Trouble in Paradise (1932)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Aladar Laszlo (play)
Grover Jones (adaptation)

Release Date:

21 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

High class European thief Gaston Monesque meets his soul mate Lily, a pickpocket masquerading as a countess...

Plot Keywords:

Thief | Jealousy | Perfume | Secretary | Pickpocket

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Miriam Hopkins	...	Lily
Kay Francis	...	Madame Mariette Colet
Herbert Marshall	...	Gaston Monescu
Charles Ruggles	...	The Major (as Charlie Ruggles)
Edward Everett Horton	...	François Filiba
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Adolph J. Giron
Robert Greig	...	Jacques, Mariette's Butler

Also Known As:

The Golden Widow (USA) (pre-release title)
The Honest Finder (USA) (working title)
Thieves and Lovers (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Russian | Spanish | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1933) | USA:Passed | South Korea:12 (2003) | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) | West Germany:12 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Quotes:

Lily Vautier: Don't you remember the day you took that Chinese vase from the Royal Palace? And you made it into a lamp for my night table.
Gaston Monescu: I remember the lamp, I remember the night table... . and I remember the night.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in One, Two, Three (1961)

Soundtrack:

Colet and Company

Masterpiece of the "Lubitsch Touch"

Once, "The Lubitsch Touch," was as well known as Hitchcock's reputation as "The Master of Suspense."

"Trouble in Paradise" is Lubitsch's unqualified masterpiece. This pre-code sophisticated comedy epitomizes the European attitude toward sex in its very first scene between Hebert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins. Marshall reveals he has stole Hopkin's garter without her knowing it and she leaps in his lap. She checks -- at the dinner table no less -- realizes it is gone and with the admiration of one thief for another leaps into his lap. "Darling!" she says. No one has to guess what she has in mind, although it is all done with the wit and brio that the "Lubitsch Touch," refers to.

It's great to have this film readily available and the DVD version includes an informative and enlightening commentary (Marshall only had one leg and his lurching walk made a certain speedy cutting necessary that helps give the film it's light, speedy quality).

Lubitsch also made "Shop Around the Corner," remade by Nora Ephron as "You've Got Mail," and "Ninotcha," with Greta Garbo. His musicals with Maurice Chevalier and Jenette MacDonald, such as "The Merry Widow," are also worth seeking out.