Podcast · Film & TV

How Would Lubitsch Do It?

HOW WOULD LUBITSCH DO IT? is a journey through the life and works of Ernst Lubitsch in chronological order, one film at a time. In this film history podcast, host Devan Scott will facilitate a series of discussions about all 43 of Ernst Lubitsch’s surviving films, from Wo ist mein Schatz to Cluny

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 55 min
Latest: 22 Oct 2024
Language: English

Latest episode

22 Oct 2024 · 1 hr 59 min

S5E10 - Cluny Brown [1946] and our Grand Finale with Tim Brayton

[Due to our last-minute addition of two episodes, the podcast feed mistakenly had S5E09a queued here for a few hours this morning - it should now be fixed!] How Would Lubitsch Do It comes to a close with a grand finale. Tim Brayton returns to discuss Cluny Brown and look back on both Ernst Lubitsch’s career and the past five seasons of this show. First, we discuss everything Cluny Brown: the film’s generosity and humanism, its commentary on British class society, its relationship with the second world war, its full-throated embrace of absurdism, the title character’s magnetism, Adam…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S5 · E24 · 15 Oct 2024 · 1 hr 7 min
S5E09b - Cahiers du Cinéma deputy editor Charlotte Garson
Cahiers du Cinéma deputy editor Charlotte Garson joins us for a wide-ranging discussion that takes a look back at the past five seasons of the podcast and our subject’s career: among other things, we cover Lubitsch’s treatment of unconventional relationships, feminine sexuality and gender fluidity, his treatment of theatricality, his influence upon the critics of Cahiers and other filmmakers, and more doors. Edited by Griffin Sheel. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: It’s the end! The grand finale! Tim Brayton returns to discuss Cluny Brown and to help wrap up…
S5 · E23 · 8 Oct 2024 · 1 hr 36 min
S5E09a - Lubitsch and Poland with Mateusz Pacewicz [Feat. David Neary]
Screenwriter Mateusz Pacewicz (Corpus Christi, The Hater) joins us to discuss the films of Lubitsch from a Polish perspective. We coverTo Be Or Not To Be’s depiction of Warsaw, the history of Lubitsch’s collaborators such as Pola Negri, the dynamics of European immigrants in twentieth-century America, the nature of dark comedy and ‘lightness’, the nature of performance, lies, truth, identity, and nationality, and the tall tales of Andrzej Krakowski. David Neary also stops by for an encore discussion of Heaven Can Wait. Edited by Griffin Sheel. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts |…
S5 · E21 · 1 Oct 2024 · 59 min
S5E8.75 - Wes Anderson and The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] with Matt Severson
Matt Severson returns to discuss Wes Anderson and The Grand Budapest Hotel. We discuss Lubitsch’s clear influence on the film, Anderson’s use of fabulist distancing techniques, common attitudes about Anderson’s supposed emotional remoteness, and our own emotional connections to the film. Edited by Eden Cote-Foster. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Screenwriter Mateusz Pacewicz joins us to discuss Ernst from a Polish perspective! WORKS CITED: The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matthew Zoller Seitz Video Essay on The Grand Budapest Hotel…
S5 · E20 · 24 Sep 2024 · 1 hr 1 min
S5E8.5- Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three [1961] with Noah Isenberg
Author Noah Isenberg joins us to discuss Billy Wilder and his 1961 comedic epic One, Two, Three. We cover Wilder’s early life as a reporter, a dancer-for-hire, and publicist; his lifelong ability to adapt to his circumstances; the question of his cynicism (or is it frustrated romanticism?); and his fraught relationship with Germany. Later on, we cover the fascinating production of One, Two, Three, the manners in which the film echoes his earlier work, and Jimmy Cagney’s superhuman verbal stamina. Edited by Eden Cote-Foster. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK:…
S5 · E19 · 17 Sep 2024 · 54 min
S5E08.25 - Freundschaft by Samson Raphaelson
A reading of Samson Raphaelson’s Freundschaft, as published on May 11, 1981, in The New Yorker. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Noah Isenberg joins us to discuss Billy Wilder and his cold war comedic epic One, Two, Three. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page. WORKS CITED: Freundschaft by Samson Raphaelson
S5 · E18 · 10 Sep 2024 · 1 hr 10 min
S5E08 - Dragonwyck, A Royal Scandal, That Lady In Ermine, and the Death of Ernst Lubitsch with David Cairns
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,…
S5 · E17 · 3 Sep 2024 · 52 min
S5E07.5 - Otto Preminger's Laura [1944] with Eloise Ross
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 NEXT WEEK: David Cairns returns to discuss A Royal Scandal, Dragonwyck, That Lady in Ermine, and the death of Ernst Lubitsch. WORKS CITED: The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto…
S5 · E16 · 27 Aug 2024 · 1 hr 6 min
S5E07 - Heaven Can Wait [1943] with Willa Ross
