The Horse's Head

#352) Rip Van Winkle (1896/1903)

OR “The Big Sleep”

Directed by William K.L. Dickson

Based on the story by Washington Irving and the play by Joseph Jefferson and Dion Boucicault

Class of 1995

The Plot: The “Rip Van Winkle” film is comprised of eight short scenes from a popular stage version of the Washington Irving classic. The selected moments consist of Rip Van Winkle (Joseph Jefferson) wandering up the Catskill Mountains, meeting a group of dwarfs, consuming a lot of alcohol, and going to sleep. He awakens 20 years later to find himself an old man. And that’s all this version crams into its 4 ½ minute runtime.

Why It Matters: The NFR doesn’t give specific superlatives to “Rip Van Winkle”, just a general overview of the film’s history.

But Does It Really?: The NFR makes the case for “Rip Van Winkle” as the film that put Biograph Studios on the map, which, while completely forgotten today, is an important stepping stone to the movies as we know them. The film’s historical relevance is enough to get a pass from me, while the film’s presentation makes for an entertaining (albeit not intentionally so) viewing experience.

Everybody Gets One: Born to a set designer and an actress, Joseph Jefferson got a taste for the theater after appearing in a few “babe in arms” roles. At the age of 30, Jefferson, by then an established actor, played Rip Van Winkle in a successful 1859 production. While appearing in London, Jefferson met Irish playwright Dion Boucicault, who helped revise and rewrite the show. Jefferson toured with this version of “Rip Van Winkle” for the rest of his life, rarely performing any other play.

Wow, That’s Dated: Mainly the idea that a few static shots of a play was enough to make a hit movie. What a time to be a pioneer filmmaker.

Other notes

• Although the film of “Rip Van Winkle” is based on the Jefferson/Boucicault play, Jefferson didn’t perform the dialogue, opting to pantomime his actions so Dickson didn’t have to use intertitles.
• According to surviving records from the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, you can read Jefferson’s lips and figure out Rip’s toast: “Here’s to your health and your family’s, may they live long and prosper.” Is this where “Star Trek” got it?
• This film has one of the best unintentionally funny moments in any film ever. Rip meets the Dwarf, who is just a regular sized person crouching close to the ground. He’s not even attempting a Dorf maneuver; he’s just crouching. Was film still such a novelty that they thought no one would notice?
• I dunno, I guess I was expecting the Catskill Mountains to be funnier. And where’s the borscht?
• How come the dwarfs don’t play ninepins in this version? Also, why are they dwarfs? In the original story they are just old bearded men dressed like Dutch settlers. One of them is described as “short”, but that’s it. Where is this coming from?
• And we have another unintentionally funny moment involving the dwarfs. Once Rip falls asleep, the dwarfs start to leave, and one of the actors starts taking off his hat and fake beard, assuming the take is over. Little did he realize this one mistake would be preserved for future generations to judge.
• My first guess was that “Rip Van Winkle” was filmed at some park near the studio, but it turns out shooting happened at Joseph Jefferson’s summer home in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. He must have loved that commute.
• The only appropriate response after a 20-year slumber is “WHAT YEAR IS IT?”
• For those of you who don’t know the rest of “Rip Van Winkle”, Rip’s sleep made him miss the entire American Revolution, and his talk of King George is mistaken for treason. Thankfully, his adult children recognize him, and he moves in with his daughter, continuing his life of sleeping and drinking without actually learning anything or changing as a human.

Legacy

• “Rip Van Winkle” was originally sent to distributors as eight individual films, with exhibitors being allowed to show however many of them they chose. They were popular enough that in 1903 Biograph re-released the shorts as one complete film.
• Dickson’s Biograph film company got off the ground thanks to “Rip Van Winkle”, and was one of the biggest film studios for the next 20 years.

• Chicago has acknowledged Joseph Jefferson’s contributions to the theater by naming their annual theater award after him. The Joseph Jefferson Award (or “The Jeff Award” for short) has been honoring the best of Chicago theater since 1968 (“Best” unless you read Time Out Chicago). Jefferson became the award’s namesake because he had appeared in Chicago’s first theater troupe as a child.

