Lubitsch seized upon the advent of sound films to direct musicals. With his first sound film, "The Love Parade" (1929), starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, Lubitsch hit his stride as a maker of worldly musical comedies (and earned himself another Oscar nomination). "The Love Parade" (1929), "Monte Carlo" (1930), and "The Smiling Lieutenant" (1931) were hailed by critics as masterpieces of the newly emerging musical genre. Lubitsch served on the faculty of the University of Southern California for a time.