The Smiling Lieutenant

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Louisa E I found this movie a little distasteful. The plot made me loathe the male lead (Chevalier), which I'm sure was not the point of the movie. The moral of the story seemed to be that to be loveable, you need to change who you are to be modern and suggestive. It just felt a tad misogynistic. Chevalier movies seem to have such similar sets and roles that in feels like a pre-cursor to the way Elvis' movies were made. The acting was ok but not memorable. In fact, I had seen this movie before but the only way I could tell is that I'd rated it on IMDB as I had no recollection of the film at all! 6.2/10 Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/09/23 Full Review peter w Probably a good diversion for Depression-era audiences with a setting in opulent Vienna where Max and Niki share a common interested in Franzie who conducts an all-girl orchestra. Niki's smile to Franzi is misconstrued as a smile to the sexually-repressed Princess Annas. A farce ensues with a resolution when Franzi sings "Jazz up your Lingerie." Anna's repressions are released awakening renewed attraction from Niki. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This was Paramount's biggest grosser of 1931. Technically it is the most accomplished of Lubitsch's early sound films. This film became known as the, "Lubitsch Touch." The elegant u se of the Superjoke. You had a joke, you felt satisfied, and then there was one more big joke on top of it. The joke you didn't expect. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review steve d Not much here but the cast is as good as ever. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Whether a light musical released today could become one of the highest grossing films of the year is debatable this movie was a massive hit in 1931 and gave Ernst Lubitsch two Best Picture nominated films in 1932. In a way this film made me sad that we do not see films of this sort produced now as while they are fluffy and completely lacking in substance there are few directors who can handle a wacky romantic comedy like Ernst Lubitsch. I found the film to be enjoyable in spite of it's lack of a real plot because the performers are incredible and all working at the height of their powers and the film allowed me to relax after watching heavy films like Alice Adams (1935) and Dodsworth (1936). In the early 1930s in Vienna, Austria Princess Anna of Flausenthurm, Miriam Hopkins, comes to visit from the neighboring country with her protective father King Adolf XV, George Barbier. While attending a parade she believes that she has received a suggestive smile and wink from Lieutenant Nikolaus "Niki" von Preyn, and this story becomes widely circulated in newspapers. In actuality von Preyn was attempting to flirt with his girlfriend, sexy conductor and violinist Franzi, Claudette Colbert, but accidentally locked eyes with Anna. He is roped into marrying Anna against his will but theirs is an unhappy union as he does not sleep with her and often sneaks off to visit Franzi. He and Franzi enjoy their time together as he hires policemen to ‘arrest' her and then protect them while they spend time together. Anna eventually discovers his secret but when she meets Franzi the latter chooses to mentor her and make her the ideal wife for von Preyn before departing herself to let the couple experience marital bliss. For all of the apparent turmoil that occurred during the production of the film with the rivalry between Colbert and Hopkins, issues with the location and Chevalier's grief making his performance difficult to deliver the film comes off as effortless. The screenplay, written and rewritten by several notable scribes, bounces along at an alarming rate as there seems to be a joke every minute and despite the lack of plot developments there is always something of interest happening on screen. We receive excellent introductions to all of our leading characters as the father-daughter relationship between Anna and Adolf was reminiscent of the relationship between Jean and Colonel Harrington in The Lady Eve (1941). We find ourselves laughing and smiling as these often improbable figures go about their days with entirely un-relatable problems weighing them down. Chevalier's presence is essential to the success of the film as with his cheeky grins and unflappability he is the perfect star for a film of this sort as he immediately assuages any fears that audiences may have over having to interact with real issues in the film. He is not a roguish French charmer like the later Louis Jourdan or Alain Delon and offers a pleasant countenance while playing the type of foreign fool who appeals to American and British audiences who want to feel superior while sharing in his carefree spirit. He is joined by Colbert, just three years before her incredible 1934 in which she starred in Cleopatra (1934), It Happened One Night (1934) and Imitation of Life (1934), who displays all of the feistiness and subtlety that would make her one of the defining leading ladies of her era. Hopkins, who had a penchant for giving hammy performances, gets a role that she can really sink her teeth into as she gets the regality and confusion of her privileged but inexperienced princess to a t. Lubitsch surely had a hand in all this as Chevalier did his best work with him and could fall into irksome tics when in the hands of a less skillful director like Joshua Logan. The whole thing is harmless fun and that is something to be appreciated when so many comedies rely on vulgarity and rude jokes that are disgusting and most importantly not funny. I think that it is important that we look back and appreciate the fact that entertainment like this brought joy to people in a time of suffering and because it is so good natured it is very easy to like. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Smiling Lieutenant

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