Design for Living (1933)

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Noel Coward (play)
Ben Hecht (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 December 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Two Americans sharing a flat in Paris, playwright Tom Chambers and painter George Curtis, fall for free-spirited Gilda Farrell...

Plot Keywords:

Forbidden Hollywood | Star Spangled Banner | Eiffel Tower Paris | Best Friend | Ménage À Trois

Cast

Fredric March	...	Thomas B. 'Tom' Chambers
Gary Cooper	...	George Curtis
Miriam Hopkins	...	Gilda Farrell
Edward Everett Horton	...	Max Plunkett
Franklin Pangborn	...	Mr. Douglas, Theatrical Producer
Isabel Jewell	...	Plunkett's Stenographer
Jane Darwell	...	Curtis' Housekeeper
Wyndham Standing	...	Max's Butler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cosmo Kyrle Bellew	...	Man (uncredited)
Lionel Belmore	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
Thomas Braidon	...	Douglas' Second Manager (uncredited)
Nora Cecil	...	Tom's Secretary (uncredited)
Emile Chautard	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Mathilde Comont	...	Heavy Woman (uncredited)
Adrienne D'Ambricourt	...	Cafe Proprietress (uncredited)
James Donlan	...	Fat Man with Ring (uncredited)
Charles K. French	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
Mary Gordon	...	Theatre Chambermaid (uncredited)
Grace Hayle	...	Woman on Staircase (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten	...	Englishman at Train (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
George Savidan	...	Boy (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan	...	Bed Salesman (uncredited)
Vernon Steele	...	Douglas' First Manager (uncredited)
Mrs. Treboal	...	Gilda's Landlady (uncredited)
Barry Winton	...	Man (uncredited)
William Worthington	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)

Directed by
Ernst Lubitsch

Writing credits
Noel Coward		(play)
Ben Hecht		(screenplay)

Produced by
Ernst Lubitsch	....	producer

Original Music by
John Leipold		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Victor Milner

Film Editing by
Frances Marsh		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Hans Dreier		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Travis Banton		(uncredited)

Sound Department
M.M. Paggi	....	sound (uncredited)

Music Department
Nat W. Finston	....	musical director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Atalanta Filmes (1999) (Portugal) (re-release)
• Universal Pay Television

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Considerable censorship difficulties arose because of sexual discussions and innuendos, although the Hays Office eventually approved the film for release. However, it was banned by the Legion of Decency and was refused a certificate by the PCA for re-release in 1934, when the production code was more rigorously enforced.

Quotes:

Tom Chambers: That's one way of meeting the situation. Shipping clerk comes home, finds missus with boarder. He breaks dishes. It's pure burlesque. Then there's another way. Intelligent artist returns unexpectedly, finds treacherous friends, both discuss the pros and cons of the situation in grownup dialogue. High-class comedy, enjoyed by everybody.
George Curtis: There's a third way. I'll kick your teeth out and tear your head off and beat some decency into you!
Tom Chambers: Cheap melodrama. Very dull.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op.64

Chic, sexy, and swell

I'm not a big fan of the Lubitsch Touch. This, which I hadn't seen in 20 years, I think is my favorite.

The recent Broadway revival of the Noel Coward play, which was supposedly very ooh-la-la and daring, was a bust. Interminable and misguided.

One problem was that the female lead was made very cold. In the movie, Miriam Hopkins is just right: pretty, seductive, witty.

Gary Cooper is sublime. He was a great comedian -- equally good in "Desire," the delightful movie with Dietrich that Lubitsch produced and supposedly had a big hand in directing. Too bad he changed gears so drastically and became the strong, silent Western hero he's known for today (if he's known at all, alas.)

Fredric March was a very fine actor but not a comedian. He is the weakest link; but he works well in the ensemble.

Edward Everett Horton is funny, as always.

It really works, and is as racy today as it must have been when it came out.