This is considered to be Ernst Lubitsch's greatest achievement but for me, a fan of 30s movies, this is everything I hate in a film. A tiny minority of the population absolutely love this but like ONE HOUR WITH YOU, which he made a year later, this is in my top five most loathsome movies of all time.
Admittedly it is superbly made, not just compared with most of the dross made in 1931 - it would be outstanding in any year. Technically it's faultless I just hate this type of thing but I can see that maybe those of you who can endure or even enjoy the hell that is WESTSIDE STORY might disagree. There was a type of film which was born in the thirties and inexplicably is still alive today creeping onto our screens in such awfulnesses as LÀ LÀ LAND.
These films are essentially told in the mode of an opera - telling the story through song but with contemporary music. When sung by Maurice Chevalier at his most irritating grinningness and Claudette finger-nails-on-a-blackboard Colbert this isn't a pleasant experience. And if the singing isn't bad enough, there's the incessant smiling, everyone, not just the eponymous lieutenant are always smiling - it's just not normal.
Do I hate this because I don't like old movies? Obviously not, films from the 30s, particularly pre-code pictures have a certain magic for me. I wouldn't spend most of my evenings watching them if I didn't love them.... or rather some of them.
Do I hate this because I don't like musicals? Since some of my all time favourites ever are musicals: GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933, Jessie Matthews' EVERGREEN and Rouben Mamoulian's magnificent 1929 masterpiece APPLAUSE to name just three so I'm not anti-musical, I just hate this type of sugary, pseudo operatic frippery where everyone's grinning like they'd just found a crate of weed!
Do I hate this because I don't like Maurice Chevalier? He does tend to star in a lot of these repulsive nightmares but in FOLIES BERGÈRE for example he was actually great. I don't even mind his singing given decent material.
Do I hate this because I don't like Ernst Lubitsch? Of course not, that's a silly questions but it does have to be said that besides the few brilliant films he made, he did make quite a few of these monstrosities.
Unless you have a particular acquired taste or are stoned, avoid this or be prepared to have all your illusions of 1930s cinema shattered.
Admittedly it is superbly made, not just compared with most of the dross made in 1931 - it would be outstanding in any year. Technically it's faultless I just hate this type of thing but I can see that maybe those of you who can endure or even enjoy the hell that is WESTSIDE STORY might disagree. There was a type of film which was born in the thirties and inexplicably is still alive today creeping onto our screens in such awfulnesses as LÀ LÀ LAND.
These films are essentially told in the mode of an opera - telling the story through song but with contemporary music. When sung by Maurice Chevalier at his most irritating grinningness and Claudette finger-nails-on-a-blackboard Colbert this isn't a pleasant experience. And if the singing isn't bad enough, there's the incessant smiling, everyone, not just the eponymous lieutenant are always smiling - it's just not normal.
Do I hate this because I don't like old movies? Obviously not, films from the 30s, particularly pre-code pictures have a certain magic for me. I wouldn't spend most of my evenings watching them if I didn't love them.... or rather some of them.
Do I hate this because I don't like musicals? Since some of my all time favourites ever are musicals: GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933, Jessie Matthews' EVERGREEN and Rouben Mamoulian's magnificent 1929 masterpiece APPLAUSE to name just three so I'm not anti-musical, I just hate this type of sugary, pseudo operatic frippery where everyone's grinning like they'd just found a crate of weed!
Do I hate this because I don't like Maurice Chevalier? He does tend to star in a lot of these repulsive nightmares but in FOLIES BERGÈRE for example he was actually great. I don't even mind his singing given decent material.
Do I hate this because I don't like Ernst Lubitsch? Of course not, that's a silly questions but it does have to be said that besides the few brilliant films he made, he did make quite a few of these monstrosities.
Unless you have a particular acquired taste or are stoned, avoid this or be prepared to have all your illusions of 1930s cinema shattered.