• Joseph Jefferson’s son Thomas was also an accomplished actor, playing the role of Rip Van Winkle after his father’s passing, both on stage and in a few silent films.

• “Rip Van Winkle” has been adapted to film a few more times over the years, though it is getting harder to sell a story about a man who would rather drink with strangers than listen to his shrewish wife. As best I can tell, the most recent version is the 1987 episode of “Faerie Tale Theatre” starring Harry Dean Stanton and directed by…Francis Ford Coppola?

• The Van Winkle dynasty continues to this day with Robert Van Winkle, aka Vanilla Ice.

#351) Marty (1955)

OR “King of the Stardust Ballroom”

Directed by Delbert Mann

Written by Paddy Chayefsky. Based on his teleplay.

Class of 1994

Here’s the original trailer, introduced by the film’s producer Burt Lancaster!

The Plot: Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine) is a lovable Bronx butcher, a self-proclaimed “fat, ugly man”, and a 34-year-old bachelor. After encouragement from his mother (Esther Minciotti), Marty reluctantly goes to the Stardust Ballroom on a Saturday night. He has some initial difficulty meeting women, but soon hits it off with Clara (Betsy Blair) a homely schoolteacher stood up by her blind date. The two begin to bond, but is ‘50s America ready to see two regular, unconventional looking people find love?

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the “touching realism” of Mann’s direction and the “nuanced dialogue” of Chayefsky’s script.

But Does It Really?: “Marty” was the first mainstream romantic film that wasn’t glamorous. This isn’t Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in Rome, these are two plain looking people falling in love in a neighborhood not unlike your own. It is this breakthrough that has kept “Marty” relatable to generations of filmgoers. The film still gets its annual shoutout as a Best Picture winner, but “Marty” holds up far better than its contemporaries, thanks primarily to Chayefsky, Mann, and especially Borgnine’s star turn. “Marty” isn’t a bona-fide film great, but it’s the little movie that could, and still can.

Everybody Gets One: Delbert Mann directed over 100 live teleplays throughout the ‘50s (including the original “Marty” teleplay) and Paddy Chayefsky insisted that Mann return to direct the film version. Actor Betsy Blair lobbied hard to play Clara, but United Artists was wary of casting someone on the blacklist. Her then-husband, Gene Kelly, used his Hollywood clout to get Blair the part. Not the best way to land a role, but Blair’s performance helps temper this incongruous start.

Wow, That’s Dated: Such ‘50s things as bathroom attendants, and phone booths in every bar! On a sadder note, most of Marty’s Bronx no longer exists (the RKO Chester referenced in the film was demolished in 2010).

Take a Shot: We have a title song!

Seriously, Oscars?: “Marty” opened in limited release, but reviews were strong enough that a wider release was immediately planned. Production company Hecht-Lancaster went all out on their Oscar campaign; spending more on the Oscars than the actual film ($400,000 vs. $343,000). The gambit worked, and “Marty” won four Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Adapted Screenplay.

Other notes

• Prior to this viewing, I screened the original 1953 teleplay of “Marty” starring Rod Steiger. The key to the film’s success (and superiority over the teleplay) is the casting of Ernest Borgnine over Rod Steiger. Steiger’s Marty is primarily a pitiable figure; sulking and mumbling his way throughout. Borgnine keeps the sadness, but also highlights the incredible person hiding underneath the pained surface. His is a Marty to root for.

• Joe Mantell, Esther Minciotti, and Augusta Ciolli all reprise their roles from the original teleplay. Minciotti in particular does a good job of reining in her more theatrical teleplay performance for the big screen.
• The key to any quotable line is how many times they say it during the actual movie. There’s a reason everyone remembers “Marty, when are you gonna get married?” and “What do you feel like doing tonight, Ang?”

