Romeo and Juliet in the Snow (Original Title: Romeo und Julia im Schnee) is a 1920 silent comedy Setting Update of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
In a tiny village in the snowy German mountains of Schwarzwald, the families Capulethofer and Montekugerl are caught in a long-running feud. Julia Capulethofer (Lotte Neumann) is set to be married to Paris (Julius Falkenstein), but falls in Love at First Sight with the dashing Romeo Montekugerl (Gustav von Wangenheim), who has just returned from a year of military service.
The film is a Denser and Wackier Affectionate Parody of the source material, with a significantly happier ending. Ernst Lubitsch was a big fan of the Bard, (having a background as a Shakesperean stage actor), and this was one of two adaptations of the playwright's works the director made in 1920. The other — Kohlhiesel's Daughters, based on The Taming of the Shrew — was released only three days earlier.
This movie contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Julia’s father chases her around the house with a carpet whip, whacking furiously at her, after she accidentally drops a rug on him. She’s only saved from a beating by a well-aimed snowball, courtesy of Romeo. He also threatens her with a closed fist when seeing her dance with Romeo, and slaps her and threatens to cut her hair when she’s unwilling to get engaged to Paris.
- Adaptation Name Change: The names of our protagonists have been Germanized as part of the film's Cultural Translation. Subverted in some subtitled versions, which restores the English play names.
- Age Lift: Julia's age is never stated, though actress Lotte Neumann was twenty-four at the time, and there's no indication that she's meant to be thirteen like Juliet was in Shakespeare's play.
- Angry Guard Dog: The Capulethofers own one, which chases Romeo into their house, forcing Julia to hide him underneath her bed.
- Awesome Byt Impractical: The wings on Paris’s angel costume. The look pretty impressive, but make it impossible for him to use many of the chairs at the masquerade ball, while also being so poorly secured that they fall off after just a short walk.
- Bait-and-Switch: Having been away for several years, Romeo asks what’s new in the family, and is shocked to hear that they have fourteen boys now. Turns out that they were talking about their family sow’s piglets...
- Bedroom Trick: Sort of. Romeo disguises himself in Paris’s angel costume to court Julia in public at the masquerade ball. She realizes who he is when he kisses her, but not before that.
- Big Eater: Paris, to the point of being the only person to not leave the dinner table after hearing that Julia — his fiancée — has run off with another guy and supposedly killed herself.
- Dramatic Drop: This film’s version of the balcony scene has Romeo and Julia — who live right across the street from one another— spot each other through their windows. Julia drops the carpet she’s shaking out of stock, and it lands on her father, setting off his Hair-Trigger Temper.
- Duel to the Death: Alluded to When Tyblat tries going after Romeo with his sword. Subverted when the fight never actually happens.
- Economy Cast: The cast has been trimmed down to just Romeo, Julia, their respective parents, Paris and Tybalt, with a judge, a town constable and an apotecharian appearing in incidental roles.
- Feuding Families: Exaggerated in typical Lubitsch fashion. Somebody sticking his tounge out ends up starting a street brawl involving seemingly every villager in the surrounding area. The whole thing is then immediately broken up by the arrival of a single policeman.
- Lighter and Softer: Very much so. The family feud is Played for Laughs, and nobody actually dies.
- Long Neck: Some of the attendants at the masquerade ball wear costumes creating the illusion of this. Presumably their real heads are hidden in said necks.
- Mundane Utility: Tyblat ends up using his sword to cut himself a slice of bread.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Like in Shakespeare’s play, the heads of the families go through this when they find the bodies of the two young lovers. Here however, the sorrow quickly turns to joy once they’re revealed to be Not Quite Dead.
- Noodle Incident: It’s never revealed what argument the two families went to court over to begin with.
- Playing Possum: Played With. Both Romeo and Julia really are fully intent on killing themselves here, but when the ”poison” fails to work, they end up playing dead anyway when the Capulethofers enter the scene.
- The Real Remington Steele: Romeo manages to impersonate Paris by having him Mugged for Disguise, until his ruse is exposed When the real Paris returns.
- Recycled In Space: It is — if the title didn't already make that clear — Romeo and Juliet...IN A SNOWY GERMAN MOUNTAIN VILLAGE!
- Scales of Justice: Parodied. The Judge uses an actual scale to weigh the sausages both of the families send him as bribes.
- Setting Update: Unlike the Verona of Shakespeare’s play, this village has a then-modern fire station and police force.
- Snowball Fight: Several. Even the Meet Cute between Romeo and Julia starts out with the former throwing a snowball on the latter. Later, another snowball fight starts between Herr Capulethofer and Herr Montekugerl.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Here, the youg lovers really are planning to commit suicide, but the Apothecary sells them "poison" consisting of sugar water, meaning that neither of them actually dies here.
- Young Love Versus Old Hate: Well, it is still Romeo and Juliet adaptation, so this trope remains a driving force of the plot.
- Why Won't You Die?: An unusual consensual version when Romeo and Julia try in vain to carry out their suicide pact.
