I Don't Want to Be a Man
About I Don't Want to Be a Man
Ossi is tired of her guardian, Dr. Kersten. She dresses as a man and goes to a ball. Kersten is there, courting a woman. Ossi tries to cut in, then the two of them drink, smoke, and kiss. A cab driver swaps their addresses. She wakes in his house and he wakes in hers. Still in the suit, she says she is visiting her cousin Ossi and makes him promise not to tell his ward. Upstairs she starts to undress. He walks in, sees the suit, and she scolds him. He kisses her.
Cast & crew
More about I Don't Want to Be a Man
Ernst Lubitsch directed. He and Hanns Kräly wrote it. Paul Davidson produced it for PAGU. UFA distributed it. Theodor Sparkuhl photographed it. It was shot at Tempelhof and released on October 1, 1918. Wikipedia times a print at 41 minutes at 20 frames per second. Wikidata also lists 45 and 55 minutes. Ossi Oswalda plays Ossi. Curt Goetz plays Dr. Kersten. Ferry Sikla, Margarete Kupfer, and Victor Janson are billed. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Themes
Making
Lubitsch shot the ball and the two bedrooms at Tempelhof, with Oswalda in a man's suit.
Look
Theodor Sparkuhl shot the ball and the morning after, when the suit comes off.
Preservation
A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- The German title is Ich möchte kein Mann sein.
- The kiss happens while she is still dressed as a man.
- The cab driver is the one who exchanges the two houses.
- The 41-minute figure is for a print run at 20 frames a second.
Scenes
- Ossi and Kersten kiss in the cab, both drunk, while she is in the suit.
- He finds her undressing and sees who was at the ball.
