With a screenplay by Ben Hecht, direction from the great Ernst Lubitsch and impeccable performances from Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins and Edward Everett Horton "Design for Living" is a joy from start to finish. It is, of course, an adaptation of the play by Noel Coward and it's better than the original. A romantic comedy, a sex comedy, it has a sophistication that only Lubitsch could give it and the American cast actually add a dimension that Coward's brittle Britishness lacked. Fans love it but in the Lubitsch canon it isn't that well know. It really shouldn't be missed.

I watched this movie on Disc 1 of the Gary Cooper collection DVD set I ordered from Netflix. This was a wonderful surprise of a movie I barely heard of though, of course, I know of the reputation of its director, Ernst Lubitsch. Adapted from Noel Coward's play but fully rewritten by Ben Hecht, this was a hilarious tale of a menage-a-trios between Gary Cooper, Fredric March, and Mariam Hopkins, three Americans living in Paris. Hopkins works for Edward Everett Horton who fancies her himself but rarely gets anywhere with her until...I'll stop there and just say that I loved every minute of it with those witty lines and occasional visual touches. Really, all I'll say now is Design for Living is such a joy to watch!

What really surprised me about DESIGN FOR LIVING was that Gary Cooper has fun with his role as a Bohemian artist involved in a three-way affair with roommates Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March. No surprise is that Miriam Hopkins is delightful as a free spirit who can't decide which man she loves most and that Fredric March is capable of switching to light comedy when the occasion demands it.But it's Gary Cooper who had my attention in the kind of role he so seldom played and in a performance that's anything but deadpan, which is what his later career in westerns demanded. Under Ernst Lubitsch's direction, he allows himself to unbend and rid himself of any inhibitions, using facial expressions and body language that show he had a flair for comedy to match Hopkins and March.The menage a trois angle is played up in this watered down version of the original Noel Coward play, but Ben Hecht's racy dialogue is evident in this pre-code era. Miriam Hopkins is perfect in the central role of the charming free spirited woman who falls in love with both men, but marries a stuffed shirt business man (Edward Everett Horton) when their relationship cools off. It's an unusual "straight" role for Horton usually assigned to someone like Ralph Bellamy who always played unlucky suitors.Summing up: One of the most enjoyable pre-code romantic comedies from the '30s delivers wit and style and one of Gary Cooper's best early performances.

098: Design for Living (1933) - released 12/29/1933, viewed 6/28/07.DOUG: We reach the end of 1933 at long last, and an excellent finish it is with a highly underrated comedy starring Miriam Hopkins, Gary Cooper, and Fredrich March. If you're looking for great comedies from the 30's and you've already gone through the Marx Brothers, just do a search for "Ernst Lubitsch" and go nuts. A lot of movies from this period date themselves, but somehow Lubitsch's films hold up, with a combination of great writing and great comedic acting that it seems only Lubitsch can bring out. The three leads, Hopkins, Cooper, and March, play characters that you would love to hang out with, people who are witty and cool, inspired, and love to trade quips and barbs with each other with complete honesty. Everybody is just a little bit crazy in that fun, charming, sexy kind of way that Lubitsch does so well. The dialogue is so crisp and so funny. You just don't hear the word "sex" spoken very often in the 30's, so that when you do hear it, as you will several times in this film, it's a little jarring (but in a good way). Also props go out to Everett Van Horten (also from Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise) as the straight man who just can't understand this gang.KEVIN: Wow. Why isn't this movie a classic? Because it is in my book. One of the most enjoyable movies of the year, or next year, or the entire decade I expect, is the hilarious and endlessly quotable Design for Living, directed by Ernst Lubitsch from a play by Noel Coward, starring Gary Cooper, Fredric March, and the always fantastic Miriam Hopkins. There are so few movies I've seen where nearly every line of dialogue is either a joke or is a set up for a joke. Lubitsch and Ben Hecht's fine-tuning of Coward's play brings out an incredible energy that proves Lubitsch's skill not just for silent moments, but great dialogue as well. The three leads give enormously likable standout performances as three struggling artists (two guys and a girl) in star-crossed love, who pour that energy of love into their work. They find success, but it's the emotional companionship that trumps it all. What I love about the story is that these three individuals are all-around good people and whatever happens to them, we really hope that they work it out.Last film: Sons of the Desert (1933). Next film viewed: Wings (1927). Next film chronologically: It Happened One Night (1934).