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Ernst Lubitsch

Ernst Lubitsch

Director, writer and producer, also editor · Died November 30, 1947, aged 55 · Berlin, Germany

Ernst Lubitsch (January 29, 1892 – November 30, 1947) was a German film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch". Lubitsch is best known for screwball comedies and romantic comedies, such as Trouble in Paradise (1932), Ninotchka (1939), The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and To Be or Not to Be (1942). While being escapist, his films often offer social commentary on human relationships and society in a satirical way. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 28, 1892
Died
November 30, 1947 (aged 55)
From
Berlin, Germany
Works as
Director, writer and producer, also editor
Titles
27 on MovieCove · 96 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 25% in 30 days

What are Ernst Lubitsch's films like?

Across their 26 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Comedy21 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 84th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 94th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
46%
Morality
19%
Power
17%
Self
9%
Survival
5%
Ideas
3%
Society
1%
Romantic love14 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage7 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception8 titles, browse their movies with this themeClass5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom3 titles, browse their movies with this themePower2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 26 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 21 · Serious 0 · Dark 5

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 13 · Heightened 6

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 18 · Charged 5 · Intense 3

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 20 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 15

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 15 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 15 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 23 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
16
Romantic
14
Warm
8
Tense
8
Absurd
7
Other
18

How their films linger

Feel-good17 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy14
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ernst Lubitsch's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 27 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (9).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ernst Lubitsch's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

96 credits, 27 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Frantz(2016)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • To Be or Not to Be(1983)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • A Letter to Freddy Buache (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    In Memory Of

  • That's Entertainment, Part II(1976)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • That Lady in Ermine(1948)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Cluny Brown(1946)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Dragonwyck(1946)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • A Royal Scandal(1945)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Here Is Germany(1945)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Heaven Can Wait(1943)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • To Be or Not to Be(1942)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • That Uncertain Feeling(1941)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • The Shop Around the Corner(1940)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Ninotchka(1939)

    Director · Executive Producer · as Himself - Director in Trailer (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Bluebeard's Eighth Wife(1938)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Angel(1937)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Desire(1936)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The Merry Widow(1934)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Design for Living(1933)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Mr. Broadway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    as Ernst Lubitsch

  • The Clerk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Director · Writer

  • If I Had a Million(1932)

    Director · Production Supervisor · Writer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Trouble in Paradise(1932)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • One Hour with You(1932)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Broken Lullaby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Director · Producer

  • The Smiling Lieutenant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Monte Carlo(1930)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Paramount on Parade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Director

  • The Vagabond King (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Co-Director

  • The Love Parade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director · Producer

  • Eternal Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director

  • The Patriot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director · Editor · Producer

  • The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director · Producer

  • The Last Command(1928)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Honeymoon Express (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director

  • So This Is Paris(1926)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Lady Windermere's Fan(1925)

    Director · Editor · Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Kiss Me Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    Director

  • Three Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    Director · Writer

  • The Marriage Circle(1924)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Forbidden Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    Director

  • Faust and Marguerite Test Footage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    Director

  • Rosita (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    Director

  • Die Flamme (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    Director

  • The Loves of Pharaoh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    Director

  • The Wildcat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    Director · Writer

  • Anna Boleyn(1920)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Sumurun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Writer · as Yeggar - the Hunchback Beggar

  • Romeo and Juliet in the Snow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Writer

  • Kohlhiesel's Daughters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Writer

  • The Housing Shortage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Writer

  • The Doll (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director · Writer · as Director in Prologue (uncredited)

  • Madame DuBarry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • Intoxication (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • The Oyster Princess (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director · Writer

  • Käsekönig Holländer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director · Writer · Actor

  • The Swabian Maiden (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • My Wife, the Movie Star (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director · Writer

  • Meyer from Berlin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director · as Sally Meyer

  • Carmen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • The Eyes of the Mummy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • I Don't Want to Be a Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director · Writer

  • The Rosentopf Case (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director · Writer · as Sally

  • The Ballet Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • The Toboggan Cavalier (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director · Writer · as Sally Piner

  • Fuhrmann Henschel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • Prinz Sami (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director · Writer · as Prinz Sami

  • The Merry Jail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · Writer

  • When Four Do the Same (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · Writer · as Bit Role

  • Der Blusenkönig (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · Writer · Actor

  • Hans Trutz in the Land of Milk and Honey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    as Der Teufel Satan

  • Ossis Tagebuch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · Writer

  • The Tenor, Inc. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · as Sally

  • The New Nose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · Writer · as Ernst

  • The Most Beautiful Gift (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · Writer · as Verehrer

  • The Mixed Ladies Chorus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · as Dirigent

  • Pinkus's Shoe Palace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · as Sally Pinkus

  • Doctor Satanson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Dr. Satansohn

  • Where Is My Treasure? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · Writer · as Ernst

  • How I Was Murdered (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Actor

  • The Bodybuilder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Director · Writer · as Stubenhocker

  • The Last Suit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Director · Actor

  • Robert and Bertram (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Kommis Max Edelstein

  • His Only Patient (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Director · as Doktor

  • Miss Soapsuds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Director · Writer · Actor

  • Miss Bellboy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Pinkeles

  • Blind Cow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Director · Writer · as Verlobter

  • Sugar and Cinnamon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Director · Producer · Writer · Actor

  • A Trip on the Ice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Director · Producer · as Ernst

  • Arme Maria (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Commissioner Moritz Rosenthal

  • The Pride of the Firm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    as Siegmund Lachmann

  • A Venetian Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    Actor

  • The Firm Gets Married (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    as Moritz Abramowski / Siegmund Lachmann (Lehrling)

  • The Ideal Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as Krispin

  • The Miracle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1912)

    as Spielmann

  • Das Mirakel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1912)

    Actor

Career shape

A full career of 94 titles from 1912 to 1983.

Biggest box office

To Be or Not to Be (1983)

$13M worldwide

Highest rated

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Film career

  • 1919Screen debut· The Doll
  • 1920First top-billed film· Sumurun

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting35 of 94: 13 only acting, 22 with another roleDirecting74 of 94: 19 only directing, 55 with another role · typical Midcredits score85thWriting30 of 94: 2 only writing, 28 with another roleProducing25 of 94: 3 only producing, 22 with another role · typical Midcredits score85thEditing2 of 94: 0 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew3 of 94: 2 only other crew, 1 with another role

94 titles, 55 with more than one role — directing and acting overlap on 22 of them.

By decade

1910s45 · 33 acting · 33 crew1920s22 · 1 acting · 22 crew1930s16 · 1 acting · 15 crew1940s8 · crew1970s1 · crew1980s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Ernst Lubitsch's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 84th percentile, the median of all 27; across their 26 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 26

Approval · how many liked their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 26

Reach · how many have seen their films

69thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 26

Midcredits score across 27 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up21
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

18 of their 27 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Crowd Pleaser18
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · writer, producer

Here Is Germany (1945)

64th percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Midcredits 99th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 73/100 and the pacing 56/100 in their films, across 26 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Ernst Lubitsch's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 17 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles7–20 · median 10 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 0 · minimalMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 31 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 15 · minimalMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Ernst Lubitsch work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ernst Lubitsch's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Samson Raphaelson shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers