Introduced by Professor William Nestrick The opening shot sets the mood of this exquisite jewel of a comedy: A gondolier is heard sweetly warbling in the Venetian night; passing by the camera, he is revealed to be the Grand Canal's garbage collector. Made at the height of the Depression, the aptly titled Trouble in Paradise mocked the earnestness of the period. ("In times like these...") Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins are two underclass types masquerading as European sophisticates-and, much like the viewer, relishing the charade and their mutual attraction. ("One gets so tired of one's own class..." after all). Both jewel thieves in their better moments, they are outlaw lovers in the best tradition: "Remember, you are a crook," she exhorts, "I love you as a crook." In Paris, they insinuate themselves into the Art Deco world of lonely millionairess Kay Francis. Lubitsch's unique architecture of space plays into the strange passions of this threesome as much as it dwarfs conventional emotions. Desire is as real and as mutable as the material world. "I remember the lamp," Marshall coos, "I remember the night table, and I remember the night."