Episoder
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[Due to our last-minute addition of two episodes, the podcast feed mistakenly had S5E09a queued here for a few hours this morning - it should now be fixed!]
How Would Lubitsch Do It comes to a close with a grand finale. Tim Brayton returns to discuss Cluny Brown and look back on both Ernst Lubitschâs career and the past five seasons of this show.
First, we discuss everything Cluny Brown: the filmâs generosity and humanism, its commentary on British class society, its relationship with the second world war, its full-throated embrace of absurdism, the title characterâs magnetism, Adam Belinskiâs status as a revision on a stock villain, and the filmâs somewhat autobiographical and wonderfully optimistic ending.
Second, we close out the show with a look back: we debate our respective rankings (Tim, Devan) of Lubitschâs filmography, highlight our favourite cast members, crew members and collaborators, discuss subsequent filmmakers who bear distinct marks of Lubitschâs influence, discuss whether or not the showâs structure accurately reflects the ebbs and flows and our subjectâs career, and answer the key questions: why Lubitsch? Why a podcast?
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
A ThanksI started this quixotic project two years ago with the hope of making something that spoke to me and, if anyone else was interested, so be it. Turns out some other people were interested, and if youâre reading this now, thatâs probably you. My endless and sincere thanks for sticking it through.
Thanks to the many guests who lent their time and support throughout the show: Lauren Faulkner Rossi, Fran Hoepfner, Bram Ruiter, Luci Marzola, Jaime Rebenal, Maddie Whittle, Paul Cuff, Kristin Thompson, Stefan Droissler, Molly Rasberry, Sarah Shachat, James Penco, Dave Kehr, Julia Sirmons, David Neary, Patrick Keating, Jennifer Fleeger, Katharine Coldiron, Jonathan Mackris, Will Sloan, Lea Jacobs, Tanya Goldman, Krin Gabbard, Jordan Fish, Ray Tintori, Z Behl, Eric Dienstfrey, Scott Eyman, Imogen Sarah Smith, Chris Cassingham, Olympia Kiriakou, Griffin Newman, Kevin Bahr, Whit Stillman, Adrian Martin, Jose Arroyo, Lance St. Laurent, Tim Brayton, William Paul, Dara Jaffe, Gary Jaffe, Peter Labuza, Willa Harlow Ross, Eloise Ross, David Cairns, Noah Isenberg, Matt Severson, Mateusz Pacewicz, and Charlotte Garson.
Our editors: Griffin Sheel, Gloria Mercer, Willa Harlow Ross, Sophia Yoon, Rylee Cronin, Brennen King, & Eden Cote-Foster
Our location sound engineer, Anna Citak-Scott.
And others who lent valuable counsel and support: the Margaret Herrick Library, the Museum of Modern Art, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and most of all to Ernst Lubitsch, who taught me more than it could possibly take the sixty-eight episodes of this podcast to describe.
This entire experience - hundreds of hours of research, recording, and editing - has been among the great pleasures of my life, and everyoneâs contributions have meant a great deal to me. Onwards to whateverâs next!
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Cahiers du CinĂ©ma deputy editor Charlotte Garson joins us for a wide-ranging discussion that takes a look back at the past five seasons of the podcast and our subjectâs career: among other things, we cover Lubitschâs treatment of unconventional relationships, feminine sexuality and gender fluidity, his treatment of theatricality, his influence upon the critics of Cahiers and other filmmakers, and more doors.
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
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NEXT WEEK:Itâs the end! The grand finale! Tim Brayton returns to discuss Cluny Brown and to help wrap up the whole show with a look back at everything weâve spent the past two years covering. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Ernst Lubitsch (1985) - Cahiers du Cinéma
Charlotteâs introductions, delivered at the Centre Des Arts Cinema, for:To Be Or Not To BeNinotchkaI Donât Want To Be a Man & The Oyster Princess
Charlotteâs analysis of Bluebeardâs Eighth Wife
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Mangler du episoder?