• The Pilettis are close to being – but aren’t quite – broad Italian stereotypes. We never cross that line, but we do approach it.
• The ‘50s slang used in “Marty” is sparse, and used in a context that a modern audience can understand. It’s pretty easy to figure out what a “dog” and a “tomato” are.
• Apparently a young Jerry Orbach makes his film debut as an extra at the Ballroom. Anyone know which one is Young Lennie?
• The best thing about “Marty” is that it isn’t love at first sight for these two. They meet primarily because Marty pities Clara, but once that actually get to know one another, then the sparks fly. “Marty” takes the bold step of suggesting you should be with someone based on substance rather than purely on looks.

• Word-vomiting on a first date: Been there.
• Marty correctly predicts the rise of supermarkets in the near future. Between this and “Network”, Paddy Chayefsky was a modern Nostradamus.
• Speaking of, it’s crazy to think that the man who wrote the deceivingly simple dialogue in this movie also wrote the verbose monologues of “Network”. Now that’s a guy who can…um…words…good.
• Joe Mantell doesn’t get much to do as Angie (and I don’t understand his Oscar nod), but he would eventually achieve film immortality with five words: “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.”
• Watch closely for Paddy Chayefsky’s brief appearance as Marty’s friend Leo.

• The one rough spot is the scene where Marty tries to kiss Clara even though she clearly doesn’t want to. Chayefsky does his best to justify each character’s actions, but I’ll be curious to see if this scene gets any flak from future generations.

• Some resources say the film is 90 minutes, others 93. The reason for this discrepancy is the exclusion of a scene in which Clara returns home and tells her parents about Marty. Luckily the print I saw had this scene restored, and it’s a lovely coda to Blair’s performance.

• The family drama subplot with Tommy, Virginia, and Aunt Catherine felt like padding in the teleplay and definitely feels like padding here. I appreciate that Chayefsky opted to expand Marty and Clara’s scenes rather than this nonsense.
• I gotta say this ending is a bit of a letdown. “Marty” doesn’t strike me as a movie that needs a cliffhanger, but here we are. I am choosing to believe that Marty and Clara end up together, because that’s how this should have ended!

Legacy

• “Marty” was a launching pad for everyone involved. Ernest Borgnine spent the rest of his career as an in-demand character actor, while Delbert Mann continued directing such films as “Separate Tables” (also for Hecht-Lancaster) and the TV movie version of “Heidi”, aka “The Heidi Bowl”.

• Paddy Chayefsky’s screenwriting career also took off, and his disappointment with what television devolved into by the early ‘70s served as the basis for “Network”.

• Mann and Chayefsky reunited for another adaptation of a Chayefsky teleplay: “The Bachelor Party”. It treads a lot of the same ground as “Marty”.

• Most of Hecht-Lancaster’s productions were Burt Lancaster vanity projects, but we got another NFR entry out of it: “Sweet Smell of Success”.

• Hollywood studios, already on the decline in the mid-50s, took notice when a studio-financed independent project made a ton of money AND won all the Oscars. Studios started getting into the independent distribution game, a strategy that has continued to this day.
• There has been no direct remake of “Marty”, but John Hughes’ “Only the Lonely” is a spiritual successor, and Jeff Garlin’s “I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With” features a remake with a miscast Aaron Carter.

#350) It Happened One Night (1934)

OR “Bus the Two of Us”

Directed by Frank Capra

Written by Robert Riskin (with an assist from Myles Connolly). Based on the short story “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams.

Class of 1993

 

The Plot: Heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) has eloped with social climber King Westley (Jameson Thomas), despite the objections of her father (Walter Connolly). After Dad insists on the marriage being annulled, Ellie jumps ship (literally) and boards a Greyhound bus for New York, where King awaits. Also on the bus is recently unemployed reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who recognizes Ellie when her disappearance makes headlines. After their bus leaves them behind, Peter agrees to help Ellie get to New York if he can have an exclusive interview. The two bus and hitchhike their way across the country, and while there is some initial friction, you won’t believe this, they start to fall for each other.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “a classic” and gives a rundown of the film’s rocky production and eventual Oscar sweep. There’s also an essay by Ian Scott, who wrote a biography on screenwriter Robert Riskin, because someone had to.

