The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Leopold Jacobson (operetta) and
Felix Dormann (operetta) ...

Release Date:

1 August 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Musical

Plot:

Lieutenant Niki of the Austrian royal guard has a new girlfriend, Franzi. He's crazy about her, and is smiling at her while on duty in the street...

Plot Keywords:

Wink | Lieutenant | Deception | Infidelity | Lingerie

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Maurice Chevalier	...	Lt. Nikolaus 'Niki' von Preyn
Claudette Colbert	...	Franzi
Miriam Hopkins	...	Princess Anna
Charles Ruggles	...	Max (as Charlie Ruggles)
George Barbier	...	King Adolf XV
Hugh O'Connell	...	Niki's Orderly

Runtime:

89 min (cut version) | 93 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Language:

French | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

A French version with dialogue and lyrics by 'Henri Bataille (II)' was shown in New York on 15 October 1931, and was also a big hit in Paris. It had the same three leading actors and probably was a dubbed English print.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the latter part of the movie Chevalier bounds up a grand staircase painted to appear as marble but the loud clomp-clomp-clomp of his shoes reveals it to be just wood.

Quotes:

Franzi: Jazz up your lingerie!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in John Loves Mary (1949)

Soundtrack:

Ach Du Lieber Flausenthurm

Sublime, and almost immoral.

This film is sheer perfection - the Lubitsch Touch is here in spades. This must be one of the most charming films ever made, and it is technically brilliant too for the early talkie era. A fabulous show-case for the talents of three new Paramount stars - Maurice Chevalier has never been better, Claudette Colbert is buoyant - and Miriam Hopkins is an absolute marvel as the innocent princess. When will she be given the adulation she deserves - certainly one of the best actresses of her generation. And George Barbier is also brilliant as her father.

This film could only have been made in the pre-code days - it is very very naughty. The mating pillows is only one example of many sexual innuendos and symbols. But it is all too charming to be offensive to even the most prudish person. One of the best films of the early Thirties.