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Screenwriter Mateusz Pacewicz (Corpus Christi, The Hater) joins us to discuss the films of Lubitsch from a Polish perspective. We coverTo Be Or Not To Beâs depiction of Warsaw, the history of Lubitschâs collaborators such as Pola Negri, the dynamics of European immigrants in twentieth-century America, the nature of dark comedy and âlightnessâ, the nature of performance, lies, truth, identity, and nationality, and the tall tales of Andrzej Krakowski.
David Neary also stops by for an encore discussion of Heaven Can Wait.
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:In our penultimate episode, Cahiers du Cinéma deputy editor Charlotte Garson joins us for a retrospective!
WORKS CITED:Ernst Lubitsch in Warsaw - April 26, 1936, Kino no. 17
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Matt Severson returns to discuss Wes Anderson and The Grand Budapest Hotel. We discuss Lubitschâs clear influence on the film, Andersonâs use of fabulist distancing techniques, common attitudes about Andersonâs supposed emotional remoteness, and our own emotional connections to the film.
Edited by Eden Cote-Foster.
We have a Discord!
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NEXT WEEK:Screenwriter Mateusz Pacewicz joins us to discuss Ernst from a Polish perspective!
WORKS CITED:The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matthew Zoller Seitz
Video Essay on The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matthew Zoller Seitz
Devanâs review of To Be Or Not To Be on Letterboxd
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Author Noah Isenberg joins us to discuss Billy Wilder and his 1961 comedic epic One, Two, Three. We cover Wilderâs early life as a reporter, a dancer-for-hire, and publicist; his lifelong ability to adapt to his circumstances; the question of his cynicism (or is it frustrated romanticism?); and his fraught relationship with Germany. Later on, we cover the fascinating production of One, Two, Three, the manners in which the film echoes his earlier work, and Jimmy Cagneyâs superhuman verbal stamina.
Edited by Eden Cote-Foster.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Matt Severson joins us to discuss Wes Anderson and The Grand Budapest Hotel. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder by Ed Sikov
Wilder on Assignment: Dispatches from Weimar Berlin and Interwar Vienna by Noah Isenberg
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A reading of Samson Raphaelsonâs Freundschaft, as published on May 11, 1981, in The New Yorker.
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NEXT WEEK:Noah Isenberg joins us to discuss Billy Wilder and his cold war comedic epic One, Two, Three. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Freundschaft by Samson Raphaelson
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David Cairns returns to discuss the end of Ernst Lubitschâs career and life: a period in which, after a heart attack left him debilitated, he produced a series of films directed by the likes of Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Otto Preminger. We cover Dragonwyck, cinemaâs foremost depiction of the Dutch patroonship system in what is now upstate New York; A Royal Scandal, a remake of Forbidden Paradise; andThat Lady in Ermine, Lubitschâs final unfinished project later completed to little effect by Otto Preminger.
Throughout the episode, we discuss the gap in worldviews between Lubitsch and Preminger, our dream Lubitsch/actor pairings that never came to pass, Billy Wilderâs tall tales, Ernst Lubitschâs death, and what comes next.
Edited by Brennen King.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:A reading of Freundschaft, Samson Raphaelsonâs eulogy for Ernst Lubitsch.
WORKS CITED:The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger by Chris Fujiwara
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Writer and film historian Eloise Ross joins us to discuss noted Lubitsch disciple Otto Preminger and his 1944 noir Laura. We cover Premingerâs past and parallels with Lubitsch, the tumultuous story of Lauraâs production, the filmâs highly unusual tone, its memorable characters and dialogue, and the majesty of Clifton Webb.
Edited by Brennen King
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:David Cairns returns to discuss A Royal Scandal, Dragonwyck, That Lady in Ermine, and the death of Ernst Lubitsch.
WORKS CITED:The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger by Chris Fujiwara
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Willa Ross returns for a lively discussion about Heaven Can Wait. We cover Lubitsch and Raphaelsonâs opposing views on the filmâs unusual protagonist, its counterintuitive structure and elisions, the filmâs theological implications, argue about whether or not the production code negatively impacted the film, and discuss what happened at Fox in the early 1970s and why it matters for technicolor pictures such as this.
