How Would Lubitsch Do It?

S3E08 - The Patriot (1928) and the works of Josef von Sternberg with David Cairns

THE PATRIOT is a lost film. So, returning guest David Cairns joins us to pick up the pieces and discuss the film’s, and Ernst Lubistsc’s, connections to acclaimed studio rebel Josef Von Sternberg! We discuss THE SCARLET EMPRESS, THE LAST COMMAND, DISHONORED, THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN, BLONDE VENUS, SHANGHAI EXPRESS, and Sternberg’s habit of burning every bridge available to him.
Dialogue edit by Griffin Sheel.
Introductory synopsis from the Paramount Press Book for THE PATRIOT as printed in LOST FILMS by Frank Thompson.
NEXT WEEK:
Returning guest Bram Ruiter joins us to discuss ETERNAL LOVE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
FUN IN A CHINESE LAUNDRY by Josef Von SternbergLOST FILMS by Frank ThompsonThe Red, Gold, Sunset Sound Libraries at Archive.og

S3E07 - The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) with David Neary

Whitney Museum digital asset manager and restorationist David Neary joins us to discuss THE STUDENT PRINCE IN OLD HEIDELBERG. We discuss all things film preservation, including photochemical and digital restoration processes, stochastic film restoration, the dangers and benefits of nitrate film stocks, and the morality of piracy.
Recorded live in New York City by Anna Citak-Scott.
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
This episode is dedicated to Carl Davis (1936–2023).
NEXT WEEK:
Returning guest David Cairns joins us to discuss THE PATRIOT and the works of Josef von Sternberg. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
FilmColors - Timeline of Historical Film Colors
The Carl Davis Collection
Photoplay Productions

S3E06 - So This is Paris (1926) with Julia Sirmons

Julia Sirmons joins us to discuss SO THIS IS PARIS, Lubitsch’s 1926 sex farce and pseudo-remake of THE MERRY JAIL. We cover the ways that Lubitsch treats feminine desire and fantasies, the film’s slightly tenuous connection to its titular location, the kaleidoscopic party scene, Lubitsch’s minimal use of title cards, communication and miscommunication, the politics of truth and secrets, the unconventional cyclical structure of Lubitsch’s comedies, and, most importantly of all, the messy-but-inevitable divorce of Ernst Lubitsch and Warner Brothers Pictures!
Edited by Griffin Sheel.
NEXT WEEK:
David Neary joins us to discuss THE STUDENT PRINCE IN OLD HEIDELBERG. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
Film Formally S1E10: Pre-Code Montage with Peter Labuza
Classic Corner: Design for Living

S3E05 - Lady Windermere’s Fan (1925) with Dave Kehr

Legendary critic and Museum of Modern Art film curator Dave Kehr joins us to discuss LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN and the MOMA’s restorations of it and three more of this season’s films*. We discuss all the elements of the restoration process: scans, tinting, scoring, digital trickery, distribution, and even thievery.
To request films such as LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN for theatrical screenings, you can request a loan directly from the MOMA’s Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center.
*ROSITA (S3E01), THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE (S3E02), and FORBIDDEN PARADISE (S3E04).
NEXT WEEK:
Julia Sirmons joins us to discuss SO THIS IS PARIS. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
Dave Kehr's essay about LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN for the SF Silent Film Festival.

S3E04 - Forbidden Paradise (1924) with Will Ross

Returning guest Will Ross joins us to discuss FORBIDDEN PARADISE. We cover Lubitsch’s use of blocking, cutting, and production design for thematic purposes, anachronistic automobiles, slanderous Catharine the Great biopics, the film’s abstract politics, frivolous revolutionaries, the psychological effects of intercutting tints, MOMA’s intensive restoration of the film, and ethics in film preservation.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Museum of Modern Art film curator Dave Kehr joins us to discuss LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
Dave Kehr’s writeup on FORBIDDEN PARADISE.Dave Kehr’s introduction to a screening of FORBIDDEN PARADISE.

