Trouble in Paradise (1932)

High class European thief Gaston Monesque meets his soul mate Lily, a pickpocketmasquerading as a countess. The two join forces and come under the employ of Mme. olet, the!eautiful owner of the olet perfume company. Gaston works as Mme. olet"s personal secretaryunder the alias Monsieur La#al. $umors start to fly as "M. La#al" steals Mme. olet away from her other suitors. %hen the secret of his true identity catches up to him, Gaston is caught !etweenthe two !eautiful women.

Miriam Hopkins ... Lily&ay 'rancis ... Madame Mariette oletHer!ert Marshall ... Gaston Monescu, alias La (alleharles $uggles ... The Major )as harlie $uggles*Edward E#erett Horton ... 'ran+ois 'ili!a. u!rey -mith ... dolph . Giron$o!ert Greig ... acques, Mariette"s /utler 

0irector1 Ernst Lu!itsch

http122www.imd!.com2title2tt33456442

odecs1 7pen0i#8 9 2 M:5

Ernst Lu!itsch"s Trou!le in :aradise is a frothy confection, a cinematic souffle that risestriumphantly a!o#e the flat, grey look of its early;53s origins. The story of rit<y jewel thie#esHer!ert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins scheming to !ilk 'rench cosmetics heiress &ay 'rancis outof the !ulk of her negotia!le possessions, it proceeds with aristocratic aplom!.

/oth Marshall and Hopkins could pro#e tediously !rittle and a !it stale in later mo#ies that rela=edinto a more casual merican style. Here, their mannered elocution and studied stage;!usinesscome off elegantly )this is, after all, a comedy of manners*. harlie $uggles and Edward E#erettHorton, a couple of fuss!udgets wooing 'rancis, a!ly hold up the periphery of the action.

Trou!le in :aradise ;; a de lu=e, rt 0eco paradise ;; stands as the touchstone of the fa!led>Lu!itsch touch,> that glancing, faintly suggesti#e command of nuance, such as a pair of shadowsfalling across a !edspread )no more need !e said, or shown*. ?n this comic operetta, e#en the!lithe !ackground music sings out in leitmotifs. 7ther emigres from middle Europe !rought afore!oding Teutonic look and tone to Hollywood, especially to film noir. Lu!itsch !rough afrolicsome continental note more akin to Mo<art and -chu!ert than to %agner or Mahler. This isan irrepressi!le smile of a mo#ie.

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T$7@/LE ?A :$0?-E remains the most perfect of all sound comedies;;it makes you feel as ifyou had consumed some celestial compound of champagne and helium. The surprise of themo#ie today is not the pleasure of its Lu!itschian elegance, !ut the fact that the mo#ie isscreamingly funny at e#ery turn;;Lu!itsch"s smart !om!s ne#er miss their mark. nd for all theapplications of his >touch> we"re grateful for, Lu!itsch ne#er again made anything so flawless;;inthese less;than;ninety minutes, he and $aphaelson turned dialogue comedy into Mo<arteanmusic.

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/eautiful, spell!inding romantic comedy with a sua#e jewel thief )Her!ert Marshall* falling in lo#ewith his intended #ictim )luminous &ay 'rancis* much to the displeasure of his girlfriend )MiriamHopkins*. /eautifully shot )the scenes seem to glow*, incredi!le sets and costumes, a #ery witty

 

script, wonderful performances !y e#ery!ody, super! direction !y Ernst Lu!itsch and some fairlyracy :re;ode material. %hat more can ? sayB ?t"s perfection. must;seeC

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'irst of all, let me say that this film is as close to perfection as one can get;;;look at the >throwaway gags>, the play with words, the wardro!e )Miriam Hopkins stole the showD especially in the7pera scene when she comes out of the >:arlour des femmes> asks her >-ugar 0addy> forsome >francs> to gi#e to the ladies room attendant;;;that !lack dress was haute couture at its!estC*, the gait of the actors, the snappy dialogue. They all look so;o sophisticated worldly.

  F The original play, > /ecsuletes Megtalalo> )The Honest 'inder*, opened in /udapest in0ecem!er 5.

  F The mo#ie was not appro#ed for re;issue in 5I when the :roduction ode was !eingrigorously enforced.

  F The scenes in which Her!ert Marshall is running up and down the stairs at Madame olet"swere done with a dou!le who is only seen from the waist down. Mr. Marshall lost a leg in %%?and although it was almost impossi!le to notice that he used a prosthesis, he could not performany action that called for physical agility.

  F This film was selected to the Aational 'ilm $egistry, Li!rary of ongress, in .

  F >Little> Mary :ickford, the silent film star, liked Ernst Lu!itsch"s tasteful touches ofsuggesti#eness enough to ask him to direct her in a film that would help her show more maturityon screen. /ut she did not get along with Lu!itsch himself nor did she appreciate "$osita," the filmthey made together. ?n later years she usually ranked it with her worst films.

  F The most widely known of director Ernst Lu!itsch"s films. The >Lu!itsch touch> as his stylewas called, emphasi<ed su!tlety and elegance, e=pressi#e of good taste, and !eing economicala!out what does and doesn"t need to !e shown, relying on the audience to tell the difference

  F ary Grant was also considered to play the leading part, !ut in 54 he was still too young for the part. Ernst Lu!itsch wanted the touch of e=perience in the actor face, so he chose the 94;year;old Her!ert Marshall and 55;year;old &ay 'rancis who can supply that look.

  F lthough Miriam Hopkins got top !illing, she"s got the least money of the three stars1J,KI32week. &ay 'rancis got J9,3332week with 6 weeks guarantee and Her!ert Marshall gotJ5,I332week.

  F This mo#ie was popular !oth with critics and with audiences, !ut was made !efore theenforcement of the production code. fter 5I, it was withdrawn from circulation and was notseen again until 6. The film was ne#er a#aila!le on #ideocassette and only !ecame a#aila!leon 0(0 in 4335.