Ironically, Chevalier had claimed that he would never be capable of acting as a Royal courtier, and had to be persuaded by Lubitsch.

Lubitsch had never considered anyone other than Jack Benny for the lead role in the film.

For Benny's costar, the studio and Lubitsch decided on Miriam Hopkins, whose career had been faltering in recent years.

They had one daughter, Nicola Lubitsch, on October 27, 1938.

Garbo and Lubitsch were friendly and had hoped to work together on a movie for years, but this would be their only project.

Mayer wrote the screenplay for A Royal Scandal, and had worked with Lubitsch on To Be or Not to Be ( 1942 ).

Presenter Mervyn LeRoy, calling Lubitsch " a master of innuendo ", described some of his attributes as a filmmaker: " He had an adult mind and a hatred of saying things the obvious way.

" Wilder had a sign over his office door, which read " How would Lubitsch do it ?".

At this time an agent from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had screened a print of Komposition in Blau and Muratti in a small art theatre in Hollywood, and Ernst Lubitsch was impressed by the films and the audience's enthusiastic response to the shorts.

Ernst Lubitsch told newspaper columnist Gilbert Swan that the story had a real-life inspiration: a general in the Imperial Russian Army named Lodigensky whom Lubitsch had met in Russia, and again in New York, where he had opened a Russian restaurant after fleeing the communist revolution.

It boasts masterpieces that have had a considerable influence on all of western culture, Jewish culture included-works such as those of Heinrich Heine, Gustav Mahler, Leonard Bernstein, Marc Chagall, Jacob Epstein, Ben Shahn, Amedeo Modigliani, Franz Kafka, Max Reinhardt ( Goldman ), Ernst Lubitsch, and Woody Allen.

All directed by Lubitsch, the three were “ Trouble in Paradise ,” “ Heaven Can Wait ,” and Raphaelson ’ s favorite, “ The Shop Around the Corner ” which had starred James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan and which Kael wrote was “ as close to perfection as a movie made by mortals is ever likely to be ; it couldn ’ t be the airy wonder it was without the structure Raphaelson built into it .” ( The story was remade in 1998 as “ You ’ ve Got Mail ,” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

“ Three Screen Comedies ” also included a reprint of “ Freundschaft ,” Raphaelson ’ s wry and affectionate reflection on his working relationship with Lubitsch that had originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1982.

Ninotchka is a 1939 American film made for Metro Goldwyn Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch which stars Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas.

Lubitsch went independent to direct That Uncertain Feeling ( 1941, a remake of his 1925 film Kiss Me Again ), and the dark anti-Nazi farce To Be or Not to Be ( 1942 ), which was Jack Benny's only major screen success and Carole Lombard's last picture.

The result was Die Augen der Mumie Ma ( The Eyes of the Mummy Ma, 1918 ), which was a popular success and led to a series of Lubitsch / Negri collaborations, each larger in scale than the previous film.

Negri and Lubitsch made three German films together after this, Sumurun ( aka One Arabian Night, 1920 ), Die Bergkatze ( aka The Mountain Cat or The Wildcat, 1921 ), and Die Flamme ( The Flame, 1922 ), and UFA employed Negri for films with other directors, including Vendetta ( 1920 ) and Sappho ( 1921 ), many of which were purchased by American distributors and shown in the United States.

The most important of the new film producers at the time was Joe May, who made a series of thrillers and adventure films through the war years, but Ernst Lubitsch also came into prominence with a series of very successful comedies and dramas.

Cukor was then assigned to One Hour With You ( 1932 ), an operetta with Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, when original director Ernst Lubitsch opted to concentrate on producing the film instead.

More success came after Ernst Lubitsch was hired as head director ; Harry Rapf left the studio and accepted an offer to work at MGM.

Despite the success of Rin Tin Tin and Lubitsch, Warners was still unable to achieve star power.

While Don Juan was a success at the box office, it did not recoup its production cost and Lubitsch left Warner for MGM.

