Lady Windermere's Fan

1925 1h 29m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 48

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A society woman believes her husband is having an affair, a misconception which may have dire personal consequences for all involved.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ronald Colman
Lord Darlington
May McAvoy
Lady Windermere
Bert Lytell
Lord Windermere
Irene Rich
Mrs. Erlynne
Edward Martindel
Lord Augustus Lorton
Carrie Daumery
The Duchess of Berwick
Billie Bennett
Michael Dark

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Writers: Julien Josephson
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

101 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, shot by Charles Van Enger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ernst Lubitsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ronald Colman and May McAvoy and Bert Lytell carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0016004 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ernst Lubitsch directs. Charles Van Enger behind the camera. Ernst Lubitsch cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3101 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, shot by Charles Van Enger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Ernst Lubitsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ronald Colman and May McAvoy and Bert Lytell carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0016004 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 48 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Editing: Ernst Lubitsch
Costume design: Sophie Wachner
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $320,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)

Also by

Ernst Lubitsch

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 7/10
I've got to say that I approached this with much apprehension. An adaptation - admittedly by the genius that was Ernst Lubitsch - of an Oscar Wilde play sans dialogue? No pithy wit, no innuendo or irony? Well, I take my hat off. It's not a great film, but perhaps that's because it's not actually a great story. "Lord Darlington" (Ronald Colman) is keen on "Lady Windermere" (May McAvoy) who is contentedly married to "Lord Windermere" (Bert Lytell). It is only when the glamorous "Mrs. Erlynne" (Irene Rich) gets in touch with Lord "W" with some sensitive information that could upset the entire apple cart that the story starts to take shape. Lord "D" becomes aware that there is something going on between the pair and, bit of a cad that he is, starts sowing some seeds of uncertainty in their marriage. Neither Lord "W" nor "Mrs. E" wish to disclose the nature of their new found relationship, and given the courtesan-like reputation of the older lady, naturally Lady "W" jumps to a few conclusions of her own... Now the intimate camera work comes into it's own. It can't replace the spoken words, but together with some well considered performances it offers us a truly acceptable alternative - indeed it is almost as much fun to try to lip read or, even better, substitute the words we may have chosen ourselves as the scenario gets more precarious. Rich is exactly that, glamorous and stylish and the settings add texture to this really quite remarkable effort. There's no denying that is misses the author's words - but it's still a good film.

Production companies