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.

We have a Discord!

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NEXT WEEK:

Katharine Coldiron joins us to discuss MONTE CARLO. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

WORKS CITED:

The MPAA Production Come Administration Records for THE LOVE PARADE courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library

Paris and the Musical: The City of Lights on Stage and Screen edited by Olaf Jubin

Eclipse Series: Lubitsch Musicals essay on The Love Parade by Michael Koresky

Pre-Code.com’s list of Essential Pre-Code Hollywood Films

Sound American by Jennifer Fleeger

Mismatched Women: The Siren Song Through the Machine by Jennifer Fleeger

Media Ventriloquism by Jennifer Fleeger

Paramount on Parade

Photo Courtesy the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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 have gone from a prominent silent film director to being the first (and only!) director to have ever been given the reins of a major Hollywood studio. In between lie many of his greatest and most celebrated works.

Aside from our film-by-film coverage of Lubitsch’s work in this period, this season will feature a number of experts in the field of early sound cinema who have lent their time and knowledge so as to help paint a clearer picture of the evolving state of both technology and artistry in Hollywood cinema throughout this era.

The first of these guests is Patrick Keating, professor of Communication at Trinity University and author of Hollywood Lighting from the Silent Era to Film Noir as well as The Dynamic Frame: Camera Movement in Classical Hollywood, among others. In this episode, Patrick and I discuss the history and ideology of early camera movement: why do directors choose to move, and how do they theorize the motivations behind this movement? We also discuss the dimensions of visible labor behind camera operation, the many differences between dollies, cranes, gimbals, and steadicams, aspect ratio shifts, and the many misconceptions floating around regarding early film camera movement.

Edited by Griffin Sheel.

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NEXT WEEK:

Ursinus College professor Jennifer Fleeger joins us to discuss THE LOVE PARADE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

WORKS CITED:

Hollywood Lighting from the Silent Era to Film Noir by Patrick Keating

The Dynamic Frame: Camera Movement in Classical Hollywood by Patrick Keating

Join us on November 14th as we break the sound barrier as well as various societal norms! In what is sure to be our filthiest season yet, we grapple with Lubitsch’s transition to talking pictures and the social upheaval surrounding the pre-code era.

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 tangents in which break down how, exactly, one might deign to fix this rickety screenplay.

Edited by Willa Ross.

Thanks to the guests who lent their time and support to this season: Peter Labuza, Tim Brayton, Molly Rasberry, Sarah Shachat, James Penco, Willa Ross, Dave Kehr, Julia Sirmons, David Neary, David Cairns, and Bram Ruiter.

Our editors, Griffin Sheel, Gloria Mercer, and Willa Ross, and our sound recordist, Anna Citak-Scott.

And others who lent valuable counsel and support: William Paul, the MOMA, Jose Arroyo, Matt Severson, the Margaret Herrick Library, Dara Jaffe, Scott Eyman, Patrick Keating, Paul Cuff, and many others.

We have a Discord!

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NEXT SEASON:

We return on October 31st with Season 4, in which the movies begin to talk! Yes, we’re entering the sound era as well as the height of Lubitsch’s influence in Hollywood!

If you’re interested in watching a semi-illustrated version of the intro to S3E08, look no further! Here’s our dramatic reading of the press book’s synopsis of the lost 1928 film THE PATRIOT, illustrated by sound effects from the Sunset Editorial collection libraries from the USC Cinema, alongside the trailer. Until someone attempts some sort of reconstruction, it’s the fullest picture one might get of what the film might have looked like.

THE PATRIOT is a lost film. So, we begin with a dramatic reading of the only surviving synopsis of the film before returning guest David Cairns joins us to pick up the pieces and discuss the film’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 Griffin Sheel.

Introductory synopsis from the Paramount Press Book for THE PATRIOT as printed in LOST FILMS by Frank Thompson.

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NEXT WEEK:

Returning guest Bram Ruiter joins us to discuss ETERNAL LOVE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

WORKS CITED:

FUN IN A CHINESE LAUNDRY by Josef Von Sternberg
LOST FILMS by Frank Thompson
The Red, Gold, Sunset Sound Libraries at Archive.og

THE PATRIOT (Trailer)

PARAMOUNT ON PARADE

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 Griffin Sheel.

This episode is dedicated to Carl Davis (1936–2023).

