Josef plays at being both a Casanova and a Prince but, in this comedy of errors, learns that love is a dish best served by candlelight. Director James Whale goes full Lubitsch in this lighthearted farce with excellent pacing and camerawork from his DP John Mescall, who tracks the camera and frames the film to make this talky stage-bound drama visually interesting. W. Franke Harling’s score dominates the film throughout its runtime, often seeming like Carl Stalling’s cartoon music complete with sound effects!
The plot is fairly simple: the Butler Josef (Paul Lukas) meets the beautiful Marie (Elissa Landi) and, believing her to be an Aristocrat, pretends to be his employer Prince Alfred von Romer (Nils Asther) in order to court her. Of course, this all leads to mistaken identities, role playing antics, lots of alcohol consumption, flirting by candlelight (hence the film’s title), all without much accountability except possibly needing a new resume. Josef is finally given away by a solid gold cigarette case before learning of his paramour’s own duplicity! It’s all fluff and circumstance. What I enjoyed most was the relationship between Josef and his boss was shown to be rather intimate and friendly, as the Prince was not condescending or cruel to Josef even when the ruse was discovered: the Prince even spontaneously played the part of Butler to help Josef get the girl! And the call-back comes in the third act with the “blown fuse” (how’s that for subtext) when the Prince, pretending to be a manservant, carries the candelabra into the study as Josef makes his moves on Marie in the dark. Which Josef did in the first act for the Prince, a seeming nightly duty to include fluffing a second pillow for the bed! How’s that for Pre-Code.
The film’s weak point is in the sometimes-annoying performance from Paul Lukas, as he becomes a bit too whiny and whimperish. Elissa Landi as his inamorata is sometimes too strident in her caterwauling (ala I LOVE LUCY) though she plays coy with subtle flair. Nils Asther is fine in the Noble supporting role, playing his character with class and dignity. However, by today’s standards Josef and the Prince probably commit at least a dozen misdemeanor sex crimes against their dates! An enjoyable romantic comedy that doesn’t quite reach screwball status.
Final Grade: (C+)