How Would Lubitsch Do It?

We’re back, and Ernst Lubitsch is now in Hollywood!

It’s been an exciting time for the podcast: we’ve traveled around the world or, more specifically, to Los Angeles and New York City, to record the next few seasons. We begin at the Margaret Herrick Library at Beverly Hills, in conversation with Peter Labuza as we discuss the history of early Hollywood, wherein Ernst Lubitsch is about to begin the second phase of his career.

In this episode, we cover the landscape and economics of the studio system circa the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s including studios such as MGM, 20th Century, Universal, Paramount, and RKO, the interplay between capital and labor in this industry, the impact of synchronized sound, the great depression, the Hays code, JEWEL ROBBERY, and much more!

Anna Citak-Scott was our recording engineer for this episode.

Thanks to Matt Severson and the Margaret Herrick Library for letting us record in the Karl Malden room.

We have a Discord!

Critic and friend of the show Tim Brayton returns to discuss Lubitsch’s first American silent film, ROSITA. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

Hard, Fast, and Brokerage: Irving H. Levin, the Filmmakers, and the Birth of Conglomerate in Hollywood by Peter Labuza

For our season finale, we’re excited to welcome Munich Film Museum director Stefan Drössler to discuss the (mostly) lost film THE FLAME. Stefan was responsible for the reconstructions of both THE FLAME and THE LOVES OF THE PHARAOH, and shares his insights into all elements of the restoration process: handling and structuring the film elements, creating (or recreating) the soundtracks, and speculative tinting. We also discuss the state of the German and American film industries circa 1923, Lubitsch’s decision to leave for America, his German identity, and the fates of many of Lubitsch’s German collaborators.

Gloria Mercer was our dialogue editor for this episode.

That brings us to the end of Lubitsch’s Berlin period and, thusly, the end of season 2! Join us in July when we return for our third season in which we cover Lubitsch’s American silent period.

FILM HISTORY: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNEY Vol. 21 No. 3: Ernst Lubitsch and EFA by Stefan Drössler

THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER Trailer

Film academic, Egyptologist, all-around legend Kristin Thompson joins us to discuss THE LOVES OF THE PHARAOH! We cover the ‘Egyptomania’ craze that swept the western world in the early 20th century, the film’s anachronism, the possible historical inspirations for the film’s plot, Lubitsch’s transition to dark studios, the evolution in acting styles, and the influence Weimar cinema had on American films and vice versa.

Griffin Sheel was our dialogue editor for this episode.

Munich Film Museum director Stefan Drössler joins us to discuss THE FLAME.

HERR LUBITSCH GOES TO HOLLYWOOD by Kristin Thompson

Paul Cuff’s Entry on THE LOVES OF THE PHARAOH on his website ‘The Realm of Silence’.

Will Ross and Bram Ruiter rejoin us to discuss Lubitsch’s 1921 Bavarian expressionist comedy epic THE WILDCAT. We wrestle with this exhilarating-yet-difficult work as we consider unmotivated aspect ratio changes, body double swaps, questionable rug-pull endings, Lubitsch’s artistic toolkit, and the film’s ridiculous production design.

Griffin Sheel was our dialogue editor for this episode.

NEXT WEEK:

Legendary film scholar and egyptologist Kristin Thompson joins us to discuss THE LOVES OF THE PHARAOH. 

Surprise! Paul Cuff returns to discuss something completely different: Abel Gance’s 1927 epic NAPOLEON! We discuss our shared love of the film, our first experiences watching it, Abel Gance’s subsequent career, and the history of the film’s restoration.

Gloria Mercer was our dialogue editor for this episode.

Bram Ruiter and Will Ross rejoin us to discuss Lubitsch’s 1921 expressionist comic extravaganza, THE WILDCAT.

A REVOLUTION FOR THE SCREEN: ABEL GANCE’S NAPOLEON by Paul Buff

Paul Cuff’s Commentary on the BFI Napoleon Blu-Ray

NAPOLEON by Kevin Brownlow

Film academic Paul Cuff joins us to discuss ANNA BOLEYN, Lubitsch’s second grand historical biopic about European royalty. We discuss Lubitsch’s career directory, the uses and misuses of Emil Jannings and Henny Porten, Weimar-era production design and lighting, silent film scores, and how this film compares to Lubitsch’s others epics.

Gloria Mercer was our dialogue editor for this episode.

After recording this episode, Paul and I discussed a certain other silent historical epic for long enough to warrant a whole bonus episode. So, we’re taking a break from Lubitsch for a week to talk NAPOLEON VU PAR ABEL GANCE (1927). What a curveball!

Paul’s Entry on THE LOVES OF THE PHARAOH on his website ‘The Realm of Silence’.

Instead of discussing SUMURUN, Devan will discuss the podcast and answer some of your questions.

We’re starting a discord! Check it out here: https://discord.gg/jJFvB5tk

Film academic Paul Cuff joins us to discuss ANNA BOLEYN, Lubitsch’s second grand historical biopic about European royalty.

Film writer and programmer Maddie Whittle joins us to discuss ROMEO AND JULIET IN THE SNOW, Lubitsch’s other 1920 comic riff on William Shakespeare. We discuss shocking adaptational genre shifts, dunking jokes, Lubitsch’s habit of shooting location exteriors in the alps and only the alps, continuity, and the sad preservation status of this film.

Griffin Sheel was our dialogue editor for this episode.

We discuss SUMURUN.

Filmmaker, critic, and academic David Cairns joins us to discuss KOHLHEISEL’S DAUGHTERS, Lubitsch’s Bavarian comic riff on Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. We delve into the difficulties of adapting one of the English canon’s most infamously chauvinistic plays, empathizing with 103-year-old art, our confusion over the fact that this film has been so unjustifiably neglected, slipping things past the sensors, Henny Porten’s wonderful performances, Emil Jannings’ lack of sex appeal, Fritz Lang’s flight from the Nazis, and the ways in which this film points (or doesn’t) to Lubitsch’s future tendencies.

Gloria Mercer was our dialogue editor for this episode.

Maddie Whittle joins us to discuss Lubitsch’s other 1920 travesty on a Shakespeare play, ROMEO AND JULIETTE IN THE SNOW!

EUREKA MADAME DUBARRY BLU-RAY LINER NOTES - David Cairns

SHADOWPLAY

Critic and friend of the show Tim Brayton returns to discuss Lubitsch’s lo-fi comic masterpiece THE DOLL. Much enthusiasm for this completely iconoclastic curio of a film is shared as we discuss the nature of artifice, history’s least-convincing fake horses, the mysterious circumstances under which this film’s release was botched, Lubitsch’s not-all-that-scathing satire of organized religion, and unacceptably bad silent film scores.

Griffin Sheel was our dialogue editor for this episode.

Filmmaker, critic, and academic David Cairns joins us to discuss KOHLHEISEL’S DAUGHTERS, Lubitsch’s bizarre Bavarian take on Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’.