Film Forum

U.S,. 1943
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Starring Don Ameche, Gene Tierney, Laird Cregar
Approx. 112 min.  

By-now aged roué Don Ameche, whose life has been “one continuous misdemeanor,” enters Hell’s opulent Art Moderne entrance hall to demand admittance from “His Excellency” Laird Cregar, who reasonably asks for an outstanding crime to qualify for eternal torment. And then the flashbacks begin, in a superbly mellow fantasy of this low-key 19th-century playboy, indulged by clueless parents but understood all too well by foxy grandpa Charles Coburn—and eventually by supremely understanding wife Gene Tierney: they have to elope twice.

Presented with support from The Robert Jolin Osborne Endowed Fund for American Classic Cinema of the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s and The Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film

Reviews

“A crystalline example of [Lubitsch’s] magnificent cinematic craft.”
– Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times

“VIBRANT AND ALIVE! The best kind of old movie: The more you see it, the more “new” it seems.”
– Chuck Wilson, The Village Voice

“No other director brewed so much laughter from sympathy for human weakness. Lubitsch finds in the procession of life milestones one showcase after another for the graceful economy of his expression.”
– Eli Goldfarb, Brooklyn Magazine

“[Lubitsch] imagined a sophisticated, sexy universe that’s still worth aspiring to. You’ll be shocked that something this witty got past the censors.”
– Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out

“MOVING AND SCINTILLATING! HEARTBREAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL! The timing of every shot, every gesture, every movement was so impeccably precise and economically expressive that an entire classical tradition unfolded before a stunned audience... Lubitsch’s best movies are nothing short of sublime.”
– Andrew Sarris

“Samson Raphaelson’s script is very close to perfection, the sumptuous period sets are a delight, and the secondary cast—Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main, Eugene Pallette, and Spring Byington—is wonderful. In many respects, this is Lubitsch’s testament, full of grace, wisdom, and romance.”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum

“LIKE HEARING LOUIS ARMSTRONG AT HIS BEST! Brought back a time when people really made good movies... It has a good deal of [Lubitsch’s] dry sparkle, the shrewd business, and exquisite timing. The period work was about the prettiest and most quietly witty I have ever seen. The color was just as good; it was used with sensitiveness and wit, I thought, for the first time... I saw nothing but good, anywhere, in the doll-like selection, manipulation, and performance of the large cast. Amazed tribute is due somebody. It is certainly due Lubitsch.”
– James Agee