Trouble in Paradise (1932) : Classic Movie Hub (CMH)

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Trouble in Paradise (1932)
Director(s)	Ernst Lubitsch
Producer(s)	Ernst Lubitsch
Top Genres	Comedy, Crime, Romance
Top Topics	Based on Play, Pre-Code Cinema, Romance (Comic), Screwball Comedy

Featured Cast:

See Full Cast

Kay Francis
(as Madame Mariette Colet)

Herbert Marshall
(as Gaston Monescu)

Trouble in Paradise Overview:

Trouble in Paradise (1932) was a Comedy - Crime Film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and produced by Ernst Lubitsch.

SYNOPSIS

This continental confection from Lubitsch features a sharp script full of tangy double entendres and a strong cast. Marshall and Hopkins, a pair of sophisticated thieves (and former lovers), travel from Venice to Paris, where they compete with each other as they insinuate themselves into the life of a wealthy owner of a perfume boutique (Francis) as secretary and maid. The urbane Marshall finds himself romantically inclined, putting the big heist in jeopardy, but Francis's beau Horton thinks he smells a rat. A sumptuously Deco-designed, pre-Code bedroom farce without equal since.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Trouble in Paradise was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1991.

BlogHub Articles:

“Trouble in Paradise” (1932): A Masterclass in Pre-Code Elegance and High-Stakes Deception

By Stephen Reginald on Sep 15, 2026 From Classic Movie Man

“Trouble in Paradise” (1932): A Masterclass in Pre-Code Elegance and High-Stakes Deception Directed by legendary filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch, Trouble in Paradise (1932) is a quintessential pre-Code romantic comedy starring Herbert Marshall, Kay Francis, and Miriam Hopkins. Set against ... Read full article

The Style Essentials - Kay Francis Battles in Bias Cut in 1932's TROUBLE IN PARADISE

on Jul 22, 2019 From GlamAmor

Last Saturday was the second in my STYLE OF SIN series at the American Cinematheque, and it was focused on the Queen of Pre-Code herself - Kay Francis. I spoke all about the Production Code, Kay's life and career, and then the backstories of our double feature Girls About Town (1931) and Jewel Robbe... Read full article

COMEDY GOLD #10: ‘Tonsils!’ from Trouble in Paradise (1932)

By Carol Martinheira on Dec 7, 2018 From The Old Hollywood Garden

COMEDY GOLD #10: ‘Tonsils!’ from Trouble in Paradise (1932) On December 7, 2018December 7, 2018 By CarolIn Uncategorized Last year, I wrote a little piece about Edward Everett Horton’s inescapable and always welcome presence in 1930s and 40s comedy fi... Read full article

Review: Trouble in Paradise (1932)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Oct 18, 2018 From 4 Star Films

Ernst Lubitsch made a name for himself and his “touch” in silents as well as leaving an indelible mark on the 1940s with the likes of Shop Around The Corner (1940), To Be or Not to Be (1942), Heaven Can Wait (1943), and Cluny Brown (1946). But for me, no film better personifies his wit a... Read full article

Trouble in Paradise (1932) (2)

By Carol Martinheira on Jan 4, 2017 From The Old Hollywood Garden

Trouble in Paradise (1932) On January 4, 2017January 4, 2017 By CarolIn Uncategorized If you?re as obsessed with Billy Wilder as I am, you?ll know that he had a sign on his wall that read ?How would Lubitsch do it??. If you watch Trouble in Paradise (1932), you?ll unde... Read full article

See all Trouble in Paradise articles

Quotes from

Lily Vautier: You know, when I first saw you, I thought you were an American.
Gaston Monescu: Thank you.
Lily Vautier: Someone from another world, so entirely different. Oh, one gets so tired of one's own class - princes and counts and dukes and kings! Everybody talking shop. Always trying to sell you jewelry. Then I heard your name and found out you were just one of us.
Gaston Monescu: Disappointed?
Lily Vautier: No, proud. Very proud.

Gaston Monescu: I see. You have to be in the Social Register to keep out of jail. But when a man starts at the bottom and works his way up, a self-made crook, then you say, "Call the police! Put him behind bars! Lock him up!"

François Filiba: Nice day, Major.
The Major: Eh-hmm.
François Filiba: You're looking fine, Major.
The Major: Now see here my good man, I've had just about enough of your insulting remarks.

Facts about

This movie was popular both with critics and with audiences, but was made before the enforcement of the production code. After 1935, it was withdrawn from circulation and was not seen again until 1968. The film was never available on videocassette and only became available on DVD in 2003.

The movie was not approved for re-issue in 1935 when the Production Code was being rigorously enforced.

"Little" Mary Pickford, the silent film star, liked Ernst Lubitsch's tasteful touches of suggestiveness enough to ask him to direct her in a film that would help her show more maturity on screen. But she did not get along with Lubitsch himself nor did she appreciate 'Rosita,' the film they made together. In later years she usually ranked it with her worst films.

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Trouble in Paradise (1932)