IMDb RATING
7.2/10
4.7K
YOUR RATING
After learning her multi-millionaire fiancé has already been married seven times, the daughter of a penniless marquis decides to tame him.After learning her multi-millionaire fiancé has already been married seven times, the daughter of a penniless marquis decides to tame him.After learning her multi-millionaire fiancé has already been married seven times, the daughter of a penniless marquis decides to tame him.
Mariska Aldrich
- Nurse at Door
- (uncredited)
Leon Ames
- Ex-Chauffeur
- (uncredited)
Lenore Aubert
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Eugene Borden
- Waiter on the Stairs
- (uncredited)
Barlowe Borland
- Uncle Fernandel
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was the first collaboration of director Ernst Lubitsch with writers Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder. At their first production meeting, Lubitsch posed this question: "How do the boy and girl get together?". Wilder promptly suggested that the opening scene should be in the men's shop of a department store. "The boy is trying to buy a pajama," he extemporized, "but he sleeps only in the tops. He is thrifty so he insists on buying ONLY the tops. The clerk says he must buy the pants, too. It looks like a catastrophe. Then the girl comes into the shop and buys the pants because she sleeps only in the pants." Lubitsch and Brackett were enchanted with this idea. Months later, they discovered that Wilder himself was a pajama tops-only sleeper and had been contemplating this idea for months, waiting for a chance to use it in a comedy.
- GoofsWhen Nicole shuts the door to her part of the apartment to keep Michael out, you can hear her locking it. But throughout the film there is no keyhole or lock visible on either side of her door.
- Quotes
Nicole de Loiselle: [sarcastically] Mr. Brandon, you're terrific. You're gigantic! You're - you're breathtaking. I wish someone would tell you what I really think of you.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema: The Romcom (2018)
- SoundtracksHere Comes Cookie
(1935) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Performed by Gary Cooper (vocal and piano)
Featured review
Conflicting Bluebeard
Claudette Colbert. Gary Cooper. Edward Everett Horton. The great Ernst Lubitsch, with one of the most distinctive directing styles of any director that even has its own name as director. Billy Wilder, a terrific director himself, with a writing credit. That the 30s is one of my favourite decades in film and 'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife' in type of story sounded like something that would be enjoyable to me. So the potential was quite large, the potential for it to be great.
'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife', having said all of that, could have been a lot better. Great potential with enough to recommend but for my personal tastebuds it doesn't completely come off and for Lubitsch it is quite a big disappointment, especially considering that it came from a very good period for him. But not because it didn't try, it and everyone involved, very much did try. If anything this was a case of trying too hard. While one can totally see what Colbert's appeal was watching her performance here, this is not a good representation of Cooper.
There are good things. It is beautifully filmed and do love Colbert's wardrobe, she always did look lovely in her films. It is scored with the right amount of energy and lushness. There are signs of brilliance in Lubitsch's direction and his uniquely deft mix of wit and sophisticated elegance. The script does boast some wonderfully witty lines, and as others have said 'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife' has some great moments too. The biggest delights being Colbert's drunk scene and especially the opening sequence. The slapping scene is surprisingly clever and amusing for something that could have easily been distasteful.
Furthermore Colbert is terrific, she radiates on screen, her comic timing is on point. Horton as always steals his scenes, comedy comes so easy to him. Likewise with Herman Bing.
Did think however that there were too many times where the humour could have been sharper and even more subtle. As said, other efforts of Lubitsch and Wilder show off their different styles more. Wilder is usually more consistently wittier than this and Lubitsch's elegant touch is not quite as elegant to usual. As said, there were times where it does feel like 'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife' was trying too hard which made the story particularly later on feel contrived.
Namely towards the end where the material lost its freshness, and actually though that the treatment of David Niven (doing his best in the wrong role)'s character was on the mean-spirited side. Cooper seemed too amiable to me in playing a character meant to be a jerk and he doesn't look at ease. A few nice moments aside, like their first scene, their chemistry doesn't quite gel properly.
Altogether, watchable but disappointing. 5/10
'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife', having said all of that, could have been a lot better. Great potential with enough to recommend but for my personal tastebuds it doesn't completely come off and for Lubitsch it is quite a big disappointment, especially considering that it came from a very good period for him. But not because it didn't try, it and everyone involved, very much did try. If anything this was a case of trying too hard. While one can totally see what Colbert's appeal was watching her performance here, this is not a good representation of Cooper.
There are good things. It is beautifully filmed and do love Colbert's wardrobe, she always did look lovely in her films. It is scored with the right amount of energy and lushness. There are signs of brilliance in Lubitsch's direction and his uniquely deft mix of wit and sophisticated elegance. The script does boast some wonderfully witty lines, and as others have said 'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife' has some great moments too. The biggest delights being Colbert's drunk scene and especially the opening sequence. The slapping scene is surprisingly clever and amusing for something that could have easily been distasteful.
Furthermore Colbert is terrific, she radiates on screen, her comic timing is on point. Horton as always steals his scenes, comedy comes so easy to him. Likewise with Herman Bing.
Did think however that there were too many times where the humour could have been sharper and even more subtle. As said, other efforts of Lubitsch and Wilder show off their different styles more. Wilder is usually more consistently wittier than this and Lubitsch's elegant touch is not quite as elegant to usual. As said, there were times where it does feel like 'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife' was trying too hard which made the story particularly later on feel contrived.
Namely towards the end where the material lost its freshness, and actually though that the treatment of David Niven (doing his best in the wrong role)'s character was on the mean-spirited side. Cooper seemed too amiable to me in playing a character meant to be a jerk and he doesn't look at ease. A few nice moments aside, like their first scene, their chemistry doesn't quite gel properly.
Altogether, watchable but disappointing. 5/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- Dec 11, 2019
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Osma žena Plavobradog
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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By what name was Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) officially released in India in English?
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