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NEXT WEEK:

Returning guest David Cairns joins us to discuss THE PATRIOT and the works of Josef von Sternberg. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

WORKS CITED:

FilmColors - Timeline of Historical Film Colors

The Carl Davis Collection

Photoplay Productions

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 unconventional cyclical structure of Lubitsch’s comedies, and, most importantly of all, the messy-but-inevitable divorce of Ernst Lubitsch and Warner Brothers Pictures!

Edited by Griffin Sheel.

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NEXT WEEK:

David Neary joins us to discuss THE STUDENT PRINCE IN OLD HEIDELBERG. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

WORKS CITED:

Film Formally S1E10: Pre-Code Montage with Peter Labuza

Classic Corner: Design for Living

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 request a loan directly from the MOMA’s Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center.

*ROSITA (S3E01), THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE (S3E02), and FORBIDDEN PARADISE (S3E04).

Recorded at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City by Anna Citak-Scott.

Edited by Gloria Mercer.

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NEXT WEEK:

Julia Sirmons joins us to discuss SO THIS IS PARIS. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

WORKS CITED:

Dave Kehr's essay about LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN for the SF Silent Film Festival.

Returning guest Willa 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 preservation.

Edited by Willa Ross.

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Come join our Discord!

NEXT WEEK:

Museum of Modern Art film curator Dave Kehr joins us to discuss LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

WORKS CITED:

Dave Kehr’s writeup on FORBIDDEN PARADISE.
Dave Kehr’s introduction to a screening of FORBIDDEN PARADISE.

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.

Edited by Griffin Sheel.

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Come join our Discord!

FURTHER READING:

Anthony Slide’s commentary on the Kino-Lorber release of THREE WOMEN.

NEXT WEEK:

Returning guest Willa Ross joins us to discuss FORBIDDEN PARADISE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

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 course, Harry The Cameraman’s unbelievable story about nickels and bodily organs.

Recorded in New York City by Anna Citak-Scott.

Edited by Gloria Mercer.

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Come join our Discord!

NEXT WEEK:

James Penco joins us to discuss THREE WOMEN. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

Margaret "Molly" Rasberry joins us to for a special side episode on 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 of pre-code conduct.

Edited by Willa Ross.

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Come join our Discord!

NEXT WEEK:

Sarah Shachat joins us to discuss THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

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 Mary 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 processes circa 1923, Lubitsch’s career goals, and historical determinism.

Edited by Griffin Sheel.

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Come join our Discord!

NEXT WEEK:

Margaret "Molly" Rasberry joins us to discuss Charlie Chaplin’s A WOMAN OF PARIS. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

WORKS CITED:

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!

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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!

NEXT WEEK:

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.

WORKS CITED:

Hard, Fast, and Brokerage: Irving H. Levin, the Filmmakers, and the Birth of Conglomerate in Hollywood by Peter Labuza
For The Maintenance of the System: Institutional and Cultural Change within the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, 1922-1945 by Paul MacLusky Moticone
The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960 by Bordwell, Thompson, and Staiger.
Making Cinelandia: American Films and Mexican Film Culture by Laura Isabel Serna
An Empire of Their Own by Niel Gabler
Film Rhythm after Sound by Lea Jacobs
Working in Hollywood by Ronnie Regev
YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS: KAY FRANCIS

OTHER RESOURCES:

J. J. DiUbaldi’s Timeline of American Studios and The Hollywood Production Code

It’s coming! Join as we explore Ernst Lubitsch's late silent work as he leaves Germany and heads for Hollywood. Season 3 begins with a discussion with returning guest Peter Labuza about early Hollywood history before we begin tackling Lubisch’s American silent films, beginning with ROSITA (1923.)

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.

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Thanks to the guests who lent their time and support to this season: Luci Marzola, Jaime Rebanal, Tim Brayton, David Cairns, Maddie Whittle, Paul Cuff, Bram Ruiter, Willa Ross, Kristin Thompson, and Stefan Drössler.

Our editors, Griffin Sheel and Gloria Mercer.

And others who lent valuable counsel and support: Anna Citak-Scott, Dave Kehr and the MOMA, David Cairns, Jose Arroyo, Matt Severson and the Margaret Herrick Library, and many others.

We have a Discord!

NEXT WEEK:

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.

WORKS CITED:

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.

NEXT WEEK:

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

WORKS CITED:

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’.

Willa 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, 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.

NEXT WEEK:

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

WORKS CITED:

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

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

NAPOLEON by Kevin Brownlow