Ernst Lubitsch

Germany · 1892–1947

Ernst Lubitsch was a German and American 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". Among his best known works are Trouble in Paradise (1932), Design for Living (1933), Ninotchka (1939), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), To Be or Not to Be (1942) and Heaven Can Wait (1943). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three times, for The Patriot (1928), The Love Parade (1929), and Heaven Can Wait (1943); his pictures The Smiling Lieutenant and One Hour with You were also nominated for Outstanding Production in 1932. In 1946, he received an Honorary Academy Award for his distinguished contributions to the art of the motion picture.