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 NEXT WEEK: Writer and film historian Eloise Ross joins us to discuss Otto Preminger and his 1944…
S5 · E15 · 20 Aug 2024 · 1 hr 9 min
S5E06b - To Be Or Not To Be [1942] with Peter Labuza
Peter Labuza returns for the second of two episodes on To Be Or Not To Be. We discuss the film’s production history, the way in which the film both fulfills and frustrates conventions of comedic structure, Lubitsch’s specific habits in directing actors, the film’s unusual tonal arc, the film’s depiction of fascist ideology, and Rudolph Mate’s cinematography. Edited by Eden Cote-Foster. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Willa Ross returns to discuss Heaven Can Wait. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page. WORKS CITED: Bosley…
S5 · E14 · 13 Aug 2024 · 1 hr 12 min
S5E06a - To Be Or Not To Be [1942] with Dara and Gary Jaffe
Returning guest Dara Jaffe and first-time guest Gary Jaffe join us for the first of two episodes on To Be Or Not To Be. In this episode, we cover the interplay between theatre and film, and of improvisation and comedy; the many dimensions of the film’s relationship with Jewish identities; the use of empathy and humanism as anti-fascist tools; Lubitsch’s self-reflexive approach to diegetic reality; the key character of Greenberg, and Felix Bressart’s performance; the history of performances of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice; and the film’s influence on contemporary cinema.…
S5 · E13 · 6 Aug 2024 · 2 hr 40 min
S5E05.75 - Ernst Lubitsch's American Comedy with William Paul
We return from our brief hiatus with our most in-depth episode yet, culled from five hours of discussions recorded over a period of several months with William Paul, author of the essential critical study Ernst Lubitsch’s American Comedy. We discuss Paul’s friendship with frequent Lubitsch collaborator Samson Raphaelson, Raphaelson’s sometimes-harsh retrospective criticism of his own work, the linguistic tics that unite Lubitsch’s filmography, their methods of adapting obscure Hungarian plays, Raphaelson’s recollections of Alfred Hitchcock's very different working methods, and Suspicion’s…
S5 · E12 · 9 Jul 2024 · 58 min
S5E05.5 - Preston Sturges and Sullivan’s Travels [1941] with Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton returns to discuss noted Lubitsch fan and disciple Preston Sturges and his 1941 meta-comedy SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS. We cover Sturges’ immense admiration of Lubitsch, the film’s immensely fascinating but perhaps frustrating relationship with its own status as a satire of its own form, Sturges’ political beliefs and moral compass, the value of communal viewings to comedic cinema, and much more. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: We’re taking a little break! See you in a few weeks for the last eleven episodes of Season 5, the end of our story. WORKS CITED:…
S5 · E11 · 2 Jul 2024 · 53 min
S5E05 - That Uncertain Feeling [1941] and Comedic Theory with Lance St. Laurent
UW-Madison PHD Candidate Lance St. Laurent joins us to discuss THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING, as well as some comedic theory. We discuss our mutual admiration for elements of this relatively minor divorce-and-remarriage-style comedy, Lubitsch’s attempts to tackle psychoanalysis and modern art, and the film’s production origins. Additionally, we go deep on comic theory: relief, superiority, and incongruity all have their day, and we discuss the ways in which comedy involves collaboration between an artist and their audience. Lastly, we apply all this to the Tom Green masterpiece FREDDY GOT FINGERED,…
S5 · E10 · 25 Jun 2024 · 32 min
S5E04.5 - Jack Benny is Not Appearing on This Show [1940]
This week, we present an episode of the SCREEN GUILD THEATER starring Ernst Lubitsch, Claudette Colbert, and possibly Jack Benny! Originally aired on October 20th, 1940. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Lance St. Laurent joins us to discuss THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING, as well as some comedic theory. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page. WORKS CITED: Ernst Lubitsch: The Radio Years (Forum Post) - A list of every Lubitsch-related episode of the Screen Guild Theater.
S5 · E9 · 18 Jun 2024 · 47 min
S5E04c - The Shop Around the Corner [1940] with Adrian Martin
Critic Adrian Martin joins us for our final episode on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. In our discussion, we deconstruct some of the film’s camera direction, discuss Lubitsch’s late-period style and his more subtle (yet still very much present) formalism, his structural methodology, his use of repetition, the dynamics between “art” and “craft”, and Lubitsch’s continuing influence. We also, at long last, try to define the Lubitsch “touch”. Or maybe not. Edited by Brennen King We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: We present an episode of THE GULF SCREEN GUILD THEATRE…