S3E03 - Three Women [1924] with James Penco

James Penco joins us to discuss THREE WOMEN, Lubitsch’s 1924 melodramedy*. We discuss Lubitsch’s use of objects as a proxy for characters, the film’s sometimes-baffling tonal decisions, the preservation state of Lubitsch’s American silents, the wisdom of “Three Women” as a title, and the undeniable talents of Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall.
*To coin a phrase.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Returning guest Will Ross joins us to discuss FORBIDDEN PARADISE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

S3E02 - The Marriage Circle [1924] with Sarah Shachat

Sarah Shachat joins us on-location in New York City to discuss THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE.. We mull over the evolution this film represents in Lubitsch’s tone, the strange pairing of Ernst Lubitsch and the Warner Brothers, the luminous Adolphe Menjou, Lubitsch’s bewilderingly advantageous contractual terms, his filmmaking philosophy circa the mid 1920s, the art of splitting couples up at parties, and, of course, Harry The Cameraman’s unbelievable story about nickels and bodily organs.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
James Penco joins us to discuss THREE WOMEN. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

S3E01.5 - Charlie Chaplin’s ’A Woman of Paris’ [1923] with Margaret “Molly” Rasberry

Margaret "Molly" Rasberry joins us to for a special side episode Charlie Chaplin’s A WOMAN OF PARIS: A DRAMA OF FATE, a key influence on Ernst Lubitsch going forward. We discuss Chaplin’s political leanings, the luminous Adolphe Menjou, the stories of the women who inspired the film, the impact it had on Lubitsch’s career, the evolution of film acting techniques, and the joy in pre-code conduct.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Sarah Shachat joins us to discuss THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

S3E01 - Rosita [1923] with Tim Brayton

Critic and friend of the show Tim Brayton returns to discuss Lubitsch’s first American silent film, ROSITA. We discuss Lubitsch’s artistic evolution upon leaving Berlin and entering Hollywood, his struggles with Merry Pickford, the film’s recent MOMA restoration, Lubitsch’s newfound mastery of tone, this film’s status as a ‘transitional work’, the typical Hollywood artistic and industrial processes circa 1923, Lubitsch’s career goals, and historical determinism.
Come join our Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Margaret "Molly" Rasberry joins us to discuss Charlie Chaplin’s A WOMAN OF PARIS. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

S3E00 - A History of Early Hollywood with Peter Labuza

We’re back, and Ernst Lubitsch is now in Hollywood!
It’s been an exciting time for the podcast: we’ve traveled around the world or, more specifically, to Los Angeles and New York City, to record the next few seasons. We begin at the Margaret Herrick Library at Beverly Hills, in conversation with Peter Labuza as we discuss the history of early Hollywood, wherein Ernst Lubitsch is about to begin the second phase of his career.
In this episode, we cover the landscape and economics of the studio system circa the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s including studios such as MGM, 20th Century, Universal, Paramount, and RKO, the interplay between capital and labor in this industry, the impact of synchronized sound, the great depression, the Hays code, JEWEL ROBBERY, and much more!
Anna Citak-Scott was our recording engineer for this episode.
Thanks to Matt Severson and the Margaret Herrick Library for letting us record in the Karl Malden room.
We have a Discord!
NEXT WEEK:
Critic and friend of the show Tim Brayton returns to discuss Lubitsch’s first American silent film, ROSITA. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
Hard, Fast, and Brokerage: Irving H. Levin, the Filmmakers, and the Birth of Conglomerate in Hollywood by Peter LabuzaFor The Maintenance of the System: Institutional and Cultural Change within the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, 1922-1945 by Paul MacLusky MoticoneThe Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960 by Bordwell, Thompson, and Staiger.Making Cinelandia: American Films and Mexican Film Culture by Laura Isabel SernaAn Empire of Their Own by Niel Gabler Film Rhythm after Sound by Lea JacobsWorking in Hollywood by Ronnie Regev YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS: KAY FRANCIS