Angel

This is pretty much as perfect as this movie could have been, with nary a second, word, or gesture wasted, creating a tight and effective romance. There are all sorts of wonderful directorial touches, like the camera not cutting away from the flower woman toward the beginning or eschewing showing the dramatic luncheon but instead showing it through the perspective of the servants and what's left on the characters' plates when they're done. Dietrich is fantastic.

Definitely not what I expected from Lubitsch, and while the film meandered a bit in its middle section, its opening and closing are filled with lively pacing, economic and witty dialogue, and sharp attention to emotional details. The last five minutes of this are simply sublime, mapping the territory of love, marriage, and what it looks like to trade in lesser for greater loves.

A surprisingly dull Lubitsch film although the performances are really good.

Mature, for a code-era film, but not grade-A Lubitsch.

Dull, unfocused drama never quite decides what it wants to be, and Dietrich's inscrutable performance makes it impossible to understand what her motives are - is she a bored housewife looking for fun, or does she willingly wish to cuckold husband Marshall? One could imagine this scenario being more satisfying if played as either broad farce or searing drama/melodrama - by being neither fish nor fowl, it fails to satisfy on either level.

Viewed July 8, 2017.

Star Rating: ★★★

Ernst Lubitsch back in the directors chair after a 3 year break being! And you can see the Lubitsch excellence in the production. Celebrating it's characters. Subtly inflicting those naughty ideas of a love affair happening through a Paris escort agency. Marlene Dietrich looking amazing and less artificial then usual. Had quite a few good scenes with Herbert Marshall. Plenty of smart dialogue. But for the male side of the affair I felt Melvyn Douglas put on one of his stronger performance.

#656

Satisfying, for the most part, but the ending seems rushed.

609

518

A delightful little romance, with charismatic performances from the leads and an entertaining supporting cast. It tends a bit much towards romance than comedy for my taste, but the comedic bits are great, especially the occasional discussions amongst the servants which are pure gold.

Not the kind of screwball comedy you expect from Lubitsch, but since I'm not too fond of what I've seen, that was fine with me. There's a few gags, and good ones, but for the most part it's closer to a romantic drama. Think Brief Encounter with a lighter touch. Marlene Dietrich is growing on me, a lot. Her performance is the most interesting aspect of this movie, which is otherwise somewhat uneventful and predictable, without the melancholic elegance of Lean's film. Loved the ending, though.

# 642