Design for Living (1933) | |
| Director(s) | Ernst Lubitsch |
| Producer(s) | Ernst Lubitsch |
| Top Genres | Comedy, Film Adaptation, Romance |
| Top Topics | Apartments, Artists, Based on Play, Forbidden Hollywood, Paris, Pre-Code Cinema, Writers and Poets |
Featured Cast:
Design for Living Overview:
Design for Living (1933) was a Comedy - Black-and-white Film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and produced by Ernst Lubitsch.
BlogHub Articles:
“Design for Living”: A Pre-Code Tale of Love, Art, and Compromise
By Stephen Reginald on Sep 8, 2026 From Classic Movie Man“Design for Living”: A Pre-Code Tale of Love, Art, and Compromise Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Design for Living (1933) is a sophisticated pre-Code romantic comedy about an unusual love triangle that forms in Paris. The story begins on a train where Gilda Farrell (Miriam Hopkins), an... Read full article
Design For Living (1933): An Atypical Lubitsch Comedy
By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 15, 2019 From 4 Star Films“Immorality may be fun but it’s not fun enough to take the place of virtue and three square meals a day.”? All director Ernst Lubitsch has at his disposal?is a train compartment and three actors.?Yet?the opening scene of Design for Living?positions itself as one of the most delight... Read full article
The Sex (now that I have your attention) Blogathon: Design for Living (1933)
By shadowsandsatin on Jun 19, 2015 From Shadows and SatinSexy? Design for Living? You bet. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. A cast featuring Miriam Hopkins, Gary Cooper and Fredric March (a trio of lookers if ever there was one). Screenplay by Ben Hecht, based on a Noel Coward play. How could it be anything BUT sexy? This pre-Code confectionery focuses on the ... Read full article
Love It, Love It Not?: Waffling over Lubitsch?s Design for Living (1)
By Judy on Jun 13, 2015 From Cary Grant Won't Eat YouI hoped to love Design for Living. After all, the director was Ernst Lubitsch, who had helmed?such witty, cynical comedies about relationships, movies that usually feel as insightful and controversial now as they probably did back in the 20s and 30s. And many reviewers I respect had praised its humo... Read full article
Love It, Love It Not?: Waffling over Lubitsch?s Design for Living (2)
By Judy on Jun 13, 2015 From Cary Grant Won't Eat YouI hoped to love Design for Living. After all, the director was Ernst Lubitsch, who had helmed such witty, cynical comedies about relationships, movies that usually feel as insightful and controversial now as they probably did back in the 20s and 30s. And many reviewers I respect had praised its humo... Read full article
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Quotes from
Gilda Farrell: And I want you to remain my friend for the next fifty years. So please shut up.
Gilda Farrell: A thing happened to me that usually happens to men. You see, a man can meet two, three or four women and fall in love with all of them, and then, by a process of interesting elimination, he is able to decide which he prefers. But a woman must decide purely on instinct, guesswork, if she wants to be considered nice.
Gilda Farrell: Now listen, Plunkett, Incorporated. You go to those customers of yours and give 'em a sales talk. Sell them anything you want, but not me. I'm fed up with underwear, cement, linoleum, I'm sick of being a trademark married to a slogan!
Max Plunkett: Gilda...
Gilda Farrell: Don't you tell 'em I've got hiccups. Tell them I've got the advertising blues. The billboard collywobbles! Slogans and sales talks morning, noon, and night, and not one human sound out of you and your whole flock of Egelbaurs!
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Facts about
Considerable censorship difficulties arose because of sexual discussions and innuendos, although the Hays Office eventually approved the film for release. However, it was banned by the Legion of Decency and was refused a certificate by the PCA for re-release in 1934, when the production code was more rigorously enforced.
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.
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