Synopsis
Elegant and sophisticated thieves Gaston Monescu (Marshall) and Lily (Hopkins) meet and fall in love among the palaces and canals of Venice. Transferring their activities to Paris, they plan to rob rich businesswoman Madame Mariette Colet (Francis). Gaston becomes her latest private secretary, living in her Art Deco mansion. When Mariette indicates her attraction to him, Gaston is responsive and Lily becomes jealous. Ultimately Gaston has to choose between the two women.
Discussion
Trouble in Paradise is a witty and subtle love triangle film, filled
with sexual innuendo and the Lubitsch touch.
Upon meeting Lily, Gaston
steals a garter from her leg. Mariette tells Gaston that the previous private
secretary appreciated the bed with the highly decorated frame — too much.
Background doors, open and closed, provide mute, but sexually suggestive,
statements about foreground interactions between Gaston and Mariette.
Travis Banton designed superb costumes for Miriam Hopkins and Key Francis. Hopkins' gown in her first scene provides Herbert Marshall plenty of reason to fall for her. Francis looks particularly beautiful not only in her gowns but also with her hair styling and makeup.
TCM Film Festival, 2012
Trouble in Paradise was featured in the
Built By Design: Architecture in Film and Deco Design
theme at the TCM
Classic Film Festival in 2012. Matt Tyrnauer, writer and editor at
Vanity Fair, discussed the architectural settings of the film. Venice
contrasts strongly with Paris. The exteriors and the beautiful hotel room in
Venice demonstrate the Paramount version of the Venetian baroque. The Paris
settings display avant-garde styles. Mariette Colet lives in a sophisticated Art
Deco house. Lubitsch and set decorator Hans Dreier had a visual style derived from
their films in Germany. The Paris scenes show examples of the German modernism of
the Bauhaus. The film predates built examples of modernism in the US and
demonstrated this style to the American public. For example, the tall glass tower
seen in an establishing shot of Mariette's factory represents an architectural
style that did not exist in the US at the time. The Paris scenes are an
extraordinary preview of the architectural style of the coming decades.
Further Reading