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Ernst Lubitsch's (1892-1947) historical costume film Madame Dubarry (Germany, 1919; American release title: Passion) was an overwhelming success, leading ultimately to his departure for Hollywood in 1922. Many leftist critics saw it as a trivialization of the French Revolution. Kracauer wrote that the film "reduces the Revolution to a derivative of private passions" (49). But the film's psycho-sexual dynamics do have a politics: they are very much connected to the politics of class, gender, ethnicity, and race. And, like many of Lubitsch's comedies, this film is about an outsider's drive for upward mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]