Lubitsch, Ernst (1892–1947)

German-born US film director. He worked in the USA from 1921 and became known for the ‘Lubitsch touch’ – a combination of incisive social critique, witty humour, sophistication, and visual understatement, seen in, for example, Ninotchka (1939) and Heaven Can Wait (1943).

Starting as an actor in silent films in Berlin, Lubitsch turned to writing and directing, including Die Augen der Mummie Ma/The Eyes of the Mummy (1918) and Die Austernprinzessin/The Oyster Princess (1919). In the USA he directed such silent classics as The Marriage Circle (1924), Lady Windermere's Fan (1925), and The Student Prince (1927). Lubitsch was much admired by his film-making peers, and his talents transferred easily to the sound era, as in Trouble in Paradise (1932), Design for Living (1933), and To Be or Not to Be (1942).