Antonius Block
I'll be honest, Claudette Colbert is very cute and she made this movie for me. The plot has a somewhat dippy Maurice Chevalier marrying a Princess (Miriam Hopkins) to avoid an international incident, thus breaking his lover's (Colbert's) heart. When she arranges to meet up with him anyway, she's caught by Hopkins, and after a mutual, (hilariously overwrought) cry, she tells Hopkins (in song) that in order to keep Chevalier, "Jazz Up Your Lingerie". The movie is pre-Code which made scenes like that possible, as well as allude to unmarried sex between Colbert and Chevalier, and Hopkins's desire to consummate her marriage. This naughtiness is also part of the movie's charm. It's interesting that the movie wrong-foots us by having the 'wrong girl' get the man. A big hit in 1931 and nominated by the Academy for Best Picture, it's still very watchable 85 years later.
wes-connors
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
mark.waltz
An army lieutenant (Maurice Chevalier) finds love in two completely different places-a cabaret and the palace. In this fictional European country (with a funny name that the country folk can't even pronounce!), the king's daughter (Miriam Hopkins) falls in love with the King's bodyguard (Chevalier), unaware that he is very much in love with the violin player (Claudette Colbert) of a popular girl's orchestra. But when you're the princess, you can get what you want, and she pleads with papa to get permission from the Holy Roman Emperor to marry the lieutenant, whether he likes it or not."Hi, Emp!", the King gleefully says to the Big Man of Europe (after the pope...), getting permission, and stunning Chevaliere into silence and Colbert into tears. But this edict won't make Chevalier consummate the wedding night, so Hopkinsfinds herself playing checkers with papa after Chevalier tells her that you never wink at a husband, only a lover or mistress. "Schnitzel to you!", he adds to the king, heading right back to Colbert.This is motion picture operetta at its best with a pleasant musical score, rhythmic dialog, and enough sexual innuendo to fill up legal documents by the volumes had it been made after the code. Paramount filled several movies with fictional European countries, so when Groucho Marx became dictator of Fredonia in 1933's "Duck Soup", he had a lot of material to spoof. Hopkins transforms from an impish brat into sexy vamp, getting rid of those Princess Leia like rolls on the side of her head when Colbert (in her second film with Chevalier) is charmingly alluring. And when Colbert get together to sing a duet about lingerie, it turns into magical movie heaven.
bkoganbing
It must have been that the movie-going public loved seeing Maurice Chevalier in those tight uniforms, he seemed to be in them in most of those early talkies he made for American studios. Only now and again would Chevalier play something as prosaic as a tailor.He's a guardsman again in The Smiling Lieutenant. But with the Austrian Empire at peace all the men have a lot of idle time on their hands. Maurice is busy planning his latest campaign when a friend played by Charlie Ruggles asks him with that Chevalier charm to intercede for him with a female violinist in Claudette Colbert.Maurice does, but the sly rogue gets her for himself. And then he's put on duty to greet the visiting royal house of Flausenthurm which includes King George Barbier and Princess Miriam Hopkins.In one of those priceless Ernst Lubitsch moments, Chevalier while at attention spots Colbert across the street and throws a few knowing smiles and winks. But when the coach carrying Barbier and Hopkins passes, Hopkins intercepts one of those winks and considers it an uncalled for act upon a royal personage.In fact she likes what she sees and persuades Daddy to get the Emperor who's her uncle to part with Chevalier. Of course Maurice the old campaigner likes the idea of being married to the dowdy Hopkins if he's got Claudette on the side.I won't go any farther, but as you can see just by what I tell you The Smiling Lieutenant is a film made before the Code was put in place. In fact the naughtiness of films like these is what got Hollywood the Code. But it's what also makes it hold up very well for today's audience.No big song hits come from The Smiling Lieutenant, but Chevalier delivers what's there with his Gallic charm. Even Hopkins and Colbert grab a chorus or two with Maurice. Music is by Oscar Straus with English lyrics by Clifford Grey.This is before the Code so you have some freedom as to how this film will end, the parameters the Code put in place are no longer there. I should say however that Miriam Hopkins gets a makeover that Paul Venoit and his team would envy.
AD
