Film Review
Taking as his inspiration a certain play by William Shakespeare (
The Taming of the Shrew), Ernst
Lubitsch delivers one of his most joyfully unbridled comedies in
Kohlhiesels Töchter. The
film was a major hit for Lubtsch and stars two notable screen actors of
German silent cinema, Henny Porten and Emil Jannings, who would both
subsequently feature in Lubitsch's grand historical epic
Anna
Boleyn (1920). Porten gives great value in the dual
role of the two unlike sisters, delineating the characters by their
behaviour rather than their appearance, although Jannings pretty well
steals the show with his larger than life screen persona and penchant
for ripping up the set (literally in this case).
By the time he made this film, Lubitsch had already established himself
as one of Germany's leading filmmakers and was moving away from this
kind of frenetic unsophisticated comedy towards more ambitious historical
productions.
Kohlhiesels
Töchter is a throwback to the director's early sex
comedies, such as
Ich möchte kein Mann sein (1918),
a riotous send-up of marriage etiquette and the old-fashioned romantic
melodrama. Shakespeare should be credited with the basic premise
but Lubitsch extracts considerably more humour, and a fair amount of
pathos, from the situation. This film illustrates not only
Lubitsch's talent for storytelling via the medium of film but also his
innate flair for visual comedy. This is easily one of his most
deliriously funny films.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Ernst Lubitsch film:
Sumurun (1920)
Film Synopsis
Bavarian innkeeper Mathias Kohlhiesel has two daughters who could not
be more different. Whereas Gretl is attractive, good-natured and
cheerful, her sister Liesel is dowdy, irritable and moody. Peter
Xaver is in love with Gretl, but her father will not allow her to marry
until Liesel has been taken off his hands. Peter's quick-thinking
friend Paul comes up with the perfect solution. Peter will first
marry Liesel, knowing that she will soon want to divorce him, and he
can then marry her sister. The seemingly foolproof plan soon goes
awry when Paul falls in love with Gretl...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.