Ernst Lubitsch

Ernst Lubitsch (January 29, 1892  November 30, 1947) was a German American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch".

In 1946, he received an Honorary Academy Award for his distinguished contributions to the art of the motion picture. He was also nominated three times for Best Director.

Early life

Ernst Lubitsch was born on January 29, 1892 in Berlin, Germany, the son of Anna (née Lindenstaedt) and Simon Lubitsch (Russian: Любич), a tailor. His family was Ashkenazi Jewish, his father born in Grodno in the Russian Empire and his mother from Wriezen (Oder), outside Berlin. He turned his back on his father's tailoring business to enter the theater, and by 1911, he was a member of Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater.

Career

Weimar years, 1913–21

In 1913, Lubitsch made his film debut as an actor in The Ideal Wife. He gradually abandoned acting to concentrate on directing. He appeared in approximately thirty films as an actor between 1912 and 1920. His last film appearance as an actor was in the 1920 drama Sumurun, opposite Pola Negri and Paul Wegener, which he also directed.

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Latest News for: Ernst Lubitsch

Things to do in Chicago Jan. 16-22: The Mix

Chicago Sun-Times 15 Jan 2025
Theater ... 11 and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them ... From Jan ... 17 ... Upcoming films include Guy Maddin’s “My Winnipeg,” Alan Rudolph’s “Choose Me,” Ernst Lubitsch’s “The Love Parade,” Oscar Micheaux’s “The Symbol of the Unconquered” and more.

Not sure what movie to watch? Leave a comment, we’ll help

Polygon 09 Jan 2025
... Hollywood comedies (shout out to the GOAT, Ernst Lubitsch), and keeping up with new releases from around the world (I’ve watched 139 2024 movies and four so far from 2025 — ask me my favorites!).

The best Christmas movies for fans of thrillers, comedies, tearjerkers and more

Fox31 Denver 25 Dec 2024
(AP) – 'Tis the season for spirited and winless debates about what the best Christmas movie is ... Bunsen Honeydew ... But in the knock-down, drag-out battle for the Christmas movie title, there’s no greater delight than Ernst Lubitsch’s timeless love story.

Looking for something to watch? Here are the best Christmas movies for every mood.

Tampa Bay Times 25 Dec 2024
‘Tis the season for spirited and winless debates about what the best Christmas movie is ...Grand Budapest Hotel” ... But in the knock-down, drag-out battle for the Christmas movie title, there’s no greater delight than Ernst Lubitsch’s timeless love story.

Sarah Jessica Parker is the perfect Booker Prize judge

New Statesman 24 Dec 2024
But it goes further ...Anything by (Austrian-Jewish Hollywood director Ernst) Lubitsch,’ she said, pulling out a branded copy of 1943 romcom Heaven Can Wait. ‘Brilliant.’ Sex and the City is a direct ancestor to Lubitsch’s work ... That is an art too ... .

From Meet Me in St Louis to The Holdovers: The best Christmas movies of all time

AOL 23 Dec 2024
It’s an all-too-familiar conundrum ... And don’t worry. it’s not all traditional fare ... The Shop Around the Corner (1940). Ernst Lubitsch’s bittersweet classic makes the Christmas shopping season the occasion for a forlorn epistolary romance ... Where to watch ... .

The best Christmas movies for every mood

Odessa American 21 Dec 2024
By LINDSEY BAHR and JAKE COYLE. AP Film Writers ... A movie that feels like a Christmas movie but isn’t, really ... But in the knock-down, drag-out battle for the Christmas movie title, there’s no greater delight than Ernst Lubitsch’s timeless love story ... ....

Las mejores películas navideñas para cada estado de ánimo

San Diego Union-Tribune 19 Dec 2024
Es la temporada de debates animados e interminables sobre cuál es la mejor película de Navidad ... — Coyle ... — Coyle ... En la batalla a muerte por el título de película navideña, no hay mayor deleite que la historia de amor atemporal de Ernst Lubitsch.

On The Town: Countdown to Christmas has begun!

The Daily Independent - Ridgecrest 13 Dec 2024
Ridgecrest Blvd ... Wednesday, December 18 at 7.15 p.m., Classic Movie Night presents its final film presentation of 2024, with famed director Ernst Lubitsch’s 1940 holiday classic from MGM, starring Margaret Sullivan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan ... .

The 50 Best Christmas Movies of All Time

New York Magazine 05 Dec 2024
Photo-Illustration. Vulture; Photos. Getty. This story was originally published on December 6, 2018 ... And not just because it takes place at Christmas ... 50 ... Photo ... 49 ... 48 ... Maybe it’s because few directors have balanced lightness and romance like Ernst Lubitsch.

What's on? Top 10 TV and streaming tips for Saturday

RTE 30 Nov 2024
There's plenty of coverage of Election 24, the world of darts is explored in Game of Throws ... . Pick of the Day ... Classic romantic comedy, starring James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan and Frank Morgan, and directed by the legendary Ernst Lubitsch ... Sport ... .

Sure, Netflix Christmas Movies Are Often Patently Absurd. They’re Also Occasionally Perfect

Time Magazine 25 Nov 2024
This story was originally published in 2020 ... It’s official. our brains are fried ... I would not trade Ernst Lubitsch’s 1940 Shop Around the Corner—for my money the most beautiful, bittersweet holiday romance—for the lot of them ... .

Streaming: the best Hamlets on screen

The Observer 24 Nov 2024
Ernst Lubitsch’s (1942; Internet Archive) has precious little to do with Shakespeare, but this frenzied second world war farce about a theatre company tackling Shakespeare in Nazi-occupied Warsaw ...

Things to do in the Hudson Valley this weekend

Times Union 14 Nov 2024
Every week we scour events calendars to find the best things to do that are especially worth your time and attention, and we share them here ... Be an insider ... The Rosendale Theatre screens Ernst Lubitsch's “The Shop Around the Corner” tonight at 7 p.m ... .

Anora: a Cinderella story gone wrong, very, very wrong

RTE 30 Oct 2024
It's already been acclaimed as one of the movies of the year and now madcap black comedy Anora hits Irish cinemas this Friday ... Photo credit ... Anora also has the feel and wisecracking energy of the screwball comedies of Howard Hawks and Ernst Lubitsch.

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