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Writer and film historian Eloise Ross joins us to discuss Otto Preminger and his 1944 noir Laura. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Eloise Ross's Writeup for HEAVEN CAN WAIT in Senses of CInema
Heaven Can Wait: The Simple Act of Living by William Paul
Robert Harrisâs âKNIGHTS OF FILM PRESERVATIONâ Forum Post
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Peter Labuza returns for the second of two episodes on To Be Or Not To Be. We discuss the filmâs production history, the way in which the film both fulfills and frustrates conventions of comedic structure, Lubitschâs specific habits in directing actors, the filmâs unusual tonal arc, the filmâs depiction of fascist ideology, and Rudolph Mateâs cinematography.
Edited by Eden Cote-Foster.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Willa Ross returns to discuss Heaven Can Wait. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Bosley Crowtherâs Review of TO BE OR NOT TO BE in the New York Times
Ernst Lubitsch's Response
Independent Stardom: Freelance Women in the Hollywood Studio System by Emily Carman
Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris
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Returning guest Dara Jaffe and first-time guest Gary Jaffe join us for the first of two episodes on To Be Or Not To Be. In this episode, we cover the interplay between theatre and film, and of improvisation and comedy; the many dimensions of the filmâs relationship with Jewish identities; the use of empathy and humanism as anti-fascist tools; Lubitschâs self-reflexive approach to diegetic reality; the key character of Greenberg, and Felix Bressartâs performance; the history of performances of William Shakespeareâs The Merchant of Venice; and the filmâs influence on contemporary cinema.
Recorded at the Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, CA by Anna Citak-Scott.
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Peter Labuza returns for the second of two discussions on To Be Or Not To Be. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Production Code Administration notes on To Be Or Not To Be
Hollywood's Other Great Anti-Nazi Movie by Thomas Doherty
David Kalatâs Commentary on the Criterion Edition of To Be Or Not To Be
Adrian Martinâs Review of To Be Or Not To Be.
To Be Or Not To Be (A Jew) by Dorian Stuber and Marianne Tettlebaum
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We return from our brief hiatus with our most in-depth episode yet, culled from five hours of discussions recorded over a period of several months with William Paul, author of the essential critical study Ernst Lubitschâs American Comedy.
We discuss Paulâs friendship with frequent Lubitsch collaborator Samson Raphaelson, Raphaelsonâs sometimes-harsh retrospective criticism of his own work, the linguistic tics that unite Lubitschâs filmography, their methods of adapting obscure Hungarian plays, Raphaelsonâs recollections of Alfred Hitchcock's very different working methods, and Suspicionâs shocking alternate ending.
Later on, we discuss the neuroscientific mechanisms of comedy, the biological purpose of laughter, the relationship of To Be Or Not To Be and the idea of âpassingâ, and engage in some record-correction as to whether or not the film was as controversial as is widely believed.
Edited by Brennen King and Eden Cote-Foster.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Dara and Ryan Jaffe join us for the first of two discussions on To Be Or Not To Be For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Ernst Lubitschâs American Comedy by William Paul
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Tim Brayton returns to discuss noted Lubitsch fan and disciple Preston Sturges and his 1941 meta-comedy SULLIVANâS TRAVELS. We cover Sturgesâ immense admiration of Lubitsch, the filmâs immensely fascinating but perhaps frustrating relationship with its own status as a satire of its own form, Sturgesâ political beliefs and moral compass, the value of communal viewings to comedic cinema, and much more.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Weâre taking a little break! See you in a few weeks for the last eleven episodes of Season 5, the end of our story.