But Does It Really?: “It Happened One Night” is an undisputed film classic, but some of its luster has worn off over the years. For the seminal romantic comedy, “It Happened One Night” isn’t as romantic or as hilarious as it used to be, but it still made me laugh quite a bit, and it set the template for practically every romantic comedy since then. The film’s simple premise helps it age well, as do committed performances from both Gable and Colbert (Well, seemingly committed. More on that later). It’s not one of the NFR’s untouchables, but “It Happened One Night” is more than deserving of its place among the best films.

Shout Outs: Peter briefly sings “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”

Wow, That’s Dated: I have been on a charter bus, and there is no singing or selling of candy and cigarettes. Also dated: telegrams, and not being able to instantly access your money.

Take a Shot: Not to split hairs, but “It” actually happens over the course of several nights. This of course all depends on your definition of “It”.

Seriously, Oscars?: At the 7^thAnnual Oscars, “It Happened One Night” was nominated in five major categories, and was the first to win all five: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay. Claudette Colbert was so convinced she would lose Best Actress to write-in candidate Bette Davis she arranged to leave town the night of the ceremony for a long vacation. When Colbert was declared the winner, her train was delayed so she could run to the Biltmore and grab her Oscar.

 

Other notes

• “It Happened One Night” is just as famous for who ISN’T in the cast. First choice Robert Montgomery passed on Peter, while Ellie was rejected by no less than Myrna Loy, Carole Lombard, and Miriam Hopkins. This led to some retooling of the screenplay by Capra and screenwriter Myles Connolly, making the lead roles more sympathetic.
• Both Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert were on loan to Columbia from their respective studios: MGM and Paramount. Neither particularly wanted to make the film; Colbert often clashed with Capra (they had worked together before) and Gable’s alleged words on the first day of shooting were “Let’s get this over with.”
• One of the reasons for this film’s longevity: they’re both smart-asses, yet still relatable. It’s a testament to the work of Gable and Colbert; they help make sure these characters maintain their humanity amidst the one-liners.
• The character of Shapeley is a series of ‘30s jargon disguised as a human.
• During the scene where Peter demonstrates his undressing technique, Gable had difficulty getting the rhythm down. To help speed up the scene, Capra suggested that Gable not wear an undershirt. Film lore has claimed that this led to a steep decline in undershirt sales, but no one has ever been able to back up this story. No “Legacy” section for you, urban myth!

 

• Several scenes in this movie are downright Seinfeldian in their observations of everyday life. Can’t you imagine Jerry and George debating the correct way to dunk a donut? “It’s one move, George! You don’t double dip!”
• Best scene in the movie is Peter and Ellie pretending to be a squabbling couple to evade the detectives. They are both ridiculously over-the-top. Second favorite is a similar scene where Peter scares away Shapeley by posing as a gangster.

 

• Like many of the greats, Capra knew the power of the close-up. Here he only uses them during choice moments of intimacy between Peter and Ellie to highlight their budding romance.
• This movie is trying to do for carrots what “E.T.” did for Reese’s Pieces.
• The hitchhiking scene is a classic for a reason. It’s two well-defined characters playing off each other, turning a mundane situation into something special. And check out the gams on Colbert!

 

• Why is Ellie’s story front-page news? Was it a slow week? I feel like “America Still in Depression” should be your opener in 1934.
• I didn’t realize that Peter and Ellie never kiss in this movie. You don’t even see them on screen together after they part ways during the third act. Not a very satisfying payoff if you ask me.

