Design for Living (1933) 7.6
A woman can't decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship. Director:Ernst Lubitsch |
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Design for Living (1933) 7.6
A woman can't decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship. Director:Ernst Lubitsch |
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| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Fredric March | ... |
Thomas B. 'Tom' Chambers
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| Gary Cooper | ... |
George Curtis
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| Miriam Hopkins | ... | ||
| Edward Everett Horton | ... |
Max Plunkett
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Franklin Pangborn | ... |
Mr. Douglas, Theatrical Producer
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| Isabel Jewell | ... |
Plunkett's Stenographer
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| Jane Darwell | ... |
Curtis' Housekeeper
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Wyndham Standing | ... |
Max's Butler
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Two Americans sharing a flat in Paris, playwright Tom Chambers and painter George Curtis, fall for free-spirited Gilda Farrell. When she can't make up her mind which one of them she prefers, she proposes a "gentleman's agreement": She will move in with them as a friend and critic of their work, but they will never have sex. But when Tom goes to London to supervise a production of one of his plays, leaving Gilda alone with George, how long will their gentleman's agreement last? Written by Capel Cleggs <capelcleggs@my-deja.com>
I'm not a big fan of the Lubitsch Touch. This, which I hadn't seen in 20 years, I think is my favorite.
The recent Broadway revival of the Noel Coward play, which was supposedly very ooh-la-la and daring, was a bust. Interminable and misguided.
One problem was that the female lead was made very cold. In the movie, Miriam Hopkins is just right: pretty, seductive, witty.
Gary Cooper is sublime. He was a great comedian -- equally good in "Desire," the delightful movie with Dietrich that Lubitsch produced and supposedly had a big hand in directing. Too bad he changed gears so drastically and became the strong, silent Western hero he's known for today (if he's known at all, alas.)
Fredric March was a very fine actor but not a comedian. He is the weakest link; but he works well in the ensemble.
Edward Everett Horton is funny, as always.
It really works, and is as racy today as it must have been when it came out.