The 27 Jun 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review announced that Ernst Lubitsch would be directing an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s 1892 play, Lady Windermere’s Fan, for Warner Bros. Pictures. According to the 24 Oct 1925 Moving Picture World, the rights to Wilde’s drama “were long sought after unsuccessfully by film producers,” but Wilde’s estate would grant consent to a motion picture version on condition that Ernst Lubitsch was the director.
       The 18 Jul 1925 reported that production would soon begin; however, the start was delayed until Sep 1925. The 13 Aug 1925 FD and the 15 Aug 1925 Moving Picture World stated that Clive Brook had been cast as “Lord Darlington,” but he was later replaced by Ronald Colman.
       According to the 23 Aug 1925 FD, art and technical director Harold Grieve was loaned to Warner Bros. to work on the picture.
       On 3 Oct 1925, Motion Picture News announced that principal photography on Lady Windermere’s Fan began the previous week at the Warner West Coast Studio in Los Angeles, CA.
       The 8 Oct 1925 FD and the 17 Oct 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review reported that the production had just completed filming exterior scenes in Toronto, CA, marking the end of principal photography. The 24 Oct 1925 Moving Picture World stated that the production had filmed for several days at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, noting that the location was amongst the farthest away for a Warner production to travel from its studio in CA. The Jan 1926 AmCin reported that Edwin B Du Par accompanied the production as an assistant cameraman.
       The 28 Nov 1925 Moving Picture World announced that Lubitsch was currently editing the film. The release date was anticipated in thirty days.
       A world premiere gala screening was held on 1 Dec 1925 in New York City at the Casa Lopez, according to the 5 Dec 1925 Moving Picture World. The invitation-only event was attended by 200 “prominent” guests, and was preceded by “an elaborate dinner-dance,” held in honor of actress Irene Rich. Vincent Lopez’s orchestra played throughout, and the gala was broadcast over the radio.
       On 6 Dec 1925, the FD review declared Lady Windermere’s Fan “one of the greatest pictures ever made,” noting Lubitsch’s “masterful touch” in translating Wilde’s material from page to screen.
       Twentieth Century-Fox produced another adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play in 1949, under the title The Fan. That version was directed by Otto Preminger and starred Jeanne Crain and George Sanders (see entry). More Less