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Trouble in Paradise (1932)

Trouble in Paradise

1932

  • Paramount Pictures
  • Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
  • Screenplay by Samson Raphaelson
  • Starring Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis , Herbert Marshall, Charles Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton

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

Kay Francis

TCM Classic Film Festival, 2012