How Would Lubitsch Do It?

Eric Dienstfrey joins us to discuss the sound technology behind early talkies, and in particular THE MERRY WIDOW. We cover the ways in which recording and exhibition technology changed and fluctuated throughout the 1930s, the sordid tale of both the innovation and skullduggery engaged in by Electrical Research Products, Inc, the institution of the uniform-but-limiting Academy Mono standard, Jeanet...

Podcasters, filmmakers, and artists Jordan Fish, Ray Tintori , and Z Behl join us to further discuss DESIGN FOR LIVING and disrupt the flow of the podcast much like the film in question disrupts the format of the romantic comedy! We cover the film’s structure, production design, relationship with branding and commerce, Gilda’s identity as “matron of the arts”a, Lubitsch’s camera blocking, draw all...

Molly Rasberry returns to discuss DESIGN FOR LIVING in the first of two episodes devoted to Lubitsch’s (in)famous 1933 pre-code romantic comedy! We cover the absolutely scandalous nature of the film’s central ménage à trois, the drastic changes made to Noel Coward’s source material, the screen presence of the film’s three leads, and much more! Edited by Sophia Yoon. We have a Discord ! Listen on:...

Bram Ruiter returns to discuss the Paramount anthology film IF I HAD A MILLION, and in particular Ernst Lubitsch’s contribution THE CLERK. We discuss the struggles inherent to anthology films, compare and contrast the different directorial styles of each of the film’s directors, Lubitsch’s relative mastery of the poetics of cinema, and what we would do if we had one million 1932 U.S. Dollars. Edit...

Author and scholar Krin Gabbard joins us for our third and final episode on TROUBLE IN PARADISE! In this episode, we cover Samson Raphaelson’s history with Lubitsch, Samson’s mixed feelings on the film itself, the film’s ambivalence towards the possible romantic pairings that it might end on, and the dense use of leitmotifs in W. Franke Harling’s score. We have a Discord ! Listen on: Apple Podcast...

Willa Ross returns to further discuss TROUBLE IN PARADISE! In this episode, fierce debates are had about the film’s position on the spectrum between idealism and cynicism, Lubitsch’s sense of rhythm, the film’s political angles in the context of the great depression, the famous clock scene, the way in which sensory deprivation allows us to participate in the creation of artistic meaning, and much...

In the first of three episodes in on TROUBLE IN PARADISE, Tanya Goldman joins us to discuss two key works in the Gentleman Thief subgenre - the aforementioned TROUBLE IN PARADISE as well as William Dieterle’s JEWEL ROBBERY! We cover the work of William Powell, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall, and Miriam Hopkins, the differing ways in which each film deals with morality and ethics in the midst of all...

University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Emerita Lea Jacobs joins us for a discussion of film rhythm in the early sound era. We discuss the various ways films can deal with on-set singing and musical numbers, the incredibly complex and constrictive ways in with early sound films were constrained when it came to everything from blocking and camera placement to editing, Mamoulian and Lubitsch’s res...

In this very special episode, we visit Matt Severson on-location at the Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, California to discuss the glorious pre-code adultery musical ONE HOUR WITH YOU! In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss the film’s monumental horniness, the ways in which Lubitsch & company were allowed to get said horniness past the censors, the musical styles on display, t...

Film writer and podcaster Will Sloan joins us to discuss THE MAN I KILLED (BROKEN LULLABY), Lubitsch’s heartfelt 1932 pacifist screed and his only straight-ahead drama of the sound era. We cover the film’s radical interwar politics, its portrayal of grief, the many different performance styles on display, the haunting and twisted ending, national post-WWI guilt, the film’s imperfections (which we...

UC Berkeley PHD student Jonathan Mackris joins us to discuss Lubitsch’s 1931 musical THE SMILING LIEUTENANT! In this episode, we cover Maurice Chevalier’s career and charisma, the film’s mildly troubled production, the entrance of the highly consequential Samson Raphaelson to the Lubitsch stable of collaborators, Lubitsch’s increasingly ambitious use of montage, the questionable musical abilities...

Katharine Coldiron , author of Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter , joins us to discuss Ernst Lubitsch’s 1930 musical MONTE CARLO. Our wide-ranging conversation covers the evolution of Lubitsch’s formal technique in the early sound era, the film’s extremely naughty lyrical content, and its gentle satire of class and gender roles. In the second half of the episode, we move on to a discussion of “junk...

