(11/14/99)
This has to be the most enjoyable film I have seen in a long time. It's a delightful, witty film full of exuberant high spirits. The Oyster King is a great character, one who has other people wipe his nose after he blows it, lift the coffee cup to his mouth, etc. Ossi Oswalda is a ball of fire as the willful daughter who wants to marry a noble for no other reason than that someone else did and doesn't let the prospective bridegroom get a word in edgewise, thereby marrying herself to the wrong person.
There is a scene at the wedding feast when everybody dances the fox-trot. It is so weird to find that scene in a silent film of 1919 because it obviously cries out for music. It would have been a highlight in a sound film of the 1930s. I was lucky to see this film with live accompaniment by a pianist who was really able to give this scene the energy it requires.
It didn't work for me when the Oyster Princess participates in a sort of temperence society meeting where they endeavor to save drunks and everyone is so taken with Prince Nucki who stumbles in that they have a boxing tournament over him. Lubitsch's touch fails there, I think, but that's a minor quibble. When she brings him home not knowing who he is, what happens is one of the sweetest love scenes I have ever seen in a movie. It just seems so right and proper for these two people to get together and we love it when they do.
There is a recurring gag in which the Oyster King always says, "That doesn't impress me." The movie ends with him peeking through the keyhole at the newlyweds until they finally turn out the light. He turns to the camera and says, Now, that impresses me!" A perfect punctuation mark and a perfect Lubitsch touch.
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Hi John,
ReplyDeleteFinally I have logged on to your blog. I started reading the notes and became engrossed with your writing but have a ton of work to do so I will get back to them later. Very enjoyable.
Pat P.