Made in different times, in different cultural contexts, and following different cinematic traditions, Ernst Lubitsch's German and American films form two distinct oeuvres. The specific characteristics of each are easy to point to: the German period (1913–1923) features Jewish milieu comedies of social integration and historical dramas boasting mass choreographies, whereas the American (1923–1947) is characterized by sophisticated matrimonial comedies and brisk musicals. While the two oeuvres diverge in almost every conceivable sense, however, two films from both sides of the divide—The Merry Jail (Das fidele Gefangnis, Lubitsch, 1917) and So This Is Paris (Lubitsch, 1926)—present intriguing affinities. The resemblance is hardly coincidental: not only are both scripted by Hanns Kraly (like most of Lubitsch's pre-1930 work), but the two scripts are genealogically linked: The Merry Jail takes essential narrative cues from Johann Strauss Jr.'s 1874 operetta The Bat (Die Fledermaus), whose libretto is based, in part, on Ludovic Halevy and Henri Melihac's 1872 play Le Reveillon, of which So This Is Paris is a free adaptation.

Although So This Is Paris restages some scenes from The Merry Jail, the two narratives generally reveal few similarities and one can hardly treat the latter film as a remake of the former. That said, the two films present thematic and stylistic similarities—and also, as we shall see, structural oppositions—to an extent that begs comparative scrutiny. Particularly, their intermedial integration of such objects and media as doors, windows, letters, and the radio appears instructive with reference to changes in the director's cinematic vision with respect to the two productions.