In old Vienna, lieutenant playboy Maurice Chevalier (as Nikolaus "Niki" von Preyn) woos cute violinist Claudette Colbert (as Franzi) into an affair. The lovers are deliriously happy, but not for long. When Mr. Chevalier makes flirty love-muffin faces at Ms. Colbert during a parade, relatively plain Miriam Hopkins (as Princess Anna) rides by in her carriage and catches him winking at her highness. Royal father George Barbier (as King Adolf XV) expects Chevalier to atone for the affront by taking Ms. Hopkins' hand in marriage...
This high-brow comedy-musical is very nicely produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It placed third in the annual "New York Times" list and was one of eight 1931 pictures noticed by the folks giving out "Academy Awards" for excellence. The story starts out naughty but ends up nice. Hugh O'Connell (as Niki's orderly) and Charles Ruggles (as Max) lend funny supporting performances. The musical highlight is "Jazz up Your Lingerie" as sung by Colbert and Hopkins; after all these years, that's still good advice.
****** The Smiling Lieutenant (7/10/31) Ernst Lubitsch ~ Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins, George Barbier
This high-brow comedy-musical is very nicely produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It placed third in the annual "New York Times" list and was one of eight 1931 pictures noticed by the folks giving out "Academy Awards" for excellence. The story starts out naughty but ends up nice. Hugh O'Connell (as Niki's orderly) and Charles Ruggles (as Max) lend funny supporting performances. The musical highlight is "Jazz up Your Lingerie" as sung by Colbert and Hopkins; after all these years, that's still good advice.
****** The Smiling Lieutenant (7/10/31) Ernst Lubitsch ~ Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins, George Barbier