The Smiling Lieutenant

Director: Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch

Overview

Maurice Chevalier plays a 19th century Viennese lieutenant, conducting an affair with sexy violinist Claudette Colbert. While publicly flirting with Colbert, Chevalier is spotted by a dowdy princess (Miriam Hopkins), who thinks that the lieutenant's wink was meant for her. Forced to marry the Princess, Chevalier despairs at her lack of charm. But good-hearted Colbert takes the princess aside, dolls her up, and instructs her how to bewitch--and keep--her man. Chevalier is enchanted by the "new" princess, while Colbert, who will have no trouble finding someone else to keep her warm and comfortable, cheerfully sashays out of his life. Long thought lost, The Smiling Lieutenant was rediscovered in an East European vault in the 1970s.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/17/2015
UPC:	0025192262982
Original Release:	1931
Source:	Universal Mod
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	48,411

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Claudette Colbert	Franzi
Maurice Chevalier	Lieutenant Niki
Miriam Hopkins	Princess Anna
Charles Ruggles	Max,Max
George Barbier	King Adolf XV
Hugh O'Connell	Orderly
Elizabeth Patterson	Baroness von Schwedel
Robert Strange	Adjutant von Rockoff
Lon MacSunday	Emperor
Janet Reade	Lily
Harry Bradley	Count Von Halden,Count von Halden
Werner Saxtorph	Joseph
Karl Stall	Master of Ceremonies
Granville Bates	Bill Collector
Maude Allen	Woman
Charles Wagenheim	Arresting Officer
Con MacSunday	Emperor
Oscar Straus	Composer

Technical Credits

Ernst Lubitsch

Samson Raphaelson

Ernest Vajda

Ernst Lubitsch	Director,Producer,Screenwriter
Samson Raphaelson	Screenwriter
Ernest Vajda	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Ernst Lubitsch had no finer interpreter of the Lubitsch style -- in musicals, at least - than Maurice Chevalier, and The Smiling Lieutenant takes full advantage of Chevalier's unique persona. Indeed, without that blend of Gallic charm, earthiness and amiability, Lieutenant would be heavy going for contemporary audiences; they may still wince at the male-dominating worldview the film evinces, even with Chevalier. The male lead has plenty to play off of in the delightful forms of Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins, each of whom gives Chevalier a run for the money and manages to occasionally steal the film away from him. Although the script sometimes loses its punch, the score is generally strong, with Chevalier given a break-the-fourth-wall specialty in "Toujours L'Amour in the Army" and even triumphing over some peculiar lyrics (e.g., "With every bit of liver, I start to quiver") in "Breakfast Table Love." Not to be outdone, Colbert also makes "Jazz Up Your Lingerie" into a real treat. Although visually Lieutenant lacks some of the fluidity of Lubitsch's other work (most likely due to the constraints of the still-new sound camera), there's still enough flair to keep things lively. Lubitsch and Chevalier's chemistry would be shown to even better advantage the next year in One Hour With You.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler