One Hour with You (1932)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Lothar Schmidt (play)
Samson Raphaelson (writer)

Release Date:

23 March 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

So big! So entertaining! So much fun!

Plot:

Andre and Colette Bertier are happily married. When Colette introduces her husband to her flirtatious best friend...

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Professor | Dinner Party | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Confession

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Maurice Chevalier	...	Dr. Andre Bertier
Jeanette MacDonald	...	Colette Bertier
Genevieve Tobin	...	Mitzi Olivier
Charles Ruggles	...	Adolph
Roland Young	...	Professor Olivier
Josephine Dunn	...	Mademoiselle Martel
Richard Carle	...	Henri Dornier - Private Detective
Barbara Leonard	...	Mitzi's Maid
George Barbier	...	Police Commissioner

Runtime:

80 min | Hong Kong:84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Passed

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

A French-language version _Une heure près de toi_, ("One More Hour With You") was filmed simultaneously. Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald (who spoke French fluently) played the same parts as in the English version, and Lili Damita replaced Genevieve Tobin.

Quotes:

Professor Olivier: When I married her, she was a brunette. Now you can't believe anything she says.

Movie Connections:

Alternate language version of Une heure près de toi (1932)

Soundtrack:

What a Little Thing Like a Wedding Can Do

Art Deco classic

I first saw this film in 1955 at a tiny art cinema in Oxford. The print was in perfect condition and the shimmering dresses and art deco were fascinating. I sat through three showings and left on a wave of good feeling which has lasted ever since. (I can still sing "Three Times a Day" in which Chevalier as a doctor prescribes pills to his patient (with its the sexual innuendo). The comparison with Mamoulian's"Love me Tonight" with the same principals is very interesting. Mamoulian sends up the aristocratic Ruritanian musical comedy while Lubitsch adores the middle class. Both in their different ways are brilliant. Both use surrealist effects to heighten a sense of unreality. This is pure entertainment in a European tradition. Genevieve Tobin is a wonderful support but her career never really took off.