WORKS CITED:Romantic Comedy in Hollywood: From Lubitsch to Sturges and The Lady Eve (The Current) by James Harvey
Pursuits of Happiness: A Reading of the lady Eve by Stanley Cavell
Fast Talk: Preston Sturges and the Speed of Sound by Joe McElhaney
Preston Sturges: Success in the Movies by Manny Farber and W.S. Poster
Christmas in July (Review) by Adrian Martin
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UW-Madison PHD Candidate Lance St. Laurent joins us to discuss THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING, as well as some comedic theory. We discuss our mutual admiration for elements of this relatively minor divorce-and-remarriage-style comedy, Lubitschâs attempts to tackle psychoanalysis and modern art, and the filmâs production origins. Additionally, we go deep on comic theory: relief, superiority, and incongruity all have their day, and we discuss the ways in which comedy involves collaboration between an artist and their audience. Lastly, we apply all this to the Tom Green masterpiece FREDDY GOT FINGERED, because thatâs germane.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Tim Brayton returns to discuss Preston Sturges and THE LADY EVE. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Humour: A Short Introduction by Noel Carroll
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This week, we present an episode of the SCREEN GUILD THEATER starring Ernst Lubitsch, Claudette Colbert, and possibly Jack Benny!
Originally aired on October 20th, 1940.
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Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Lance St. Laurent joins us to discuss THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING, as well as some comedic theory. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Ernst Lubitsch: The Radio Years (Forum Post) - A list of every Lubitsch-related episode of the Screen Guild Theater.
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Critic Adrian Martin joins us for our final episode on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. In our discussion, we deconstruct some of the filmâs camera direction, discuss Lubitschâs late-period style and his more subtle (yet still very much present) formalism, his structural methodology, his use of repetition, the dynamics between âartâ and âcraftâ, and Lubitschâs continuing influence.
We also, at long last, try to define the Lubitsch âtouchâ. Or maybe not.
Edited by Brennen King
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:We present an episode of THE GULF SCREEN GUILD THEATRE starring Ernst Lubitsch, Claudette Colbert, and possibly Jack Benny.
WORKS CITED:Game Space and Play Time: A Partial History of American Screen Comedy (Lubitsch, Sturges, Tashlin) by Adrian Martin
Adrian Martin's Review of THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER
Innuendo by William D. Routt
CinematĂłgrafos - Edgardo Cozarinsky (Buenos Aires: BAFICI, 2010)
Acting Ordinary in The Shop Around the Corner - George Tolles
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Whit Stillman and Jose Arroyo join us for our second episode on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. Whit discusses Lubitschâs writing process, the ways in which the film is exemplary of the Hollywood studio system at its best, and his admiration for Pirovitch. Jose later joins us for a formal breakdown of the filmâs final scene.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Film critic Adrian Martin joins us for our final episode on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER.
WORKS CITED:Whit Stillman: Not So Long Ago
Stillman's Writeup on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER for the New York Times
Jose Arroyo's Podcast Episode on SHOP and YOU'VE GOT MAIL
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Kevin Bahr joins us for the first of our episodes on the greatest Jimmy Stewart-related Christmas movie of them all, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. In this episode, we discuss the filmâs unusual structure, ensemble nature, each characterâs arc towards self-improvement, capital, our shared admiration of Pepi, the filmâs historical context, Samson Raphaelsonâs screenplay, and the depths of the filmâs darkness as well as the warmth that persists despite said darkness.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Whit Stillman and Jose Arroyo join us for our second episode on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
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Author Donald Bracket joins us to discuss NINOTCHKA, and in particular the collaboration between the filmâs two writers: Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder. We cover their tumultuous collaboration from their first films to its sordid ending with the masterpiece SUNSET BOULEVARD, as well as the development of the screenplay for NINOTCHKA.
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Kevin Bahr joins us for the first of our episodes on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER.. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:DOUBLE SOLITAIRE: The Films of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilderby Donald Brackett
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Actor and podcaster Griffin Newman joins us to discuss NINOTCHKA! We discuss Lubitschâs stature in Hollywood, Greta Garboâs incredible lead performance, Rouben Mamoulianâs musical remake SILK STOCKINGS, the early development of the script, Cary Grantâs possible involvement, the filmâs mechanics as both a romantic comedy and geopolitical satire, the filmâs relationship with the ideologies of the lead characters, the great Felix Bressart, and the Al Ruddy hagiography otherwise known as âTHE OFFERâ.
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
We have a Discord!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
NEXT WEEK:Author Donald Bracket joins us to discuss NINOTCHKA and the filmâs two writers: Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:Production Code Administration notes on NINOTCHKA
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