Lubitsch is another in a long line of talented German/Austrian Jewish directors, writers, producers, and film technical professionals who, escaping the rise of Nazism, helped create Classic Hollywood Film Art and Industry in the 1920s and 30s. Lubitsch brought a European sophistication, sexual frankness, and subtlety to Hollywood film narratives. He was a master of the worldly comic film. So, we should have a jolly break from February’s bleakness by immersing ourselves in Lubitsch’s take on the human comedy. 

If you were in last semester’s course on Billy Wilder, you will remember that whenever Wilder was stuck in his screen writing or directing he would ask himself “How would Lubitsch do it?”  Well, this semester, we will try to find out first-hand by watching and discussing in order: Trouble in Paradise, 1932, Ninotchka, 1939, The Shop Around the Corner, 1940, To be or Not to Be, 1942, and Heaven Can Wait, 1943. Note: You do not have to have taken any previous LLAIC courses on Classic Hollywood directors to enjoy this class.

All films will be watched individually before class. The films are around two hours in length, and in last semester’s class some students watched films twice.