The Marriage Circle / The Merry Widow

Monday | July 23, 2007 7:00 pm

The Marriage Circle

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch

The Merry Widow

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch

Live Piano Accompaniment by Yakov Gubanov
Screening on Film

This double bill pairs two decadent delights directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch. A classic sex comedy, The Marriage Circle revolves around Mizzie, a promiscuous woman who sets her flirtatious sights on her best friend’s husband. In the ensuing romantic roundelay, the beleaguered spouses eventually learn that something is not well with their marriages. In The Merry Widow, Maurice Chevalier stars as a playboy count who sings with delight about “girls, girls, girls.” He is enlisted to woo a wealthy widow (MacDonald) whose finances fund his small country’s economy. Featuring songs by Lorenz Hart, the film marked Lubitsch’s final collaboration with Chevalier and MacDonald.

PROGRAM

The Marriage Circle

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
With Marie Prevost, Florence Vidor, Adolphe Menjou.
US, 1924, 35mm, black & white, silent, 78 min.
The Merry Widow

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
With Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Edward Everett Horton.
US, 1934, 35mm, black & white, 98 min.