Lombard's final film, " To Be or Not to Be " ( 1942 ), directed by Ernst Lubitsch and co-starring Jack Benny, a satire about Nazism and World War II, was in post-production at the time of her death.

It was produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch (" with the assistance of " George Cukor ) and written by Samson Raphaelson, from the Lothar Schmidt play Only a Dream.

The film was directed by Ernst Lubitsch and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

This was the first of three films directed by Lubitsch and starring Miriam Hopkins.

The film was directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

She sang in her role opposite Maurice Chevalier in the Ernst Lubitsch musical The Smiling Lieutenant ( 1931 ), and was admired by critics for her ability to shrewdly play character role opposite the Miriam Hopkins.

It was adapted by Lubitsch ( uncredited ) and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel.

Lubitsch was left without a leading lady until Carole Lombard, hearing his predicament, asked to be considered.

Lubitsch agreed and Lombard was cast.

Lubitsch, himself of German Jewish origin, was cautious in the film over making overt references to " Jewishness " ( including avoiding use of the words Jewish or Jew ).

Ernst Lubitsch ( January 28, 1892November 30, 1947 ) was a German American actor, screenwriter, producer and film director.

Lubitsch was born in Berlin, the son of Anna ( née Lindenstaedt ) and Simon Lubitsch (), a tailor.

Lubitsch sailed to the United States for the first time in December 1921 for what was intended as a lengthy publicity and professional factfinding tour, scheduled to culminate in the February premiere of Pharaoh.

However, with World War I still fresh, and with a slew of German " New Wave ' releases encroaching on American movie workers ' livelihoods, Lubitsch was not gladly received.

A free agent after just one American film, Lubitsch was signed to a remarkable three-year, six-picture contract by Warner Brothers that guaranteed the director his choice of both cast and crew, and full editing control over the final cut.

When war was declared in Europe, Vivian Lubitsch and her daughter were staying in London.

Lubitsch encountered the ex-general once more, when the latter appeared in full uniform looking for work as an extra at $ 7. 50 a day, the same rate as Sergius.

The most elegant variants occur in some films Ernst Lubitsch made in 1919.

In Germany, Ernst Lubitsch got his inspiration from the stage work of Max Reinhardt, both in bourgeois comedy and in spectacle, and applied this to his films, culminating in his die Puppe ( The Doll ), die Austernprinzessin ( The Oyster Princess ) and Madame Dubarry.

His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director ; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having " the Lubitsch touch.

Settling in America, Lubitsch established his reputation for sophisticated comedy with such stylish films as The Marriage Circle ( 1924 ), Lady Windermere's Fan ( 1925 ), and So This Is Paris ( 1926 ).

Lubitsch subsequently produced his own films and supervised the production of films of other directors.

" Lubitsch was the subject of several interviews at that time, and consistently cited The Shop Around the Corner as his favorite of his films.

Among her other films are Laughter ( 1930 ), Paramount on Parade ( 1930 ), Hot Saturday ( 1932 ) with Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, The Kiss Before the Mirror ( 1933 ) directed by James Whale, and Broken Lullaby aka The Man I Killed ( 1932 ) directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

The term has also sometimes been used in film criticism, usually referring to the Europe remembered by Hollywood exiles from the final years before revolutions and the overthrow of monarchies affected much of the continent, and recalled in the films of such directors as Ernst Lubitsch and Josef von Sternberg.

Her first, The Love Parade ( 1929 ), directed by Lubitsch and co-starring Chevalier, was a landmark of early sound films and received a Best Picture nomination.

Reagan suggested to Davis that he produce films that implied, instead of showing, sex, in the style of director Ernst Lubitsch.

She closely examines staging, cinematography, acting, scenarios, and other cinematic elements in films by Pabst, Lubitsch, Lang ( her obvious favorite ), Riefenstahl, Harbou, and Murnau.