The most prolific director to make his way over to America after breaking ground and blazing trails in Germany was none other than Ernst Lubitsch—the legendary comic filmmaker who made Garbo laugh in Ninotchka (1939) and Hitler the fool in eviscerative satire To Be or Not to Be (1942). His signature elegance and wit led to an ingenious moniker by which many recognize him still today: the famed "Lubitsch Touch," an at once inexplicable phenomena of his comic mastery which continues to set him apart even from those who studied arduously under his tutelage. But how exactly did Lubitsch come to be this respected emigre of sensitivity and taste? Was he always a comic master, or did he have to work his way up the ranks and establish himself within a burgeoning post-war industry which favored artistry and expressionism over bawdy bedroom humor and slapstick antics? Was Lubitsch respected in his home country before moving to America, or did his prestige simply manifest as a result of foreign bohemian charm? The legacy of Lubitsch is far more than his iconic American career, and through the lens of a nearly lost Egyptian epic of his, we're able to explore and discuss the multifaceted as continuously adaptive career of one of the screen's most legendary directorial voices. Herr Ernst Lubitsch: 00:00 - 49:31Das Weib des Phrarao/The Loves of Pharaoh (1922): 49:32 - 1:07:04Many thanks to Graham Austin and Jack Davenport for the creation of our beautiful logo art and theme music respectively.Many thanks to Graham Austin and Jack Davenport for the creation of our beautiful logo art and theme music respectively.