Em Paris é Assim

"So This is Paris" is another delightful comedy by Ernst Lubitsch and which features a concert with Charleston dancing that's a quintessential jazz-age cinematic sequence. Once again, the director returns to the themes of marital flirtations with infidelity and the dramatic irony of the spectator knowing more than do the characters, who fall prey to a series of comical misconceptions based on partial views and information, lies and masquerade. Such elements occupied much of his German oeuvre, as well as being prevalent in his more sophisticated romantic comedies in Hollywood beginning with "The Marriage Circle" (1925). While "So This is Paris" lacks the nuanced and subtle acting and craft of that predecessor, it makes up for it, at least in part, with some zany action, including a considerable amount of camera trick effects and even a hint of Freudian homoeroticism involving a cane.

Based on a German operetta, "Die Fledermaus," which in turn was based on a French farce, "La Réveillon," Lubitsch had already adapted a version of the stage story in one of his early German comedies, "The Merry Jail" (1917), a film that is fairly indicative of the type of broad humor the director employed during his early career. The Parisian setting here is inconsequential to the narrative, but Paris was usefully associated with sexual promiscuity, so this film's title was a convenient advertisement of the subject matter, as well as surely allowing Lubitsch and company to portray adultery without drawing the ire of censors, which it presumably would've had it been set too close to home, say, in Middle America, or, too honestly, in Hollywood (which was already having enough problems from associations with deviancy in the minds of moralists).

Meanwhile, the hint of homosexuality between the two husbands, the doctor and the actor, and the phallic symbolism of the walking stick would've presumably largely escaped notice. For much of the picture, the actor possesses the doctor's cane, wagging it, as he goes to visit the doctor's wife, Suzanne, while her husband is away--although, little does he know, the doctor is away visiting his dancer wife--the two men oblivious to each other's attempts to cuckold one another. Having already complimented the actor on his shirtless physique in a sheik costume in the fashion of Rudolph Valentino, and having misinterpreted the actor's complement of Suzanne's profile as alluding to that of his own, the doctor admires himself in a mirror. He also has a vexing dream where his lost cane pokes him in the face and forces its way down his throat, as Freudian film theorists delight. Similarly, the actor, during one of his attempts to woo Suzanne, literally deflowers her vase, tossing the stems at her.

As in prior films, especially "Lady Windermere's Fan" (1925), Lubitsch gets a lot of play from characters being mislead by what they see through windows; in this case, from the fact that the doctor and Suzanne see the neighboring couple from across the street this way. Point-of-view shots are also effectively used later, in addition to superimpositions, including Kaleidoscopic effects, to represent drunkenness. There's also masquerade and mistaken identities: the actor dressed as a sheik, oblivious to his attracting the desire of Suzanne and the jealousy of the doctor (who initially puts a thermometer in her mouth and diagnoses her as too hot); the dancer, in a setup similar to a scene in "The Marriage Circle" and its remake "One Hour with You" (1932), inventing an imaginary illness as a pretext to bring the doctor away from home; the jail mixup; and Suzanne even wearing a mask to trick her husband into an affair with his own wife. One gag that reverses this general dramatic irony, however, is the tirade of insults between the doctor and a policeman, with the detail of the remarks being left to the imagination or for the amusement of lip readers.

Yet, the most remarkable sequence here has to be the Artists Ball. It's framed by Suzanne listening to the orchestra from the event over the radio, with the announcements from it appearing on the screen as overlaying text. The Ball itself is unlike the rest of what is a rather intimate and small-scale production, with a large crowd of Charleston dancers and large ballroom. Although the scale is right, it's surely not quite the kind of scene that earned Lubitsch the title of "the Griffith of Europe," although it's somewhat reminiscent of a dance scene in his German film, "The Oyster Princess" (1919), as well as anticipating his later musicals. As the jazz band plays and the flappers gyrate, the sequence features a series of dissolving images, superimpositions, prominent displays of dancing legs, twirling lights and the first of the film's multiple-exposure Kaleidoscopic effects. Apparently, Lubitsch and cinematographer John J. Mescall were having a ball on this production, exploring the limits of trick effects as old as the days of Georges Méliès, repurposed for the Roaring Twenties. There's even a shrinking effect via superimposition to reflect the metaphor of the doctor's smallness and emasculation in a later scene.

It's unfortunate that this film has yet to receive wider distribution. I would love to see a quality print, as the copy I viewed had a washed-out look. It's bad enough that most silent films are considered lost, including such Lubitsch classics as "Kiss Me Again" (1925) and the Best-Picture nominee "The Patriot" (1928); the ones that remain, such as "So This is Paris," or "Rosita" (1923) and "Three Women" (1924), deserve to be released from the vaults. The Artists Ball scene, however, is featured on the DVD "Light Rhythms: Music and Abstraction," as part of the "Unseen Cinema" series.

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

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.

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!

A delightful jazz-age bon-bon.

Lots of fun and frollick, with some lovely "art titles" and simple but effective camera tricks, keep this from being a run of the mill romantic triangle comedy.

Keep your eyes peeled for a quick-as-a-wink appearance by Myrna Loy as the maid of the Lalle household.