Design for Living (1933)

A woman cannot decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship.

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Noël Coward (play) (as Noel Coward), Ben Hecht (screenplay)

Stars:

Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fredric March	...	Thomas B. 'Tom' Chambers
Gary Cooper	...	George Curtis
Miriam Hopkins	...	Gilda Farrell
Edward Everett Horton	...	Max Plunkett
Franklin Pangborn	...	Mr. Douglas, Theatrical Producer
Isabel Jewell	...	Plunkett's Stenographer
Jane Darwell	...	Curtis' Housekeeper
Wyndham Standing	...	Max's Butler

Storyline

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?

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Plot Keywords:

playwright | painter | romantic rivalry | american abroad | menage a trois | 

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Taglines:

Now! distracting drama of a girl who loved two men...completely...simultaneously! (Print Ad- Rochester Times-Union, ((Rochester, NY)) 1 March 1934)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

29 December 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Not Married

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Ben Hecht and producer-director Ernst Lubitsch retained only one line from the original play by Noël Coward: "For the good of our immortal souls!"

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Goofs

Shadow of boom mic visible at train station.

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Quotes

Tom Chambers: Curious, to have a little bit of feminine fluff breaking up our friendship.

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Connections

Referenced in Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)

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Soundtracks

Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op.64
(1844) (uncredited)
Written by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Excerpts from the second movement played as background music

User Reviews

Chic, sexy, and swell

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.