Legacy

• “It Happened One Night” opened to mixed reviews and mild box office. Once the film was released in secondary movie houses, positive word-of-mouth spread, and the film became Columbia’s biggest hit, putting the fledgling studio on the map.
• As previously stated, this film is responsible for every romantic comedy you’ve seen that involves two people from “opposite sides of the tracks” that are forced together and eventually fall in love. It’s a tale as old as at least 1934.
• In addition to its influence on the romantic comedy genre, “It Happened One Night” is considered among the first “screwball comedies”, even though that phrase wouldn’t be coined until a few years later.
• There have been two remakes of “It Happened One Night”, and interestingly enough, they’re both musicals. 1945’s “Eve Knew Her Apples” starred Ann Miller, while 1956’s “You Can’t Run Away from It” starred Jack Lemmon and June Allyson. I have tried – and failed – to watch the latter.

 

 

• Perhaps the film’s most substantial legacy is its influence on one of filmdom’s most iconic characters. According to animators Friz Freleng and Bob Clampett, elements from Peter Warne and Shapeley were combined to create Bugs Bunny: from his smart-alecky demeanor to calling everyone “Doc”.

 

#349) Dog Star Man (1961-1964)

OR “Stan vs. Nature”

Directed by Stan Brakhage

Class of 1992

The “Plot”: A man (Stan Brakhage) and his dog climb one of Colorado’s picturesque snowy mountains to chop down a tree.

The Actual Movie: One hell of an experimental trip, complete with abstract imagery, recurring motifs, and full-frontal nudity. In Brakhage’s words, “Dog Star Man” is a “created dream” presented as a prelude and four parts.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “a masterpiece of experimental filmmaking” and praises the “innovative new techniques” that “ushered in a new age of experimental film”.

But Does It Really?: I’m always willing to give a pass to a film by an experimental filmmaker I’m not familiar with, but I’m embarrassed to admit that I was unaware of Stan Brakhage prior to this viewing. Turns out I was in the presence of perhaps THE experimental filmmaker, the one everyone in the experimental scene bows down to. “Dog Star Man” is one of those films that you can read literally anything into, making it a sort of cinematic Rorschach test. There are pros and cons to watching this film cold vs. doing some prior homework about Brakhage, but regardless, Brakhage’s unique style and ongoing legacy has earned him a place on the Registry, and “Dog Star Man” is worth a watch.

Everybody Gets One: Stan Brakhage started out as – of all things – a boy soprano raised in Denver, Colorado. After stints making his early experimental films in San Francisco and New York (where he briefly crashed at Maya Deren’s apartment), he returned to Denver, where he met writer Mary Jane Collom. They married, and the birth of their daughter Myrrenna became the subject of Stan’s film “Window Water Baby Moving”. Brakhage films were renowned for their (then) avant-garde techniques, such as time-lapse photography and multiple exposures. He also would tamper with the physical film itself, sometimes painting directly onto the frame or punching a hole in the image.

Before we get into “Other notes”: it occurred to me that there was very little point in me trying to decipher this film or determine its symbolism. So first, here’s a list of Things I Thought I Saw in the Prelude:

• A leaf
• A blood-shot eye
• Definitely breasts
• The corona of the sun (I assume the “Star” of the title)
• Frank Zappa
• A skin cell
• “The Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh
• Atomic bomb footage
• An Easter egg and/or Jelly Belly
• The Ring! Don’t answer the phone!
• A supernova
• The moon
• Snow covered trees (possibly footage from “Jack Frost”)
• Bob Fosse’s open-heart surgery from “All That Jazz”
• The things Brakhage can do with his Spirograph
• The San Andreas fault
• The opening credits to a Bond movie, let’s say “The Spy Who Loved Me”.
• God?

