The Master Works 004

Trouble in Paradise
1932
Ernst Lubistch

Ernst Lubitsch was obsessed with the beginnings of his films. He would not proceed until he knew exactly how to begin.
The opening scene of Trouble in Paradise pays wonderful tribute to his obsession with beginnings. In 1932, if a film were to open in Venice, convention would call for a shot of gondolas on the canals. Lubitsch expands on convention masterfully.
He begins with a man picking up a garbage can on a dark night. The camera pans with the man as he carries the garbage and dumps it onto a trash barge in a dark canal. He breaks into song as he climbs on board.
We then see a man in silhouette jump from a window into some bushes. A crime has been commited. Another cut to a distinguished gentleman on a balcony looking out onto the canal. A waiter asks him how he would like to begin the evening's meal as a beautiful lady arrives below in a gondola. The gentleman responds that he needs the waiter's help as beginnings are so difficult. The waiter responds to each of the gentleman's questions with a snappy, "Yes, Baron". The Baron informs the waiter that "the meal must be marvelous. We may not eat it, but it must be marvelous." A few more "yes, barons" to the Baron's "I want to see"s and then finally, "And waiter, I don't want to see you." "No, Baron."
The scene could end well there, but Lubitsch has one more treat for us. The waiter plucks a leaf from the Baron's suit jacket. He pardons himself as he hands it over to the Baron who tosses it from the balcony.
Ah, The Lubitsch Touch!