The Marriage Circle (1924) Directed by Ernst Lubitsch 8A
It is amazing to me the number of times critics through the ages have called Ersnt Lubitsch’s comedies “frothy.” I guess it goes with the Viennese schtick: all those elaborate art works, romantic waltzes; and fancy concoctions made out of whipped cream and cake. The Marriage Circle is a sexy, witty, sophisticated comedy about marital infidelity but frothy it’s not. The plot (buckle your seat belts) is a delightful mix of complications that begins with Professor Josef Stock who is trying to divorce his wife Mizzi. Mizzi doesn’t need much encouragement to seek love in the arms of Dr. Franz, her personal physician. Unfortunately his wife Charlotte is rather inconveniently Mizzi’s best friend. Sorely tempted for sure, Doctor Franz knows he shouldn’t say “yes” to Mizzi, but he can’t quite bring himself to say “no,” either. Then Charlotte, feeling jilted, gets some ideas of her own at about the same moment that Dr, Gustav, Dr. Franz’s partner in their shared medical practice, begins to fall in love with Charlotte. Sounds hopelessly complicated but the execution is as smooth as silk. Lubitsch keeps all these balls expertly juggling in the air, and the end result is polished and amusing. On one level, that is. The interesting thing, though, is that Lubitsch doesn’t let us completely ignore the pain and turmoil just lurking underneath the surface of all these essentially unhappy people. The Marriage Circle is a comedy and a brilliant one, but it works on a knife’s edge. Just shade it one way or the other by a degree or two and the same story would fall into tragic melodrama. Lubitsch’s genius is that he maintains the expert balance required with grace to spare. His touch is light, but frothy? Not here.
Note: The acting in this movie was surprisingly normal, not the exaggerated, overwrought stuff one find's in most silent films. It was quite refreshing and somehow reinforced the notiion that Lubitsch didn't perceive his audience to be a bunch of simpletons who required overstatement to get the point.
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