Happy Birthday, Ernst Lubitsch

Maybe the wittiest director ever, gifted with a comic touch so light they named it after him, Ernst Lubitsch directed some of the finest comedies and musicals of the Twenties and Thirties. I've already mentioned four of his movies in this blog—Lady Windermere's Fan, The Student Prince In Old Heidelberg, The Love Parade and The Smiling Lieutenant—with at least a half dozen more down the road. Two of those movies, Ninotchka and The Shop Around The Corner, are playing this afternoon on Turner Classic Movies (between 2 and 6, if you live in the Eastern Time Zone).

Since I'll be writing in my usual mind-numbing detail about Lubitsch when he one day pulls in a Katie Award for best director, I won't whack you over the head with him this morning. But if you have a chilled bottle of champagne handy, I'd suggest you pop the cork and drink a toast to the old master. When people say "they don't make 'em like they used to," they're referring to Ernst Lubitsch.

Here's to you, old buddy.