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With: Pola Negri, Victor Janson, Paul Heidemann, Wilhelm Diegelmann, Hermann Thimig, Edith Meller, Marga Köhler, Paul Graetz, Max Gronert, Erwin Kopp, Paul Biensfeldt
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Written by: Ernst Lubitsch, Hanns Kräly
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Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch
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MPAA Rating: NR
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Running Time: 82
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Date: 04/14/1921
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The Way We Purr
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Ernst Lubitsch's The Wildcat (1921) is a masterpiece that ranks with the director's greatest work. In it, a young lieutenant, a relentless lover of many women, travels to a new assignment at a remote fort. On the way, bandits descend upon him and the daughter of the bandit leader (Pola Negri) falls madly for him. Unfortunately, the captain's daughter also has fallen for him. Lubitsch's unique style and timing snapped securely into place with this film, and his presence is unmistakable. The opening scenes alone, with a group of soldiers roused from bed for duty, shows an uncanny feel for onscreen space, rhythm and cutting. Lubitsch also deliberately spoofs Griffith with his hilarious use of frame masking. Rather than using a circle or a couple of lines to block out the frame and direct attention to one spot, he uses globs, stars, zigzags and other weird shapes. (See also: Lubitsch in Berlin.)
In 2023, Kino Lorber released a beautiful Blu-ray edition with an unbelievably sharp image (although not without a few scratches here and there). The score was recorded in 2000 by Marco Dalpane. There's a commentary track by historian Anthony Slide, and we get a second Lubitsch film, the 37-minute When I Was Dead (1916). This release is Highly Recommended.
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