That Uncertain Feeling (1941)

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Victorien Sardou (play) and
Emile DeNajac (play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 April 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's a serious problem for a lady with the hiccups, and he is it!

Plot:

Against her better judgement, happily married Jill Baker is persuaded to see a popular psychoanalyst about her psychosomatic hiccups...

Plot Keywords:

Hiccup | Marriage | Psychoanalyst | Pianist | Neglected Wife

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Merle Oberon	...	Mrs. Jill Baker
Melvyn Douglas	...	Larry Baker
Burgess Meredith	...	Alexander Sebastian
Alan Mowbray	...	Dr. Vengard
Olive Blakeney	...	Margie Stallings
Harry Davenport	...	Jones (the attorney)
Sig Ruman	...	Mr. Kafka (as Sig Rumann)
Eve Arden	...	Sally Aikens (Jones' secretary)
Richard Carle	...	Albert (the butler)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Currier	...	Maid (uncredited)
Jean Fenwick	...	Dr. Vengard's nurse (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Extra in Ladies Room (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan	...	Art dealer (uncredited)
Gisela Werbisek	...	Hungarian dinner guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Ernst Lubitsch

Writing credits
Victorien Sardou		(play "Divorçons") and
Emile DeNajac		(play "Divorçons") (as Emile de Najac)
Walter Reisch		adaptation and
Donald Ogden Stewart		screenplay

Produced by
Ernst Lubitsch	....	producer
Sol Lesser	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Werner R. Heymann

Cinematography by
George Barnes

Film Editing by
William Shea

Art Direction by
Alexander Golitzen

Production Management
Barney Briskin	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Horace Hough	....	assistant director
Lee Sholem	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
A.E. Freudeman	....	set interiors

Sound Department
Arthur Johns	....	sound technician

Camera and Electrical Department
Merritt B. Gerstad	....	photographer (uncredited)
John F. Warren	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene	....	gowns: Miss Oberon

Music Department
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Paul Flato	....	jeweller: Miss Oberon (as Flato)
Sol Lesser	....	presenter
John Sherwood	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Ernst Lubitsch Productions Inc.
• Sol Lesser Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1941) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1942) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Guaranteed Pictures Corporation (194?) (USA) (theatrical)
• Action Gitanes (1998) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Compañía Industrial Film Español S.A. (CIFESA) (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Esperanza Productions (2006) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Fortuna-Filmverleih (1949) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Leoni (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Les Films Marceau (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Pari Films (????) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Finnkino (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• IC International Classics (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Manga Films (2007) (Spain) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (200?) (France) (DVD)
• Punto Zero (2009) (Italy) (DVD) (as Enjoy Movies)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (video)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Roan Group, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• SlingShot Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Suevia Films (2001) (Spain) (DVD)
• Timeless Multimedia (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Triton Video (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1960) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Ernst Lubitsch's That Uncertain Feeling (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

France:U | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6997) | West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Ernst Lubitsch Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Ernst Lubitsch and Sol Lesser had formed a partnership, Ernst Lubitsch Productions, Inc., but it was dissolved when this movie did poorly at the box office.

Quotes:

Mrs. Jill Baker: I'm a perfectly normal woman.
Margie Stallings: That sounds awfully dull.
Extra in Ladies Room: My dear you musn't say that about yourself - not even in fun!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Wide Awake (2006)

It's hard to imagine Lubitsch making a poor film, but here it is.

I love the films of Ernst Lubitsch. Most are classics and I can't think of a single director in Hollywood who was making better films during the 1930s. This being said, I certainly did not love THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING and his fans would hardly recognize this as a film of the great romantic-comedy director. Most of the problem lies in the script, as the characters are generally unlikable, their motivation seems confusing and almost non-existent and the film often tries too hard to be kooky. The usual "Lubitsch touch", which is very subtle, just isn't there.

Merle Oberon plays a petulant and annoying lady. She's rich and has every reason to be happy. However, being too rich, too bored and too self-involved, she decides she needs to spice up her "dull marriage" by bringing another man into her life. This man is a pianist over-played by Burgess Meredith. He is a misanthropic pianist--a person so conceited and cynical that it's hard to imagine anyone putting up with him. Unlike Mischa Auer's charming loafer from MY MAN GODFREY, Meredith played a man who was thoroughly unlikable. Oberon seemed to find the demanding and nasty Meredith fun, though everyone else felt he was just a jerk--and he certainly was.

Now at first you really feel sorry for Oberon's husband (played by Melvin Douglas). Later, however, you wonder if he's an idiot because he still wants Oberon back when their marriage naturally begins to fizzle. After all, she deliberately flaunted her new "friend" in front of her husband because she felt bored and petulant. I enjoyed seeing Douglas punch Meredith on two occasions but also felt that perhaps he owed Oberon's character a couple as well! Heck, had it been me, I'd have thrown her out (possibly through a window) and not looked back.

So, what we have is a film is about infidelity and you can't like the characters--hardly a topic for a Lubitsch comedy. While it seems that Oberon never actually gets around to sleeping with Meredith, her lack of regard for her husband made me hate the film. Selfish Oberon and unimaginably rude Meredith--two characters that kill a comedy or romance.