Editing Trouble in Paradise (1932 film)

{{short description|1932 film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Trouble in Paradise
| image          = Trouble in Paradise (1932 film poster).jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Ernst Lubitsch]]
| producer       = Ernst Lubitsch
| screenplay     = [[Samson Raphaelson]]
| story          = [[Grover Jones]] {{small|(adaptation)}}
| based_on       = {{based on|''A Becsületes Megtaláló''<br>1931 play|{{ill|Aladár László|hu|László Aladár}}}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Miriam Hopkins]]
* [[Kay Francis]]
* [[Herbert Marshall]]
* [[Charlie Ruggles|Charles Ruggles]]
* [[Edward Everett Horton]]
}}
| music          = [[W. Franke Harling]] 
| cinematography = [[Victor Milner]]
| color_process  = [[Black and white]] 
| studio         = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| distributor    = Paramount Pictures
| released       = {{Film date|1932|10|30|''US''}}
| runtime        = 83 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $519,706<ref name="kay">[http://www.kayfrancisfilms.com/2010/01/trouble-in-paradise-1932.html "Trouble in Paradise (1932)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405075148/http://www.kayfrancisfilms.com/2010/01/trouble-in-paradise-1932.html |date=April 5, 2014 }} at Kay Francis Films. Accessed October 26, 2024</ref>
| gross          = $475,000 ''(US/Canada)''<ref name="kay"/>
}}
[[File:Herbert Marshall & Miriam Hopkins - Trouble in Paradise publicity shot.jpg|thumb|right|[[Miriam Hopkins]] and [[Herbert Marshall]] ]]
'''''Trouble in Paradise''''' is a 1932 American [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] [[romantic comedy]] film directed by [[Ernst Lubitsch]] and starring [[Miriam Hopkins]], [[Kay Francis]], and [[Herbert Marshall]]. Based on the 1931 play ''The Honest Finder'' (''A Becsületes Megtaláló'') by Hungarian playwright {{ill|Aladár László|hu|László Aladár}},<ref name="tcmscreen">[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93978/trouble-in-paradise#film-details "Screenplay info"]. [[TCM.com]]. Archived from [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93978/trouble-in-paradise#film-details the original] on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2012.</ref> the lead characters are a gentleman thief and a lady pickpocket who join forces to con a beautiful woman who is the owner of a perfume company. In 1991, ''Trouble in Paradise'' was selected for preservation by the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="allmovie"/>

==Plot==
In Venice, Gaston Monescu ([[Herbert Marshall]]), a master thief masquerading as a baron, meets Lily ([[Miriam Hopkins]]), a [[pickpocket]] posing as a countess. The two fall in love and decide to team up. They leave Venice for Paris. There, Gaston steals a diamond-encrusted purse worth 125,000 francs from Madame Mariette Colet ([[Kay Francis]]), owner of the famous perfume manufacturer Colet and Co. When Mariette offers a large reward for its return, Gaston claims it, giving the name of Lavalle.

While claiming the reward, Gaston charms Mariette, and admits to being broke. Mariette hires him as her private secretary. He arranges for Lily to be employed in Mariette's office, and stands up to Mariette's board of directors, led by Monsieur Adolph J. Giron ([[C. Aubrey Smith]]), the manager, who is openly suspicious of him. Having observed Mariette open her private safe (and memorized the combination), Gaston persuades her that she should keep a large sum there, including half of her next dividend installment. Mariette begins to flirt with Gaston, and he begins to have feelings for her.

Unfortunately for the thieves, Mariette has two suitors: the Major ([[Charles Ruggles]]), and François Filiba ([[Edward Everett Horton]]), who was robbed in Venice by Gaston (posing as a doctor). François sees Gaston at a garden party, and is sure they have met, but can't immediately recall where. Fearing imminent discovery, Gaston and Lily decide to flee that night with what is in the safe, and not wait for the dividend installment. Mariette is invited to a dinner party given by the Major. She cannot decide whether to go or to spend the night in bed with Gaston. Eventually she goes, but not before Lily catches on that Gaston has fallen for her rival, and wants to back out of the plan.

At the party, the Major tells François that he once mistook Gaston for a doctor, and François then recalls the Venice incident. François tells Mariette about Gaston, but she refuses to believe it's true. Lily robs the safe after confronting her partner. Mariette returns home and suggestively probes Gaston, who admits that the safe has been cleaned out, but claims that he took the cash. He also tells her that Monsieur Giron has stolen millions from the firm over the years.

Lily then confronts Mariette and Gaston, admitting that it was she who stole the money from the safe.  She says at first that she doesn't want the money—then says she might as well get it in exchange for Gaston, and leaves. Gaston goes after Lily, then returns to say goodbye to Mariette.  He tells her that as marvelous as their affair would be, it would end with a policeman coming to arrest them both.  As he leaves, Gaston reveals that he took her pearl necklace—which he describes as her gift to Lily—which makes her smile. In the taxi, facing a chilly Lily, Gaston reaches for his present, only to realize she's lifted it from his pocket.  Lily is at first triumphant, then realizes Gaston has lifted the money from her. This echoes their original meeting, when they first became partners in crime, and she embraces him in delight as the cab rolls away.

==Cast==
* [[Miriam Hopkins]] as Lily
* [[Kay Francis]] as Madame Colet
* [[Herbert Marshall]] as Gaston Monescu 
* [[Charlie Ruggles|Charles Ruggles]] as The Major (as Charlie Ruggles)
* [[Edward Everett Horton]] as François Filiba
* [[C. Aubrey Smith]] as Adolph J. Giron
* [[Robert Greig]] as Jacques (the Butler)
* [[Luis Alberni]], [[Marion Byron]], [[Louise Carter]], [[Gino Corrado]], [[Leonid Kinskey]], [[Fred Malatesta]], [[Hector Sarno]], [[Rolfe Sedan]], and [[Nella Walker]] also appear in various uncredited roles.

