Ernst Lubitsch (January 29, 1892 – November 30, 1947) was a German film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch".
Lubitsch is best known for screwball comedies and romantic comedies, such as Trouble in Paradise (1932), Ninotchka (1939), The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and To Be or Not to Be (1942). While being escapist, his films often offer social commentary on human relationships and society in a satirical way.
Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States.
Known For
The Shop Around the Corner
(1940)
Director
Heaven Can Wait
(1943)
Director
Design for Living
(1933)
Director
Ninotchka
(1939)
Director
To Be or Not to Be
(1942)
Director
Angel
(1937)
Director
Cluny Brown
(1946)
Director
Trouble in Paradise
(1932)
Director
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Director
Carmen
(1918)
Director
Full Filmography
Directing
Miss Soapsuds
(1915)
Director
Sugar and Cinnamon
(1915)
Director
A Trip on the Ice
(1915)
Director
Blind Cow
(1915)
Director
The Last Suit
(1915)
Director
The Bodybuilder
(1915)
Director
His Only Patient
(1915)
Director
Where Is My Treasure?
(1916)
Director
Pinkus's Shoe Palace
(1916)
Director
The Mixed Ladies Chorus
(1916)
Director
The Tenor, Inc.
(1916)
Director
The New Nose
(1916)
Director
The Most Beautiful Gift
(1916)
Director
The Merry Jail
(1917)
Director
Ossis Tagebuch
(1917)
Director
Der Blusenkönig
(1917)
Director
When Four Do the Same
(1917)
Director
The Eyes of the Mummy
(1918)
Director
I Don't Want to Be a Man
(1918)
Director
Carmen
(1918)
Director
Der Fall Rosentopf
(1918)
Director
The Ballet Girl
(1918)
Director
Prinz Sami
(1918)
Director
The Toboggan Cavalier
(1918)
Director
Fuhrmann Henschel
(1918)
Director
Madame DuBarry
(1919)
Director
The Doll
(1919)
Director
The Oyster Princess
(1919)
Director
Meyer from Berlin
(1919)
Director
My Wife, the Movie Star
(1919)
Director
The Swabian Maiden
(1919)
Director
Käsekönig Holländer
(1919)
Director
Intoxication
(1919)
Director
Anna Boleyn
(1920)
Director
Sumurun
(1920)
Director
Romeo and Juliet in the Snow
(1920)
Director
Kohlhiesel's Daughters
(1920)
Director
The Housing Shortage
(1920)
Director
The Wildcat
(1921)
Director
The Loves of Pharaoh
(1922)
Director
Rosita
(1923)
Director
Die Flamme
(1923)
Director
The Marriage Circle
(1924)
Director
Three Women
(1924)
Director
Forbidden Paradise
(1924)
Director
Lady Windermere's Fan
(1925)
Director
Kiss Me Again
(1925)
Director
So This Is Paris
(1926)
Director
The Honeymoon Express
(1926)
Director
The Patriot
(1928)
Director
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
(1928)
Director
Eternal Love
(1929)
Director
The Love Parade
(1930)
Director
Monte Carlo
(1930)
Director
Paramount on Parade
(1930)
Director
The Vagabond King
(1930)
Co-Director
The Smiling Lieutenant
(1931)
Director
Trouble in Paradise
(1932)
Director
One Hour with You
(1932)
Director
Broken Lullaby
(1932)
Director
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Director
Design for Living
(1933)
Director
The Clerk
(1933)
Director
The Merry Widow
(1934)
Director
Angel
(1937)
Director
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
(1938)
Director
Ninotchka
(1939)
Director
The Shop Around the Corner
(1940)
Director
That Uncertain Feeling
(1941)
Director
To Be or Not to Be
(1942)
Director
Heaven Can Wait
(1943)
Director
A Royal Scandal
(1945)
Director
Cluny Brown
(1946)
Director
That Lady in Ermine
(1948)
Director
Acting
The Miracle
(1912)
Spielmann
The Ideal Wife
(1913)
The Pride of the Firm
(1914)
Siegmund Lachmann
The Firm Gets Married
(1914)
A Venetian Night
(1914)
Robert and Bertram
(1915)
Kommis Max Edelstein
Miss Bellboy
(1915)
Pinkeles
How I Was Murdered
(1915)
Miss Soapsuds
(1915)
Sugar and Cinnamon
(1915)
A Trip on the Ice
(1915)
Ernst
Blind Cow
(1915)
Verlobter
The Last Suit
(1915)
The Bodybuilder
(1915)
Stubenhocker
His Only Patient
(1915)
Doktor
Arme Maria
(1915)
Commissioner Moritz Rosenthal
The Most Beautiful Gift
(1916)
Verehrer
Where Is My Treasure?
