Ninotchka

Ernst Lubitsch is one of the directors of the classic era who hasn't stayed in people's minds as much as others have. He's not as revered as, say, Billy Wilder...who happens to be a co-writer of Ninotchka. But Ernst had the famous "Lubitsch Touch", where he was able to effortlessly blend jokes and romance with a good story as well as anybody ever has. The hook here is that the always-serious Greta Garbo gets to be funny ("Garbo Laughs"). And she's great in this. She's lovable when she softens, but playing it straight as a stern Russian was her route to comic gold. She and Melvyn Douglas are a wonderful rom-com couple. As for Ninotchka's story, it's all about how capitalism is fun while communism is a dreary, almost-cultlike oppression. Politics has rarely resulted in such mirth. So loosen up and put on your ugly hat as the 569th edition of Have You Ever Seen digs into a classic comedy that's---get this---actually funny. And Just To Be Clear: Sig Ruman is German and Alexander Granach was born in what is now Ukraine, while Felix Bressart was born in what was then East Prussia in Germany...but is now Russia. So you could argue that at least he really was Russian. We're sponsored by the capitalists at Sparkplug Coffee. They give our listeners a onetime 20% discount if they just use our "HYES" promo code. Go to "sparkplug.coffee" and add "/ hyes" to enjoy a little savings. You are not bound to secrecy if you want to let us know what you think of our work. Our email address is "[email protected]". Our Twi-x handles are @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. Bev is also on Threads with that same @. Your messages won't be blacked out by the government. And find our shows on YouTube too. Type "@hyesellis" into your browser and you'll be taken to our home page. Rate, review, like, subscribe and all that in your podcast app and/or on YouTube.