Other notes

• “Dog Star Man” is presented without sound, so this time I opted for a David Bowie YouTube playlist to get me through this viewing. I think I picked Bowie because of the connection with his song “Starman”, which, ironically, didn’t play while I was watching the movie.
• This is the film for everyone who thought “A MOVIE” was too coherent.
• To the best of my knowledge, that’s Jane Brakhage doing the nudity. It takes a special kind of woman to allow her husband to film her naked AND film their child being born AND present both of those films publically for in the name of art.
• Stan and his dog don’t show up until Part 1, about a half hour into the proceedings. At first I just thought it was yet another random image, and then I realized we’re sticking with this one.
• Speaking of, anyone know if that was Stan’s dog or not?
• A man trudging through the Colorado snow? Say hi to Jack Torrance for me.
• Okay, I’m pretty sure that’s Stan’s junk I just saw in great detail. You know, when they say that a true filmmaker exposes themselves in their movies, this is not what they meant.
• This whole movie would be worth it if at the end, the camera zooms out and Stan’s only about three feet away from the parking lot.
• Each segment of “Dog Star Man” was completed every year between 1961 and 1964, with Parts 3 & 4 coming out in 1964. I guess my main question is how did this take four years to complete? You could knock out the on-location shots in a day.
• I feel bad for Myrrenna. This baby did not sign up for any of this.
• Okay Brakhage, enough with the extreme close-ups on body parts. I do not need to be that close to a lactating nipple. At least, I hope that’s what I just saw…
• As I previously said, you can read anything into “Dog Star Man”. I know it’s pointless, but I’ll take a shot in the dark and say it’s the life cycle, possibly culminating in the death of the man on the mountain. Does that mean the prelude was intercourse and gestation? I have so many questions!

Legacy

• “Dog Star Man” was the tip of the iceberg for Stan Brakhage, who continued making experimental shorts up until his death in 2003. Shortly after “Dog Star Man”, he started the “Songs” cycle, also considered among his best work.

• Brakhage taught film at the University of Colorado for many years. Among his students were future “South Park” creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone. Brakhage appears as Noon Sr. in Parker & Stone’s student film “Cannibal! The Musical.”

• Among those who have cited Brakhage as an influence are directors Martin Scorsese (see the crucifixion in “The Last Temptation of Christ”) and David Fincher (see the opening credits of “Se7en”).

#348) Trouble in Paradise (1932)

OR “Thief Encounter”

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch

Written by Samson Raphaelson and Grover Jones. Based on the play “The Honest Finder” by Aladar Laszlo.

Class of 1991

No trailer, but here’s a clip

The Plot: Wealthy socialites Gaston Monescu (Herbert Marshall) and Lily Vautier (Miriam Hopkins) meet in Venice and are instantly attracted to each other. Gaston and Lily reveal to each other that they are both con artists, and decide to team up to rob Paris perfumery magnate Mariette Colet (Kay Francis). Things get complicated when Gaston starts to have feelings for Mariette, and he begins to question the con. Added to the mix are Mariette’s two suitors Francois Filiba and The Major (Edward Everett Horton and Charlie Ruggles), and the kind of light, sophisticated comedy Ernst Lubitsch has become known for.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film a “frothy gem” with “saucy dialog”. The write-up goes on to describe the “Lubitsch Touch” as “an easy comedic elegance which characterized the films of director Ernst Lubtisch”.

But Does It Really?: I had never seen “Trouble in Paradise”, and I was charmed by its light humor and risqué subject matter. That being said, I’m surprised that it’s not only on the NFR, but made it in its third go-round. The “Lubitsch Touch” was already represented on the NFR with “Ninotchka” the year prior, and I’m amazed “Trouble in Paradise” made the cut before “To Be or Not To Be” or “The Shop Around the Corner”. I’ll give “Trouble in Paradise” a “minor classic” designation: an enjoyable film that holds up well, but not in the same league as some of Lubitsch’s other classics.

Everybody Gets One: Both Herbert Marshall and Kay Francis were big stars in their day that are not well remembered today. Kay Francis was a stage actor who made her film debut in “The Cocoanuts” with the Marx Brothers, and was a few years away from becoming the biggest star on the Warner Bros. lot. Herbert Marshall also started on the stage, a career that was interrupted by WWI. During his service, Marshall was shot in his right knee by a sniper, and his entire leg was amputated. After the war, Marshall returned to the stage, and transitioned to film in the late ‘20s, all the while keeping his prosthetic leg out of the limelight.

