Trouble in Paradise (1932)

Sadly Over-hyped

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Best movie ever!

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

. . . that they never got away with imposing upon Broadway theater or the book publishing industry, because these Fat Cat Rich One Per Center Bozos knew that U.S. 99 Per Centers almost never see Broadway plays or read books, but nearly all of them flock to movies, and they were scared to death of flicks showing the "Little People" how Romans were hypocritical superstition mongers, while bankers sucked the life-blood from ordinary folks, not unlike swamp leeches. TROUBLE IN PARADISE focuses upon this latter legion of "legal" looters of their "Lessers." Toward the end of TROUBLE IN PARADISE, master thief Gaston Monescu ruefully complains to Fat Cat Mariette Colet that as a low-born "self-made crook" he's lucky to filch 100K at a crack, while Madame Colet's Blue-Blood Board Chairman Adolph J. Giron has been able to easily embezzle millions from her as an unquestioned birthright. TROUBLE IN PARADISE, of course, is "Pre-Code." Post-Code, pervasive thought censorship persists throughout Hollywood right down to Today, as the Fat Cat Roman Bankers easily squelch anything similar to TROUBLE IN PARADISE vaguely resembling free speech, as spelled out in the 2006 documentary THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED.

Produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch, with an adaptation by Grover Jones and a screenplay by Samson Raphaelson that were based on a play by Aladar Laszlo, this essential romantic comedy was added to the National Film Registry in 1991.It stars Miriam Hopkins and Herbert Marshall as thieves who are 'two peas in a pod' and romantic soul mates who meet while trying to con others, and each other; they are Lily and La Valle, respectively. The notorious La Valle then finds employment as Gaston Monescu, becoming a live-in assistant to Madame Mariette Colet, played by Kay Francis. He courts Mme. Colet as he cons her, and later involves Lily in his scheme, though his partner in crime is unsure of his real attraction to the wealthy woman, who's also being romantically pursued by others from within her same class, like the Major (Charles Ruggles) and François Filiba (Edward Everett Horton), who are also very protective of her. C. Aubrey Smith plays Adolph J. Giron and Robert Greig plays Colet's butler Jacques.A marvelous comedy and film which demonstrates (as well as any) the 'Lubitsch' touch, the director's unique style that includes its Art Direction, Cinematography, and overall feel. Luis Alberni and Leonid Kinskey are among those who appear uncredited.

Trouble In Paradise (from 1932) was a very early example of (horrible) Hollywood "Screwball Comedy" (which was an irksome genre that prevailed throughout the 1930s & 40s). I find that the more I see "Screwball Comedy", the more I dislike it in all of its smug pretentiousness.With this particular picture, there was really nothing about it at all that made it stand out in any way from any other film in that genre. If you ask me - Trouble In Paradise really tried way too hard to be both cute and clever at the same time. And, as a result, this caused me to lose my patience with its story's overwhelming absurdity, time and again.Filled, to over-flowing, with petty squabbles, jealous anger, and backstabbing betrayals, Trouble In Paradise was, to me, nothing more than pseudo-sophisticated crap, all around. Thank goodness that this vintage picture had a running time of only a mere 82 minutes

Why belabor what critics claim is a classic, so I'll simply summarize my reaction under brief headings.Elegant?- yes indeed. The studio's high-end wardrobe is deployed to the last cummerbund. Witty?- yes indeed. The bon mots are tossed off like pearls to the rabble.Sophisticated?- without doubt. For example. Sex- a game with no losers. Crime- a sleight of hand with no victims. Style?- So smooth, the camera slides over itself.Performances?- Everyone poses beautifully.Sum Total?- A European touch for the American masses.Audience Rating?-FTWO (For The Worldly Only)My Rating?- Two chuckles, no laughs, and a new appreciation for The Three Stooges.