David Cairns returns to discuss the end of Ernst Lubitsch’s career and life: a period in which, after a heart attack left him debilitated, he produced a series of films directed by the likes of Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Otto Preminger. We cover Dragonwyck, cinema’s foremost depiction of the Dutch patroonship system in what is now upstate New York; A Royal Scandal, a remake of Forbidden Paradise; andThat Lady in Ermine, Lubitsch’s final unfinished project later completed to little effect by Otto Preminger.

Throughout the episode, we discuss the gap in worldviews between Lubitsch and Preminger, our dream Lubitsch/actor pairings that never came to pass, Billy Wilder’s tall tales, Ernst Lubitsch’s death, and what comes next.

Edited by Brennen King.

We have a Discord!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

A reading of Freundschaft, Samson Raphaelson’s eulogy for Ernst Lubitsch.

The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger by Chris Fujiwara

Writer and film historian Eloise Ross joins us to discuss noted Lubitsch disciple Otto Preminger and his 1944 noir Laura. We cover Preminger’s past and parallels with Lubitsch, the tumultuous story of Laura’s production, the film’s highly unusual tone, its memorable characters and dialogue, and the majesty of Clifton Webb.

Edited by Brennen King

We have a Discord!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

David Cairns returns to discuss A Royal Scandal, Dragonwyck, That Lady in Ermine, and the death of Ernst Lubitsch.

The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger by Chris Fujiwara

Willa Ross returns for a lively discussion about Heaven Can Wait. We cover Lubitsch and Raphaelson’s opposing views on the film’s unusual protagonist, its counterintuitive structure and elisions, the film’s theological implications, argue about whether or not the production code negatively impacted the film, and discuss what happened at Fox in the early 1970s and why it matters for technicolor pictures such as this.

Edited by Griffin Sheel.

We have a Discord!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Writer and film historian Eloise Ross joins us to discuss Otto Preminger and his 1944 noir Laura. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

Eloise Ross's Writeup for HEAVEN CAN WAIT in Senses of CInema

Heaven Can Wait: The Simple Act of Living by William Paul

Robert Harris’s “KNIGHTS OF FILM PRESERVATION” Forum Post