27 November 2015

EFSP's Dazzling Dozen: The Lubitsch Touch

German-American director Ernst Lubitsch (1892-1947) had the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director. His films were promoted as having ‘the Lubitsch touch.’ In the 1910s, he had started out as an actor and director in the silent cinema of the Weimar republic. In Berlin, he made his first masterpieces with stars like Ossi Oswalda, Henny Porten and Pola Negri. Today on EFSP, twelve dazzling postcards with the Lubitsch Touch.

Ernst Lubitsch, Ossi Oswalda
Ernst Lubitsch and Ossi Oswalda. German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 337/1, 1919-1924. Photo: Zander & Labisch.

Ernst Lubitsch in Der Blusenkönig
German postcard by Photochemie, no. K. 1983. Photo: Union Film. Publicity still for Der Blusen-König (Ernst Lubitsch, 1917) starring Ernst Lubitsch himself. Collection: Didier Hanson.

Ernst Lubitsch
German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2012. Photo: Union Film. Publicity still for Prinz Sami/Prince Sami (Ernst Lubitsch, 1918), again with Ernst Lubitsch in the leading role. Collection: Didier Hanson.

Pola Negri and Harry Liedtke in Madame DuBarry (1919)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 627/2. Photo: Union. Publicity still for Madame DuBarry (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919) with Pola Negri and Harry Liedtke.

Ossi Oswalda and Hermann Thimig in Die Puppe
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 635/4. Photo: Union. Publicity still for Die Puppe/The Doll (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919) with Ossi Oswalda and Hermann Thimig.

Lotte Neumann in Lubitsch's Romeo und Julia im Schnee
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 636/1. Photo: Maxim Film production. Publicity still for the comedy Romeo und Julia im Schnee/Romeo and Juliet in the Snow (Ernst Lubitsch, 1920). The man on the left dressed as antique hero could be Julius Falkenstein as Paris. The others are from left to right Jakob Tiedtke (Herr Capulethofer), Marga Köhler (his wife), Lotte Neumann (Julia) and Gustav von Wangenheim (Romeo Montekugerl).

Henny Porten in Anna Boleyn
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 645/8. Photo: Union Film. Henny Porten in the drama Anna Boleyn (Ernst Lubitsch, 1920).

Sumurun
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 642/7. Photo: Union Film. Publicity still for Sumurun (Ernst Lubitsch, 1920) with Pola Negri. Collection: Didier Hanson.

Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer in The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 98/10. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Publicity still for The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (Ernst Lubitsch, 1927) with Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer.

Jack Buchanan, Jeanette MacDonald, Cacoa van Houten
Dutch-Belgian promotion card for Cacao Van Houten, no. 11 and 12. Printed by N.V. Ned Reclamefabriek. This card was part of a series of promo cards for a quiz by Van Houten Chocolate. The public had to go to stores to guess which film star was on the photo in the shop window. There were 24 photos. At the right Jack Buchanan and Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo (Ernst Lubitsch, 1930).

Maurice Chevalier & Miriam Hopkins in The Smiling Lieutenant
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5976/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for The Smiling Lieutenant (Ernst Lubitsch, 1931) with Maurice Chevalier and Miriam Hopkins.

Roland Young, Genevieve Tobin, Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier in One Hour With You
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6732/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for One Hour with You (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932) with Roland Young, Genevieve Tobin, Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday, hosted by Beth at the The Best Hearts are Crunchy. You can visit her by clicking on the button below.

1 comment:

Beth Niquette said...

Paul, these postcards are marvelous...all those wonderful costumes. My goodness--I really enjoyed looking at them.

I love your tradition of St. Nicholas. So you will be decorating tomorrow! So will we--there's a darling little light parade which winds through town when it gets dark, so we'll decorate then all go outside to watch the parade--with our hot chocolate and melty marshmallows.

Merry Christmas, to you and your dear family, my Friend!