La vita è un charleston

It must feel nice to be wanted in a highly-competitive professional field. German director Ernst Lubitsch, after arriving in America to handle Mary Pickford's 1923 "Rosita," was immediately offered a lucrative three-year, six picture deal with Warner Brothers. He took the offer, nearly fulfilling his contract with the studio for four pictures before making the sophisticated comedy July 1826, "So This Is Paris."

Much to the chagrin of the director, studio co-owner Jack Warner was always butting in on the set where Lubitsch held command. The veteran director, used to having independence in his production and little to no supervision from corporate higher-ups, resented such intrusions. He had one more picture to make to complete the Warner contract, but he wanted out. Before "So This Is Paris," the director begged to buy out his contract, to no avail. Jack and Ernst decided to cut the cord and not to extend his contract, much to the delight with Paramount and MGM, who were drooling over getting the innovative director.

Too bad Jack didn't wait a few more weeks when the box office returns came out. "So This Is Paris" did well in the theaters. One sequence in the film especially had viewers and critics buzzing. The story, based on the 1872 play 'Le Reviellon,' by Henri Melhac and Ludovic Halevy, involves two couples who link up with each other spouses without the others knowing about the hanky panky. When the husband and the other wife go to the Artists' Ball (his excuse is he has to serve a three-day jail sentence for speeding), Lubitsch produces what some sources claim is the first choreographed dance scene in a silent movie. The dance number is The Charleston, one of the most popular songs in the Roaring 20s. The New York Times reviewer was astounded by the five-minute sequence, writing the director's "tour de force is an extraordinarily brilliant conception of an eye full of a Charleston contest, with vibrant kaleidoscopic changes from feet and figures to the omnipotent saxophones. The comedy in this film had, up to that time, kept the audience in constant explosions of laughter, but the startling dissolving scenic effects and varied "shots" elicited a hearty round of applause."

The role of one of the wives, Suzanne, who falls for the half-naked husband across the courtyard after reading the lustful novel 'The Sheik' is played by Patsy Ruth Miller. Viewers of 1923's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" will recognize her as Esmeralda. The other wife, Georgette, who was previously a long-time girlfriend of Suzanne's husband and is his dance partner of The Charleston number, was played by none other than Lilyan Tashman. In real life, the actress and her husband, Edmund Lowe, hosted lavish weekly parties at their Beverly Hills home. Their invites were one of the most sought after prizes for the many elite Hollywood-connected.

An observant eye will also spot one of movie's more popular future stars. Twenty-year old Myrna Loy, in her 10th film in bit parts, is in a brief scene as Georgette's maid.

Nice little comedy from Ernst Lubitsch about two Paris couples who get involved in a bizarre mixup of identities and lies.

Monte Blue (hugely underrated silent star) is dull Dr. Giraud, whose antsy wife (Patsy Ruth Miller) pines for a sheik. One day she spies across the way a sheik in a window. She fantasizes about the sheik (Andre Beranger) who is really just the mousy husband of Lilyan Tashman in a dance act. When the doctor goes across the street to confront the sheik all manner of mistaken ideas take place, culminating in a fabulous montage of a Parisienne jazz club.

Blue and Tashman are quite fabulous here and really get into the spirit of the farce. Miller is stuck with the "wife" part but looks great. Beranger is also quite good as the mousy sheik.

Myrna Loy plays the maid!

Seeing this film at my schools auditorium with a packed house of people who actually want to be seeing a 1920's silent film and with a live organ player was a delight. It made me wish I lived in Hollywood where old films are actually shown with a live orchestra and score pretty normally. If it weren't for the obnoxious lady next to me who would not stop laughing at every single thing, I probably would have liked the film even more. So This is Paris was very racy for its time, and I think that's part of the reason why it was so funny. It caught the audience of guard as to just how raunchy it was for its time. But make no mistake, the film is a good time at the theater.

It's about two couples who get caught up in a love quad with each other and attempt to keep it from their significant others. This makes for great comedy if handled correctly. Specifically when we know something that characters don't. The way the film is presented is controversial for its time. There just weren't films made at this time that displayed infidelity, at least not like this. The party scene alone made me think of how everyone may have perceived the film at the time. It was almost like a scene out of the most recent Great Gatsby, very trippy.

The film is definitely funny, but I just didn't get the laughs I do out of watching some of the other 20's classics. I'm much more a fan of the physical comedy. I guess I just don't find reading a joke as funny as seeing it, probably why I don't read books. I was also impressed by the camera movements and the subtle special effects this film had. Such as the drunk visions and even the shrinking scene. With all that said, I think So this is Paris can be a joy to watch even with some of it's faults.

6.8/10

"So This is Paris" is nothing short of perfection, an absolute joy from start to finish. I saw it for the first time very recently and I was overawed by it. Without a doubt, it ranks as one of the great Lubitsch's finest silent films, up there with "Die Puppe", "The Oyster Princess", "Rosita", "The Marriage Circle", "Lady Winderemere's Fan" "The Student Prince In Old Heidelberg" and "Eternal Love". All the familiar Lubitsch touches and themes are here: gaiety, enchantment, naughtiness, cynicism, extramarital affairs, manage a trois, etc. The standout moment is the Charleston sequence at a Parisian ball, where people are dancing and jumping. Lubitsch uses multiple camera angles and superimposition to create a feeling of joy and excitement.

Ernst Lubitsch cannot be over-praised. One of his classics is a silent version of "Lady Windermere's Fan," by that iconic wordsmith, Oscar Wilde.

Lubitsch knew how to use a camera to tell a story, and "So This Is Paris" illustrates -- if you'll pardon the expression -- that facet of his talent perfectly.

But he also had four of the most expressive actors available, especially Lilyan Tashman, who certainly should be better known now, even if nearly a hundred years later.

She was lovely, yes, but what a talented actress, so animated and full of facial and bodily gestures to get her point across.

She lit up the screen, but her character's husband, played by George Beranger, listed here as Andre Beranger, who had a long and busy career, including as director, was not totally in her shadow.

Beranger needed to stand up straighter and hold his shoulders back, but he was obviously in good shape, and even looked as if he lifted weights. It's nice to know he kept busy for so many years since he was talented as well as good looking.

Another good-looking actor was Monte Blue, who eventually accumulated nearly 300 credits, working nearly to the last years of his life, to the credit of Hollywood, which -- sad to say -- so often forgot its pioneers.

The fourth star, and star she was, is Patsy Ruth Miller. Probably her most famous film is "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," with Lon Chaney, but she went on to play in about four score movies, making a praised appearance in her last role as the title character in "Mother," 1978.

When "So This Is Paris" was presented on Turner Classic Movies, 9 May 2021, it was a surprise to me, being totally unfamiliar with it. Apparently it is a refurbished film with a new score, and I hope it plays often, so you can see it.

The script, by the way, steals quite a bit from Strauss's "Die Fledermaus," and I don't know how many others, including critics and reviewers of 1926 as well as audience members of today, realize the source.

Never mind, even if it is plagiarized, "So This Is Paris" is so beautifully performed and directed, we will overlook the theft and just enjoy.