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 | Eiffel Tower Paris | Star Spangled Banner | 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

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: George betrayed me for you. Without wishing to flatter you, I understood that. I can still understand it. But you betrayed me for George. An incredible choice!

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

The Star Spangled Banner

Don't know about Coward, but I know my Lubitsch and this is a fine one

Lubitsch's adaptation of the Noel Coward play about a ménage à trois starring Gary Cooper, Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins. The two men play a painter and a poet, and Hopkins the girl who moves in with them as their muse and critic. Edward Everett Horton plays the more down-to-Earth man who also vies for Hopkin's attention. Apparently, only the plot of Coward's play is kept here, with all of the dialogue excised because it was too dirty for 1930s Hollywood. Even with that, the film was censored on release and, after 1934, when the Hayes Code was in stronger effect, it wasn't allowed to be shown at all. As it is, it's quite a fantastic movie, as you might expect from Lubitsch. It's funny and charming, but it's also quite a bit darker and more serious than the American films he had made before it in the sound era. I'd really like to read and/or see the original Coward play, but Lubitsch's version is undoubtedly a very good film.