Billy Wilder was influenced by Ernst Lubitsch more than any other director, so “Ninotchka” (1939) is among the most important films to watch wherein Wilder was a writer but not director. The dialog patter and easy romance between Melvyn Douglas and Greta Garbo is easy to get lost in, and we also get thoughtful and amusing comparisons of capitalism and Communism.
Opposite sides of the curtain
“Opposites attract” romances have been done many times, but “Ninotchka” – set just before the outbreak of WWII — cleverly operates as both a personality clash and a political clash. Douglas is suave and universally likeable as Leon, an English socialite in Paris; he must’ve battled for roles with William Powell during this time. (As with a lot of European films, the English language spoken by all is likely for our benefit.)
Garbo acts like a robot to portray Comrade Ninotchka. Although this is intentional, absurdist acting, it does undercut the idea that Leon immediately finds her adorable; as far as we can tell, she’s definitely not that. Still, the moment when he gets her to loosen up in a restaurant, literally stumbling upon a way to make her smile, is worth the earlier contrivance.
“Ninotchka” (1939)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Walter Reisch (screenplay); Melchior Lengyel (story)
Stars: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire
Fans of silent-era stars will love seeing Ina Claire as Swana, an exiled Russian noblewoman who has relocated to Paris. She and Leon are an item, but not married (as it seems in the film, because that’s usually the case when you see intimate couples in old movies; I had to look it up when I wondered about Leon openly pursuing Ninotchka).
“Ninotchka” has that easy blend of comedy and romance Wilder would adopt for his best pictures, such as “The Apartment” and “Sabrina” – and he’d revisit Paris for “Irma la Douce.” The flirting scene where the leads swoon over each other’s corneas is classic, and the film is peppered with linguistic punchlines that if Wilder himself didn’t write (he’s one of three writers here), they are at least the type he’d learn to craft. For instance:
Hotel Manager: “Well, gentlemen, I’m afraid our rates are rather high.”
Buljanoff: “Why should you be afraid?”
An intriguing political brain-teaser
A trio of Russian male comrades on a mission to Paris serves as a more grounded brand of the Three Stooges. While “Ninotchka” often spells out the East-West conflict in dialog, one of the funniest explorations of the issue comes when the camera is placed outside the trio’s hotel room. We see the waiter enter and hear “ooohs” and “ahhhs”; we see the cigarette girls enter and hear even more enthusiastic exclamations.
Though the film was banned in the USSR because it portrays traveling Russians being wowed by the fruits of capitalism, it’s warm toward all its characters. Interestingly, the central conflict doesn’t have an easy answer (conveniently, it’s not answered in the film, anyway): A royal diadem with 14 jewels is owned by the Russian state, which intends to sell it in Paris during a time when bread rations are low. But it was taken from Swana under USSR law, where the state owns everything.
But how does that play if the sale is made in France? It’s an interesting conundrum, because one might assume Western courts would recognize the jewels were acquired via theft. But on the other hand, taxation is legal in all Western countries; isn’t what the USSR is doing just a blunter form of taxation?
Muddying the waters further is a fascinating chat between Ninotchka and Swana, where Ninotchka implies that Swana’s family got its riches via a system that favored the royals at the expense of the people. So it was ill-gotten to begin with.
Mostly, though, “Ninotchka” is about the romance at its core, with the title character being romanced equal parts by a suave rich man, freedom, capitalism, fresh air and good climate. (Ninotchka notes that even the birds migrate to capitalist countries.) If you want to breeze over the politics, the film is still a beautiful, timeless argument that passion for life should trump obsession with death.
Wilder Wednesdays looks at the catalog of legendary writer-director Billy Wilder.