Of Noel Coward's two drawing room sex comedies filmed during the 1930's, "Design For Living" seems the more sordid on celluloid. Along with "Private Lives", the play could not be filmed as written, and once Hollywood got their hands on the script, the red pen went on the attack.
The story of "Design For Living" concerns three artists who meet on a train while traveling on the main European continent. Painter Gary Cooper and playwright Fredric March are pals whose car is suddenly invaded (much to their delight) by commercial artist Miriam Hopkins. Comically sketching the two sleeping men, Hopkins sets herself up for a memorable introduction to the two friends. They are soon cohabitating together, but each of the men is unaware of the other's interest in her. To prevent them from killing each other when all is revealed, Hopkins announces "no sex" and instead becomes their artistic sergeant, prodding them onto great success. Both men achieve popularity, but unable to choose between them, Hopkins marries her own Svengali, the sexless Edward Everett Horton. He can best be described as a non-threatening version of Clifton Webb's Waldo Lydecker in "Laura" to Hopkins' Gene Tierney.
The flamboyantly gay Noel Coward doesn't stretch the imagination of his hidden signals in his play and the script can't hide it no matter how hard it tries. Even without Coward's racy dialogue, the premise is obvious that Hopkins' character could actually be male as well. Director Ernst Lubitsch puts together a beautifully art deco package that is sumptuous in every detail. It is his direction that shines here, not the performances of the two pretty boys or feisty leading lady. Horton is outstanding as Hopkins' Svengali, but it is disappointing not to see Horton interact here with fellow flibbertigibbet Franklin Pangborn who is barely on as London's top agent for playwrights. Nice cameos by two of Hollywood's best character performers (Jane Darwell and Mary Gordon) round out the cast.
It is not surprising that this delicious looking comedy came from Paramount which produced even more art deco films in this era than MGM. Along with Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise" and Josef Von Sternberg's Marlene Dietrich series, this film remains one of the most famous, although an obscure drawing room comedy "Evenings For Sale" is also worth a look to add to that group.
The story of "Design For Living" concerns three artists who meet on a train while traveling on the main European continent. Painter Gary Cooper and playwright Fredric March are pals whose car is suddenly invaded (much to their delight) by commercial artist Miriam Hopkins. Comically sketching the two sleeping men, Hopkins sets herself up for a memorable introduction to the two friends. They are soon cohabitating together, but each of the men is unaware of the other's interest in her. To prevent them from killing each other when all is revealed, Hopkins announces "no sex" and instead becomes their artistic sergeant, prodding them onto great success. Both men achieve popularity, but unable to choose between them, Hopkins marries her own Svengali, the sexless Edward Everett Horton. He can best be described as a non-threatening version of Clifton Webb's Waldo Lydecker in "Laura" to Hopkins' Gene Tierney.
The flamboyantly gay Noel Coward doesn't stretch the imagination of his hidden signals in his play and the script can't hide it no matter how hard it tries. Even without Coward's racy dialogue, the premise is obvious that Hopkins' character could actually be male as well. Director Ernst Lubitsch puts together a beautifully art deco package that is sumptuous in every detail. It is his direction that shines here, not the performances of the two pretty boys or feisty leading lady. Horton is outstanding as Hopkins' Svengali, but it is disappointing not to see Horton interact here with fellow flibbertigibbet Franklin Pangborn who is barely on as London's top agent for playwrights. Nice cameos by two of Hollywood's best character performers (Jane Darwell and Mary Gordon) round out the cast.
It is not surprising that this delicious looking comedy came from Paramount which produced even more art deco films in this era than MGM. Along with Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise" and Josef Von Sternberg's Marlene Dietrich series, this film remains one of the most famous, although an obscure drawing room comedy "Evenings For Sale" is also worth a look to add to that group.