Trouble in Paradise

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1h 23m

Comedy

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90%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

90%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

Thief Gaston Monescu (Herbert Marshall) and pickpocket Lily (Miriam Hopkins) are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet (Kay Francis), the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.

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Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Filmmakers, screenwriters, actors and audiences can learn every sort of valuable trick from it.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 5, 2017

Full Review

David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

Not a false note in the whole piece. The performances, visuals and screenplay are all exsquisite.

Rated: 5/5

Feb 4, 2009

Full Review

TIME Magazine

Trouble in Paradise is a triumph of direction and decor which could have been accomplished only by that scowling, heavy-jowled Teuton who is Paramount's chief contribution to the civilized cinema, Ernst Lubitsch.

Feb 4, 2009

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Eileen Jones

The Jacobin

Wonderful to watch...

Aug 26, 2023

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Quite possibly the most sparkling and sexy romantic comedy ever made...

Apr 8, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

For its honesty and unrestrained frankness about relationships and sex, Trouble in Paradise is a delightful screen fantasy.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 21, 2022

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Alec B

Deliciously amoral. No wonder it was buried by Hollywood for decades once the Hays code was enforced.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/24

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Steve D

An absolute blast with a great cast and a fun script.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/31/23

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Audience Member

2 years before the production code, it was not only 'continental' but more over the women were not flat caricaturures. and the humor was great. the acting was good. Really stands the 'test of time".

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"Trouble in Paradise" is a bodacious, charming, brazen, vivacious comedy of manners with a magnetic leading trio in Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis and Herbert Marshall. Based on a theatrical play, it retains a certain farcical theatricality, which is elevated by the unmistakably satirical mood. The dialogues are a lot of fun, oozing wit and playfulness, and the excellent direction, paired with that crime rom-com hybrid of a script, keeps you guessing as to what's going to happen in the end.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This surprisingly engaging narrative worked really well for me due to the lighter tone and the fact this film was hard to relegate to a single genre. I have usually been a fan of films centering on heists and con artists and appreciated the fact I was in legitimate suspense, with regard to multiple storylines, right up to the conclusion. Miriam Hopkins would probably get my MVP but Kay Francis and Herbert Marshall were integral as well, as this story would never come off without these enjoyably authentic performances from each of the three. I am always left much more impressed when older movies still come off so well today, as I generally expect to be viewing them more forgivingly, in the context of the time they were made. The innuendos and subtle gags still have no problem landing in 2022. 7.5/10

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This was a film that started the "Lubitsch touch," and it was one of his favorites. Reportedly it was an inspiration for the Grand Budapest Hotel. It's a story about a thief and a pickpocket who join forces to con a beautiful woman who is the owner of a perfume company.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Ernst Lubitsch

Director

Miriam Hopkins

Lily, alias Mlle. Vautier

Kay Francis

Madame Mariette Colet

Herbert Marshall

Gaston Monescu, alias La Valle

Charlie Ruggles

The Major

Edward Everett Horton

François Filiba

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Synopsis

Thief Gaston Monescu (Herbert Marshall) and pickpocket Lily (Miriam Hopkins) are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet (Kay Francis), the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Screenwriter: Aladar Laszlo, Grover Jones, Samson Raphaelson
Distributor: Criterion Collection, Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Publix Corporation
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 21, 1932, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Jan 7, 2003
Runtime: 1h 23m