S5 · E8 · 11 Jun 2024 · 45 min
S5E04b - The Shop Around the Corner [1940] with Whit Stillman and Jose Arroyo
Whit Stillman and Jose Arroyo join us for our second episode on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. Whit discusses Lubitsch’s writing process, the ways in which the film is exemplary of the Hollywood studio system at its best, and his admiration for Pirovitch. Jose later joins us for a formal breakdown of the film’s final scene. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Film critic Adrian Martin joins us for our final episode on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. WORKS CITED: Whit Stillman: Not So Long Ago Stillman's Writeup on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER for the New York Times Jose…
S5 · E7 · 4 Jun 2024 · 54 min
S5E04a - The Shop Around the Corner [1940] with Kevin Bahr
Kevin Bahr joins us for the first of our episodes on the greatest Jimmy Stewart-related Christmas movie of them all, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. In this episode, we discuss the film’s unusual structure, ensemble nature, each character’s arc towards self-improvement, capital, our shared admiration of Pepi, the film’s historical context, Samson Raphaelson’s screenplay, and the depths of the film’s darkness as well as the warmth that persists despite said darkness. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Whit Stillman and Jose Arroyo join us for our second episode on…
S5 · E6 · 28 May 2024 · 51 min
S5E03b - Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, & Ninotchka [1939] with Donald Brackett
Author Donald Bracket joins us to discuss NINOTCHKA, and in particular the collaboration between the film’s two writers: Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder. We cover their tumultuous collaboration from their first films to its sordid ending with the masterpiece SUNSET BOULEVARD, as well as the development of the screenplay for NINOTCHKA. Edited by Griffin Sheel. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Kevin Bahr joins us for the first of our episodes on THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER.. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page. WORKS…
S5 · E5 · 21 May 2024 · 1 hr 8 min
S5E03a - Ninotchka [1939] with Griffin Newman
Actor and podcaster Griffin Newman joins us to discuss NINOTCHKA! We discuss Lubitsch’s stature in Hollywood, Greta Garbo’s incredible lead performance, Rouben Mamoulian’s musical remake SILK STOCKINGS, the early development of the script, Cary Grant’s possible involvement, the film’s mechanics as both a romantic comedy and geopolitical satire, the film’s relationship with the ideologies of the lead characters, the great Felix Bressart, and the Al Ruddy hagiography otherwise known as ‘THE OFFER’. Edited by Griffin Sheel. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK:…
S5 · E4 · 14 May 2024 · 48 min
S5E02 - Bluebeard's Eighth Wife [1938] with Olympia Kiriakou
Film historian and podcast host Dr. Olympia Kiriakou joins us to discuss Lubitsch’s sole screwball comedy: BLUEBEARD’S EIGHTH WIFE. We run down the definition of “screwball” through lenses of class, sex, tone, and pace; the impact of the production code on the genre; the uneasy fit between Lubitsch and the genre; the film’s terrific meet-cute; the introduction of two upstarts named Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett; and much more! We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Edited by Sophia Yoon. NEXT WEEK: Podcaster and actor Griffin Newman joins us to discuss NINOTCHKA.. For…
S5 · E3 · 7 May 2024 · 52 min
S5E01 - Angel [1937] with Chris Cassingham
Film programmer and curator Chris Cassingham joins us to discuss Lubitsch’s ambiguous, cloistered chamber drama ANGEL. We cover Lubitsch’s newfound low-key late period style, the withholding nature of both the film’s characters and the film itself, interwar politics, the film’s deeply-encoded implications, Marlena Dietrich’s persona, and our feminist readings of the text. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Film historian Dr. Olympia Kiriakou joins us to discuss BLUEBEARD’S EIGHTH WIFE. For information as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.…
S5 · E2 · 30 Apr 2024 · 55 min
S5E0.5 - Desire [1936] with Imogen Sara Smith
Film writer and author Imogen Sara Smith joins us to discuss Frank Borzage’s DESIRE, produced by Ernst Lubitsch during his tenure as Production Head at Paramount Studios! In this episode, we discuss the state of Lubitsch’s career in this time of personal and political upheaval, the state of Hollywood in the Hays Code era, the the careers of Marlene Dietrich and Frank Borzage, the film’s relationship with genre, and the code-mandated final beat of the plot. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Edited by Brennen King NEXT WEEK: Film programmer and curator Chris Cassingham…
S5 · E1 · 23 Apr 2024 · 58 min
S5E00 - Scott Eyman, author of 'Laughter in Paradise'
