man
1918 Der Fall Rosentopf
1918 Der Rodelkavalier
1918 Prinz Sami
1917 The Merry Jail
1917 When Four Do the Same
1917 Hans Trutz im Schlaraffenland
1917 Der Blusenkönig
1917 Ossis Tagebuch
1917 Sein einziger Patient
1916 Der G.m.b.H. Tenor
1916 Leutnant auf Befehl
1916 Der gemischte Frauenchor
1916 Der schwarze Moritz
1916 Schuhpalast Pinkus
1916 Doktor Satansohn
1916 Als ich tot war
1916 Das schönste Geschenk
1916 Die neue Nase
1915 Robert and Beltran
1915 Fräulein Piccolo
1915 Zucker und Zimmt
1915 Blindekuh
1915 Aufs Eis geführt
1915 Arme Maria - Eine Warenhausgeschichte
1915 Der Kraftmeier
1915 Der letzte Anzug
1915 Ein verliebter Racker
1915 Wie ich ermordet wurde
1914 The Pride of the Firm
1914 Bedingung - Kein Anhang!
1914 The Perfect Thirty-Six
1914 Fräulein Seifenschaum
1913 Die ideale Gattin
1912 Das Mirakel
