Carmen (1918)

 

Frantz (2016)

In the aftermath of WWI, a young German who grieves the death of her fiancé in France meets a mysterious Frenchman who visits the fiancé's grave to lay flowers.

A subtle, heart-wrenching tale in beautiful black-and-white imagery straightforwardly dissects the xenophobic bias and its impact on human society.

Design for Living (1933)

A woman cannot decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship.

Despite censorship and unusual casting the is still an amazingly open-minded  and entertaining ménage à trois comedy, made with Ernst Lubitsch's sure hand for such material.


Halliwell**: "Elegant but miscast version of a scintillating play, with all the sex and the sting removed (at the insistence of the Legion of Decency, then coming into power). Ben Hecht claimed to have removed all but one line of Coward's dialogue: 'For the good of our immortal souls!'"

Maltin***: "Most of the witty innuendos are left intact (even if the pacing isn't quite right)."

Heaven Can Wait (1943)

An old roué arrives in Hades to review his life with Satan, who will rule on his eligibility to enter the Underworld.

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.