Tonight's Movies: The Oyster Princess (1919) and Meyer From Berlin (1919) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

Fans of the great director Ernst Lubitsch have had a special treat from Kino Lorber this summer with the release of a pair of two-film sets of Lubitsch silents.

The first set, reviewed here, contains two films released the same year, THE OYSTER PRINCESS (1919) and MEYER FROM BERLIN (1919).

The second set has THE DOLL (1919) and I DON'T WANT TO BE A MAN (1918).

All four films have commentary tracks by Lubitsch scholar Joseph McBride, author of the 2018 book HOW DID LUBITSCH DO IT? Together they comprise what some might term "film school in a box," a chance to study several early Lubitsch films alongside one of the director's biographers. (Scott Eyman also wrote a wonderful Lubitsch book, LAUGHTER IN PARADISE; the McBride and Eyman books are both "essentials.")

I'll note here that I was fortunate to see McBride speak at a Lubitsch series at UCLA the year of his book's publication. THE OYSTER PRINCESS (1919) was one of the films I saw in that series; my review from that screening is here.

THE OYSTER PRINCESS is labeled "A Grotesque Comedy," and indeed, watching it underscored my memories from 2018 that Lubitsch's silent films are quite different tonally from his later work.

While a sound film like TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932) is a lighter-than-air souffle, Lubitsch's European silents are something else again, melding dark and distasteful elements alongside some genuinely amusing comedy. Seeing his early work provides fascinating insight into how Lubitsch's style developed over time; as the years went on he dropped crass bits for greater -- and much more effective -- subtlety.

THE OYSTER PRINCESS is Ossi (Ossi Oswalda), the spoiled brat daughter of the American "oyster king" (Victor Janson).

Father and daughter are in Europe, and Ossi throws a tantrum demanding to marry a prince. Her father obliges by "buying" her the impoverished Prince Nucki (Harry Liedtke). Ossi unknowingly marries his friend Josef (Julius Falkenstein), believing him to be the prince, then meets and immediately falls for the real prince.

The film's short 60-minute running time helps keep the movie a mostly good time, though some of the same scenes which bothered me last time around had not improved in the past five years. I also still laughed at some of the funnier moments, such as Ossi preparing for her marriage by learning infant care. There's also a delightful scene with hordes of people dancing the foxtrot.

The score for this film was performed by Aljoscha Zimmermann and Ensemble. According to one source I found, it was recorded in 2006.

The second film in the set, the 58-minute MEYER FROM BERLIN (1919), was completely new to me.

I found it mildly entertaining; while it's a lesser film, it's of historical interest in part as Lubitsch himself starred in the title role. 

Lubitsch plays Solly, an egotistical womanizer who persuades his doctor to order him to rest in the Alps, away from his wife (Paula Orff). His wife is quite pretty, so it's a bit puzzling that Solly not only wants to leave her behind but chases after multiple women, including Kitty (Trude Troll).

Solly reluctantly agrees to climb a mountain as part of courting Kitty, but needless to say things don't go as planned, given that Solly's wife and Kitty's sweetheart (Heinz Landsmann) show up in hot pursuit.

I found the film a bit tiresome as Solly is such an oddball, from the very long feather in his alpine cap to his simultaneous social awkwardness and arrogance.  The film's fast pace works in its favor, and I also loved the film's beautiful colored tints which change from scene to scene.

Both movies in the set were filmed by Theodor Sparkuhl; Alfred Hansen is also credited on MEYER FROM BERLIN.

The new organ score for MEYER FROM BERLIN was composed and performed by Brett Miller.

Given how short the movies are, this is a one-disc set. The prints of both films look quite good, especially considering that they are each over a century old. MEYER FROM BERLIN, in particular, has age-related "bubbles" and other marks, offset by the previously mentioned lovely colors. Especially considering how many silent films no longer exist, I feel fortunate that these films have been preserved looking as good as they do.

The sole extras are the previously mentioned commentary tracks by Joseph McBride.

I'll be reviewing Kino Lorber's set containing THE DOLL and I DON'T WANT TO BE A MAN at a future date.  (Update: Here is the review of that set!)

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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