Cluny Brown, this film was Ernst Lubitsch’s last; A paragon of wit and of sophisticated charm…
A Nineteen-Forty-Six film gazing into a European past;
(’38, to be precise…) A Fox Production with an eclectic cast. At first it seems philosopher C. Boyer wants, with his martinis, to do would-be plumber J. Jones some harm…
But soon we come to understand exactly why he...if not blinkered she, holds fast:
His love is true; Cluny is (although she doesn't fully know it yet), like he, an outcast. They could in fact make do at an estate, in a townhouse, or at a farm—
It matters not; their matching life outlooks could carve a future quite vast;
Even if their class-blind mating makes all of Britain’s proper classes go aghast. Because...he’s a highbrow Czech refugee, and she’s from such a plebian caste as to cause alarm;
Nevertheless, our man Ernst will concoct a happy ending that’s a completely refreshing blast…
The edition poeticized above is a very solid Region 2 DVD from BFI Video.