Wow, That’s Dated: It was a lot easier to be an international thief before the internet. In addition, this film features switchboard operators, radio programs, and a then-current reference to the Stock Market Crash.

Take a Shot: No one says the title, but we do get a title song performed by noted tenor Donald Novis.

Seriously, Oscars?: No Oscar love for “Trouble in Paradise”, but the film did make the National Board of Review’s year-end Top Ten list. Ernst Lubitsch received three Best Director nominations in his career, but never won. He did, however, receive an honorary award from the Academy in March 1947, eight months before his death.

Other notes

• “Trouble in Paradise” only bares a passing resemblance to its source material “The Honest Finder”. Lubitsch encouraged Raphaelson to not read the play and base the film on George Manolescu, a real-life con artist at the turn of the century. Co-writer Grover Jones contributed very little to the actual screenplay; his credit was a contractual obligation to Paramount.
• This film is technically leaps and bounds ahead of other early sound films. For starters, there’s an underscore! It’s still early days, but it helps highlight the romanticism of the whole thing. We also get a couple of montages throughout “Paradise”, which means scene wipes a-plenty!
• Miriam Hopkins strikes me as Lubitsch’s proto-Carole Lombard. She doesn’t quite have Lombard’s combination of funny and sexy, but she’s close. I suspect Lombard’s rise to prominence was the cause of Hopkins’ decline in the late ‘30s.
• I must say Herbert Marshall is quite charming in this film. It’s a shame he doesn’t have more classics on the resume.
• Speaking of Marshall: watch closely during the shots where Gaston runs up and down stairs. Because of Marshall’s aforementioned war injury, he used a double for any shots involving strenuous physical activity.
• Oh man, that is the most suggestive dissolve I’ve ever seen. Gaston and Lili are holding each other on a chaise, followed by a dissolve to an empty chaise. Quel scandale.
• Fun Fact: Both Charles Ruggles and Edward Everett Horton would go on to become regular voice actors on “Rocky & Bullwinkle”.
• Oh Edward Everett Horton, how I’ve missed your double take.
• Kay Francis doesn’t strike me as your sexy leading lady-type, but I’m happy to be proven wrong. My favorite line is her sultry reading of “Because I want to make it tough for you.”
• Another risqué pre-code moment: Gaston and Mariette have an intimate moment while their shadows are projected onto a bed. The censor boards must have had a fit with that one.
• Ultimately, I feel the same way about “Trouble in Paradise” as I did “The Thin Man”: it’s a well-crafted screenplay with charming performances, but overall the film has lost some of its initial luster. Still enjoyable, but not the first on anyone’s must-see list.

Legacy

• “Trouble in Paradise” was successful in its day, but once the Hays Code went into full effect, the film more or less disappeared. The Production Code denied a potential 1935 re-release, as well as a planned musical remake in 1943. “Paradise” didn’t make the late night movie circuit until 1958, where it started to get rediscovered.
• Everyone involved in “Trouble in Paradise” went on to bigger and better. As previously stated, Lubitsch had his share of classics coming up, and Kay Francis became Warner Bros.’ number one star, until Bette Davis came along and Francis was labeled “box office poison”. Herbert Marshall transitioned from dashing leading man to dashing character actor, most memorably as Bette Davis’ sickly husband in “The Little Foxes”.

• Miriam Hopkins’ star also rose after “Trouble in Paradise”, leading to an Oscar-nominated performance in “Becky Sharp”, the first film made in three-strip Technicolor. Like Marshall, she transitioned to supporting turns, most notably as Olivia De Havilland’s aunt in her other NFR entry: “The Heiress”.

• Wes Anderson listed “Trouble in Paradise” among the influences on “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, particularly with Ralph Fiennes’ character. Yeah, I see it.

• And of course, the film’s long-gestating drastic departure of a sequel: “Stranger Than Paradise”. Fact: Before I started this blog I could not have told you the difference between these two films. Talk about night and day.