(1916)
Ernst Lubitsch
Pinkus's Shoe Palace
(1916)
Sally Pinkus
The Mixed Ladies Chorus
(1916)
Dirigent
The Tenor, Inc.
(1916)
Sally
The New Nose
(1916)
Ernst
Doctor Satanson
(1916)
Dr. Satansohn
Der Blusenkönig
(1917)
When Four Do the Same
(1917)
Bit Role
Hans Trutz in the Land of Milk and Honey
(1917)
Der Teufel Satan
Prinz Sami
(1918)
Prinz Sami
The Toboggan Cavalier
(1918)
Sally Piner
Der Fall Rosentopf
(1918)
Sally
Meyer from Berlin
(1919)
Sally Meyer
Käsekönig Holländer
(1919)
Sumurun
(1920)
Yeggar - the Hunchback Beggar
Mr. Broadway
(1933)
Ernst Lubitsch
Ninotchka
(1939)
Himself - Director in Trailer (uncredited)
The Eternal Jew
(1940)
Self (archive footage)
Hitler: A Career
(1977)
Self (archive footage)
From Caligari to Hitler
(2015)
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
100 Years of the UFA
(2017)
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Writing
Miss Soapsuds
(1915)
Writer
Sugar and Cinnamon
(1915)
Writer
Blind Cow
(1915)
Writer
The Bodybuilder
(1915)
Writer
Where Is My Treasure?
(1916)
Writer
The New Nose
(1916)
Writer
The Most Beautiful Gift
(1916)
Writer
When Four Do the Same
(1917)
Writer
The Merry Jail
(1917)
Writer
Der Blusenkönig
(1917)
Writer
Ossis Tagebuch
(1917)
Writer
I Don't Want to Be a Man
(1918)
Writer
Prinz Sami
(1918)
Writer
The Toboggan Cavalier
(1918)
Writer
Der Fall Rosentopf
(1918)
Writer
The Doll
(1919)
Writer
The Oyster Princess
(1919)
Writer
My Wife, the Movie Star
(1919)
Writer
Käsekönig Holländer
(1919)
Writer
Sumurun
(1920)
Writer
Romeo and Juliet in the Snow
(1920)
Writer
The Housing Shortage
(1920)
Writer
Kohlhiesel's Daughters
(1920)
Writer
The Wildcat
(1921)
Writer
Three Women
(1924)
Writer
The Last Command
(1928)
Writer
The Smiling Lieutenant
(1931)
Writer
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Writer
The Clerk
(1933)
Writer
To Be or Not to Be
(1983)
Story
Production
Sugar and Cinnamon
(1915)
Producer
A Trip on the Ice
(1915)
Producer
The Marriage Circle
(1924)
Producer
The Patriot
(1928)
Producer
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
(1928)
Producer
Monte Carlo
(1930)
Producer
The Smiling Lieutenant
(1931)
Producer
Trouble in Paradise
(1932)
Producer
One Hour with You
(1932)
Producer
Broken Lullaby
(1932)
Producer
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Production Supervisor
Design for Living
(1933)
Producer
The Merry Widow
(1934)
Producer
Desire
(1936)
Producer
Angel
(1937)
Producer
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
(1938)
Producer
Ninotchka
(1939)
Executive Producer
The Shop Around the Corner
(1940)
Producer
That Uncertain Feeling
(1941)
Producer
To Be or Not to Be
(1942)
Producer
Heaven Can Wait
(1943)
Producer
A Royal Scandal
(1945)
Producer
Dragonwyck
(1946)
Producer
Cluny Brown
(1946)
Producer
That Lady in Ermine
(1948)
Producer
Editing