That Uncertain Feeling

They know all about love...and they teach you all they know...when they get That Uncertain Feeling!

In 1941, with That Uncertain Feeling, director Ernst Lubitsch remade his silent Kiss Me Again of 1925. (Both were, in fact, based on the play Let's Get A Divorce.)

Lubitsch supposedly said, "At least twice a day the most dignified human being is ridiculous." That thought runs through most of his films, and goes a long way toward describing the often discussed "Lubitsch Touch."

Here, Park Avenue socialite Merle Oberon, sporting gowns from Irene, breaks out in psychosomatic hiccups at the mere mention of her marriage to insurance man Melvyn Douglas. In the office of her psychiatrist, she meets Burgess Meredith, a malcontented concert pianist also seeking treatment. She falls for him and the hiccups stop.

From there, That Uncertain Feeling progresses in typical Ernst Lubitsch fashion, as Douglas and Oberon move toward divorce.

The entire cast is terrific, as you'd expect. Burgess Meredith is hilarious as the obnoxious Sebastian, a part rumored to have been based on Oscar Levant. Lending able support are Eve Arden and Alan Mowbray.

By the way, Werner Heymann's score received an Oscar nomination.