This article written by Andrew Sarris basically focuses on the American period of Ernst Lubitsch. It starts with some general comments on his good manners, and then briefly mentions the Lubitsch’s short German Period. He argues, as an American director, Lubitsch had few remarkable films which are however neglected, like The Merry Widow and To Be or Not to Be. The Critics said a lot about the miscast actor, but not mentioned the stylistic features of those films.
Then it turns to analyze the representative and featured films during his career, and also introduce the history, especially his ‘golden age’ in the 30s, and the 40s, which things were quite different. The author explains the effects of censorship after 1934 on his films. He raises The Smiling Lieutenant as an example of Lubitsch’s outstanding sensitivity as a director, poor sensitivity as a producer. It also mentions the Angel, which is considered as his best but most anachronistically civilized film.
In the 40s, it was clear that his film was increasingly reflective and sombre, which made people start to thinks he is out of his ‘touch’ with the tastes if time. He tried to regain the success in the past, but anyway, it seems he did not made it at the end.