==Production==
Working titles for ''Trouble in Paradise'' included "The Honest Finder," "Thieves and Lovers," and "The Golden Widow"; the latter was publicly announced to be the intended release title.<ref name="tcm-notes">{{cite web |title=Notes |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93978/trouble-in-paradise#notes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812052456/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93978/Trouble-in-Paradise/notes.html |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |access-date=August 24, 2012 |url-status=live |publisher=[[TCM.com]]}}</ref> As with all the Lubitsch-Raphaelson collaborations, Lubitsch contributed to the writing and Raphaelson contributed ideas to the directing.<ref name=article/> Lubitsch did not receive screen credit for his writing, and [[Grover Jones]], who was credited with the adaptation, did not contribute significantly:<ref name=article /> although he was in the room, his credit was based on a contractual obligation, and he did little more than tell stories.<ref name=article /><ref>Raphaelson, Samson. ''Three Screen Comedies'' Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983. {{ISBN|0-299-08780-8}}</ref> Further, although supposedly based on László Aladár's 1931 play ''The Honest Finder'', Lubitsch suggested that Raphaelson not read the play, and instead the main character, Herbert Marshall's master thief, was based on the exploits of a real person, George Manolescu, a Romanian con man whose memoir was published in 1905, and became the basis for two [[silent film]]s.<ref name=article/>

Made before effective enforcement of the [[United States Motion Picture Production Code of 1930|Production Code]], the film is an example of [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] cinema containing adult themes and sexual innuendo that was not permitted under the Code. In 1935, when the Production Code was being enforced, the film was not approved for reissue,<ref name="tcm-notes"/> and it was not seen again until 1968.<ref>Osborne, Robert. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNGLjjtyry4&ab_channel=SonOfASpaceApe Outro] to the [[Turner Classic Movies]] showing of ''Trouble in Paradise'' (March 31, 2011)</ref> Paramount was again rejected in 1943, when the studio wanted to make a musical version of the film.<ref name="tcm-notes"/>

The [[Art Deco]] sets for ''Trouble in Paradise'' were designed by the head of Paramount's art department, [[Hans Dreier]], and the gowns were designed by [[Travis Banton]].<ref name=article/>

==Reception==
''Trouble in Paradise'' was the film that first had people talking about "the Lubitsch touch," and it was, in fact, one of the director's favorites.<ref name="article">{{cite web |last=Nixon |first=Rob |title=Trouble in Paradise (article) |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93978/trouble-in-paradise#articles-reviews |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812022243/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93978/Trouble-in-Paradise/articles.html |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |access-date=August 24, 2012 |url-status=live |publisher=[[TCM.com]]}}</ref> Critic [[Dwight Macdonald]] said of the film that it was "as close to perfection as anything I have ever seen in the movies."<ref name=article /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' named the film as one of the ten best films of 1932. In 1998, [[Roger Ebert]] added it to his Great Movies collection.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |author=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Trouble in Paradise |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-trouble-in-paradise-1932 |accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> [[Wes Anderson]] and [[Ralph Fiennes]] both said the movie was an inspiration for ''[[The Grand Budapest Hotel]]'' (2014).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vineyard |first=Jennifer |date=2014-03-12 |title=Wes Anderson on The Grand Budapest Hotel, Reimagined Nazis, and His Sock Drawer |url=https://www.vulture.com/2014/03/wes-anderson-on-grand-budapest-and-his-socks.html |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=Vulture |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Crow |first=David |date=2014-03-05 |title=Grand Budapest Hotel Interview with Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/grand-budapest-hotel-interview-with-ralph-fiennes-and-tony-revolori/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> Review aggregation site [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports an 89% approval based on 27 critics.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1118325-trouble_in_paradise/ |title=''Trouble in Paradise'' (1932) |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=December 12, 2020}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
''Trouble in Paradise'' was named by the [[National Board of Review]] as one of the top 10 films of 1932.<ref name="allmovie">{{cite web|title=Awards |publisher=[[Allmovie.com]] |url=https://www.allmovie.com/work/trouble-in-paradise-114545/awards |accessdate=August 24, 2012}}</ref>

== Preservation ==
''Trouble in Paradise'' was preserved and restored by the [[UCLA Film and Television Archive|UCLA Film & Television Archive]] and [[The Film Foundation]] from the 35mm nitrate studio print and a 35&nbsp;mm acetate dupe negative.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trouble in Paradise (1932) {{!}} UCLA Film & Television Archive |url=https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/screenings/2017/trouble-in-paradise |access-date=December 1, 2023 |website=UCLA Library Film & Television Archive}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0023622}}
* {{TCMDb title|93978}}
* {{AFI film|7743}}
*[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1073-trouble-in-paradise-lovers-on-the-money ''Trouble in Paradise: Lovers, On the Money''] an essay by [[Armond White]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]

{{Ernst Lubitsch|state=collapsed}}
{{Samson Raphaelson}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1932 films]]
[[Category:1932 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American films based on plays]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ernst Lubitsch]]
[[Category:Films set in Paris]]
[[Category:Films set in Venice]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Films about con artists]]
[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
[[Category:1930s American films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Samson Raphaelson]]
[[Category:Films scored by W. Franke Harling]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy films]]