It’s our final season, and much has changed: Lubitsch is production head of Paramount, though not for long. The Production Code administration is enforcing the Hays code with an iron fist and, much worse, the National Socialist German Workers' Party is ruling Germany with a significantly heavier iron first. Over the course of the next ten years, we’ll experience another world war, the height of classical Hollywood, and the death of our show’s namesake. To kick things off, renowned author Scott Eyman joins us to discuss his definitive biography of Ernst Lubitsch, Laughter in Paradise, as well…
S4 · E15 · 20 Feb 2024 · 1 hr 7 min
S4E09b - The Merry Widow [1934] with Tim Brayton
It’s our season finale, and the end of the pre-code era! To celebrate, Tim Brayton returns to discuss THE MERRY WIDOW. We effuse about the film’s infectious energy, the many incredible ‘Lubitsch Touch’ moments and gestures, discuss Lubitsch’s extremely loose adaptation of the Lehar operetta, the French-language version, Edward Everett Horton’s greatest role, the film’s relationship with love and death, the more “conservative” nature of the film’s resolution, and much more! With that, Season 4 of HOW WOULD LUBITSCH DO IT comes to a close, and with it the pre-code era. Oh how we’ll miss you,…
S4 · E14 · 13 Feb 2024 · 42 min
S4E09a - The Merry Widow [1934] and Sound Recording Technology with Eric Dienstfrey
Eric Dienstfrey joins us to discuss the sound technology behind early talkies, and in particular THE MERRY WIDOW. We cover the ways in which recording and exhibition technology changed and fluctuated throughout the 1930s, the sordid tale of both the innovation and skullduggery engaged in by Electrical Research Products, Inc, the institution of the uniform-but-limiting Academy Mono standard, Jeanette Macdonald’s vocal stylings, and much more! We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Tim Brayton returns to discuss THE MERRY WIDOW in our season finale. For details as to…
S4 · E13 · 6 Feb 2024 · 46 min
S4E08b - Design for Living [1933] with Jordan Fish, Ray Tintori, and Z Behl
Podcasters, filmmakers, and artists Jordan Fish, Ray Tintori, and Z Behl join us to further discuss DESIGN FOR LIVING and disrupt the flow of the podcast much like the film in question disrupts the format of the romantic comedy! We cover the film’s structure, production design, relationship with branding and commerce, Gilda’s identity as “matron of the arts”a, Lubitsch’s camera blocking, draw allusions to, of all films, Robert Altman’s THREE WOMEN and David Fincher’s THE KILLER. Edited by Griffin Sheel We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Eric Dienstfrey joins us…
S4 · E12 · 30 Jan 2024 · 40 min
S4E08a - Design for Living [1933] with Molly Rasberry
Molly Rasberry returns to discuss DESIGN FOR LIVING in the first of two episodes devoted to Lubitsch’s (in)famous 1933 pre-code romantic comedy! We cover the absolutely scandalous nature of the film’s central ménage à trois, the drastic changes made to Noel Coward’s source material, the screen presence of the film’s three leads, and much more! Edited by Sophia Yoon. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Jordan Fish, Ray Tintori, and Z Behl join us to further discuss DESIGN FOR LIVING. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page. WORKS…
E13 · 23 Jan 2024 · 49 min
S4E07 - If I Had a Million (The Clerk) [1932] with Bram Ruiter
Bram Ruiter returns to discuss the Paramount anthology film IF I HAD A MILLION, and in particular Ernst Lubitsch’s contribution THE CLERK. We discuss the struggles inherent to anthology films, compare and contrast the different directorial styles of each of the film’s directors, Lubitsch’s relative mastery of the poetics of cinema, and what we would do if we had one million 1932 U.S. Dollars. Edited by Sophia Yoon We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Molly Rasberry returns to discuss DESIGN FOR LIVING. For details as to where to find this film, check out our…
S4 · E10 · 16 Jan 2024 · 46 min
S4E06c - Trouble in Paradise [1932] with Krin Gabbard
Author and scholar Krin Gabbard joins us for our third and final episode on TROUBLE IN PARADISE! In this episode, we cover Samson Raphaelson’s history with Lubitsch, Samson’s mixed feelings on the film itself, the film’s ambivalence towards the possible romantic pairings that it might end on, and the dense use of leitmotifs in W. Franke Harling’s score. We have a Discord! Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify NEXT WEEK: Bram Ruiter returns to discuss IF I HAD A MILLION and THE CLERK. For details as to where to find this film, check out our resources page.

About How Would Lubitsch Do It?

How Would Lubitsch Do It? is a English film & tv podcast from Devan Scott. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Devan Scott
Language: English
Category: Film & TV
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 55 min
Latest episode: 22 Oct 2024
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1656845615

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