Nick M
"The Oyster Princess" is an irreverent German comedy that satirizes American high society, and it had me absolutely rolling! By far the best Lubitsch picture I've seen to date (in my chronological survey of world cinema), it was chock-full of style and composed with such panache that it is now crystal clear to me why Hollywood wanted to poach him for the US film industry. The story treats us to one of the capricious whims of the daughter of the American "Oyster King" who must and will have every little thing her heart desires, and RIGHT NOW! The daughter of the Shoe Polish King has just married a count, you see, and since oysters are ever so much better than shoe polish she must not be outdone! Her father utters his oft-repeated through line, "That doesn't impress me at all!" and promises to buy her a prince. A romantic comedy then unfolds during which we see increasingly hysterical examples of the family's ludicrously ostentatious lifestyle. One of the many examples is their veritable army of preposterously liveried servants. The father has a separate man to hold his oversized cigar, one to touch up his hair, one to hold his cup to his mouth, and another to dab his lips after he finishes sipping. It takes half a dozen servants to help the daughter get undressed, and an additional twenty to bathe her. I cackled when I saw how many footmen waited at table for the wedding banquet. And taking pride of place in their absurd ballroom of a foyer is a grotesque naked oil painting of the Oyster King himself. Each of the actors delivers a good performance (with a little overacting from Harry Liedtke as Prince Nucki), but Ossi Oswalda steals the show as the daughter. Her emotions are larger than life, but each expression is true to the self-aware, batshit crazy look in her eyes as she delivers them. She has to be one of the most underappreciated actresses I've come across and is emerging as one of my new favorites from this era.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
09/18/24
Full Review
Audience Member
A silly Lubitsch comedy, starring yet again the incomparable Ossi Oswalda. This time it's a full blown wedding comedy, about a daughter of an extremely wealthy oyster company king. Of course nothing goes according to plan... right?
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Every director should ask himself the Billy Wilder-question "How would Lubitsch do it?" and then shoot they way Lubitsch did.
Ossi (Ossi Oswalda), daughter of Quaker (Victor Janson) the oyster-king of America, is a spoiled brat. She smashes up her whole room, when she reads in the newspaper, that one of her friends married a count. She wants to marry a noble man, too!! So her father hires a matchmaker, to find a perfect candidate for her. And Seligman (Max Kronert), the matchmaker, has the perfect guy in his file. The noble, but broke Prince Nucki (Harry Liedke).
Ossi is so happy, she "could smash up the whole house", although she bitches that "1 1/2 hours have passed and she still has no husband".
The Prince sends out his valet (Julius Falkenstein), to check up Ossi. Ossi is so excited to see a man in her house, that she marries the valet AT ONCE! Her husband turns out to be not as polite and well educated, as she wanted him to be. I guess I don't tell too much, when I tell you that lucky coincidences bring Ossi and Prince Nucki together in the end. But until then, there are many, many hilarious little details, that make this movie a masterpiece.
Ossi Oswalda shows a LOT of cleavage and one of her great legs with a silk stocking; very racy for a movie from 1919. She kisses an unknown man, although she is already married. She lives in a little castle and has at least 20 girls as her servants. They undress her, wash her, dry her, rub lotion onto her, massage her, dress her and carry her around. She wears wonderful dresses (actually I would like to dress like her). Ossi marries the valet standing outside a house, seeing the preacher through an open window...it reminded me of the "drive-in"-weddings in Vegas! A group of girls decides to make a boxing match, to come to an agreement in an arguement. The loser congratulates the winner with a kiss on the mouth.
And oh!!! The sight of Ossi in bed, with her Teddy in her arms...so cute. Reminded me of one of my favourite thoughts before I fall asleep.
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Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Imaginative satire of wealth, desperation, love.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Blissfully bizarre silent comedy directed by Lubitsch. To modern sensibilities the pacing may lag a bit at times, but for the most part this is a very tight, very funny, and visually striking bit (the design is marvelous) of film--it's not hard to see why Lubitsch was seen by his peers and the next generation as the absolute greatest. Also, Curt Bois is pretty awesome.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Lubitsch made his name in Hollywood as a director of comedies that demonstrated an assured lightness of touch. Yet he developed this approach in Weimar Germany. A self-made, social-climbing millionaire has a spoilt daughter who wants to marry and is fixed up with a down on his luck prince, only a case of mistaken identity throws a spanner in the works. With opulent, detailed sets and a gently satirical look at class and wealth, it's an impressive and confident early feature with some quite bizarre twists and turns along the way.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
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