Ursinus College professor Jennifer Fleeger joins us to discuss THE LOVE PARADE. In this episode, we cover the operetta form, the divergent singing styles of Jeanette Macdonald and Maurice Chevalier, how those styles interact with the recording technology of the time, as well as this film’s fascinating and sometimes uneasy ways of dealing with both class and gender roles. Edited by Griffin Sheel. N...

How Would Lubitsch Do It returns for a fourth season! It’s an exciting time for Ernst Lubitsch and, therefore, the podcast: this season, we’ll be covering the years between the introduction of synchronized sound in Hollywood and the establishment of the Production Code Administration in 1934. Ahead of us lie the years of Lubitsch’s greatest influence in Hollywood: by the end of this season, he’ll...

In our Season 3 finale, returning guest Bram Ruiter joins us to discuss the final film Ernst Lubitsch ever directed that didn’t involved on-set sound recording: ETERNAL LOVE! We discuss the film’s unusual status as a hybrid silent/sound picture, the strange story of how this film was lost and then discovered, John Barrymore’s dipsomaniacal tendencies, and the film’s terrific ending amidst long tan...

THE PATRIOT is a lost film. So, returning guest David Cairns joins us to pick up the pieces and discuss the film’s, and Ernst Lubistsc’s, connections to acclaimed studio rebel Josef Von Sternberg! We discuss THE SCARLET EMPRESS, THE LAST COMMAND, DISHONORED, THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN, BLONDE VENUS, SHANGHAI EXPRESS, and Sternberg’s habit of burning every bridge available to him. Dialogue edit by Griffi...

Whitney Museum digital asset manager and restorationist David Neary joins us to discuss THE STUDENT PRINCE IN OLD HEIDELBERG. We discuss all things film preservation, including photochemical and digital restoration processes, stochastic film restoration, the dangers and benefits of nitrate film stocks, and the morality of piracy. Recorded live in New York City by Anna Citak-Scott. Edited by Griffi...

Julia Sirmons joins us to discuss SO THIS IS PARIS, Lubitsch’s 1926 sex farce and pseudo-remake of THE MERRY JAIL. We cover the ways that Lubitsch treats feminine desire and fantasies, the film’s slightly tenuous connection to its titular location, the kaleidoscopic party scene, Lubitsch’s minimal use of title cards, communication and miscommunication, the politics of truth and secrets, the unconv...

Legendary critic and Museum of Modern Art film curator Dave Kehr joins us to discuss LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN and the MOMA’s restorations of it and three more of this season’s films*. We discuss all the elements of the restoration process: scans, tinting, scoring, digital trickery, distribution, and even thievery. To request films such as LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN for theatrical screenings, you can reque...

Returning guest Will Ross joins us to discuss FORBIDDEN PARADISE. We cover Lubitsch’s use of blocking, cutting, and production design for thematic purposes, anachronistic automobiles, slanderous Catharine the Great biopics, the film’s abstract politics, frivolous revolutionaries, the psychological effects of intercutting tints, MOMA’s intensive restoration of the film, and ethics in film preservat...

James Penco joins us to discuss THREE WOMEN, Lubitsch’s 1924 melodramedy*. We discuss Lubitsch’s use of objects as a proxy for characters, the film’s sometimes-baffling tonal decisions, the preservation state of Lubitsch’s American silents, the wisdom of “Three Women” as a title, and the undeniable talents of Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall. *To coin a phrase. Come join our Discord ! NEXT WEEK: Re...

Sarah Shachat joins us on-location in New York City to discuss THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE.. We mull over the evolution this film represents in Lubitsch’s tone, the strange pairing of Ernst Lubitsch and the Warner Brothers, the luminous Adolphe Menjou, Lubitsch’s bewilderingly advantageous contractual terms, his filmmaking philosophy circa the mid 1920s, the art of splitting couples up at parties, and, of...

Margaret "Molly" Rasberry joins us to for a special side episode Charlie Chaplin’s A WOMAN OF PARIS: A DRAMA OF FATE, a key influence on Ernst Lubitsch going forward. We discuss Chaplin’s political leanings, the luminous Adolphe Menjou, the stories of the women who inspired the film, the impact it had on Lubitsch’s career, the evolution of film acting techniques, and the joy in pre-code conduct. C...

Critic and friend of the show Tim Brayton returns to discuss Lubitsch’s first American silent film, ROSITA. We discuss Lubitsch’s artistic evolution upon leaving Berlin and entering Hollywood, his struggles with Merry Pickford, the film’s recent MOMA restoration, Lubitsch’s newfound mastery of tone, this film’s status as a ‘transitional work’, the typical Hollywood artistic and industrial processe...

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...