The film, starring charles boyer and jennifer jones, is a satire on the smugness of british high society. The smiling lieutenant synopsis a lieutenant despairs over a forced marriage to a dowdy princess, until his lover takes her in hand. Miriam hopkins, one of the most underrated performers of the studio era, will have her summer under the stars day on thursday, aug. The smiling lieutenant 1931 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The smiling lieutenant passed 1h 33min comedy, romance, musical 1 august 1931 usa an amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violinplaying girlfriend on the side. The smiling lieutenant 1931 an amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violinplaying girlfriend. The smiling lieutenant is a 1931 american precode musical comedy film directed by ernst lubitsch, starring maurice chevalier, claudette colbert and miriam hopkins, and released by paramount pictures. Rent the smiling lieutenant 1931 on dvd and bluray. Lubitsch, already established in silent films as the master of innuendo with closed. The smiling lieutenant offered welcome escapism for a.
My wife was furious at the conclusion and let me know as soon as the end popped up. This rarely shown but delightful lubitschian film features the alwayscourtly maurice chevalier. King adolf and his daughter princess anna from the neighboring kingdom of flausenthurm drive by. A charming moment of song from ernst lubitschs 1931 film, the smiling lieutenant. The infectiously giddy the smiling lieutenant 1931 was surprisingly created during a time of extreme emotional duress for its director and star. The screenplay was written by samuel hoffenstein and elizabeth reinhardt, based on a novel by margery sharp.
The film was released around the period of the film the promise, a film depicting the armenian. In this cheerful 1931 musical from director ernst lubitsch, maurice chevalier squares off against claudette colbert and miriam hopkins in a dazzling battle of wits. Lieutenant niki of the austrian royal guard has a new girlfriend, franzi. The prehays code sexual innuendos of these films capture a side of the. Synopsis lieutenant niki of the austrian royal guard has a new girlfriend, franzi. Summoned to account for the crime of smiling at the visiting princess miriam hopkins, viennese soldier niki maurice chevalier rolls the dice with her father the king george barbier, in ernst lubitschs the smiling lieutenant, 1931.
Claudette colbert, the studio eras perky, independentminded and frenchborn allamerican girlfriend and later allamerican wife and mother, is turner classic movies star of the day on aug. The smiling lieutenant 1931 1h 29m an amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violinplaying girlfriend on the side. Hes crazy about her and is smiling at her while on duty in the street. A frankly sexual musical from master ernst lubitsch. She made just 34 films in a forty year career, with her star rising quickly in the 30s a decade that put her in 23 features and falling off drastically in the years that followed. A timeline of significant events in the life of film director ernst lubitsch. The love parade the smiling lieutenant one hour with you.
All of the leads are at the top of their game and the amount of charm onscreen rivals any other film ever made. Like the love parade and the smiling lieutenant, one hour with you was. Braden valleneress rating of the film the smiling lieutenant braden valleneres 3. The smiling lieutenant is a 1931 romantic comedy directed by ernst lubitsch, starring maurice chevalier, claudette colbert, and miriam hopkins. Film forum begins june with the the director celebrated for his. The only commercial release for the smiling lieutenant was on a brieflyavailable laserdisc set, the lubitsch touch. The smiling lieutenant film by lubitsch 1931 britannica. The print is excellent both sound and image, better than the ones seen of the love parade and monte carlo. An amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violinplaying girlfriend on the side. The smiling lieutenant gives free rein to maurice chevaliers libido as it drives much of the plotevery time he is in a sticky situation, he charms and flirts his way out of it. That didnt fly, and soon lubitsch took over, completed the picture, and denied. The smiling lieutenant is a 1931 american precode musical comedy film directed by ernst lubitsch, starring maurice chevalier, claudette colbert and miriam.
The movie is precode which made scenes like that possible, as well as allude to unmarried sex between colbert and chevalier, and hopkinss desire to consummate her marriage. Smiling lieutenant, the 1931 movie clip how do you. Turner classic movies will present fourteen miriam hopkins films, including one tcm premiere the samuel goldwyn production of barbary coast and three of hopkins saucy precode vehicles made at paramount. The film often recalls the lilting grace of lubitschs the love parade but it also looks ahead to the ironic romantic triangle of lubitschs lauded masterpiece. A simple wink, intended by austrian palace guard lt. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the smiling lieutenant near you. Miriam hopkins was one of the bright hopes of hollywood in the 1930s. However, a frumpy princess named anna miriam hopkins mistakenly believes he is flirting with her. From the onset of the academy in 1929 to the present this list will comprise of ever nominee for best picture and updated as new nominees are announced.
Still, the operettas songs remain intact, with upstart miriam hopkins in only her second film swapping tunes with stars colbert and maurice chevalier. Maurice chevalier and claudette colbert light up the screen in this charming musical comedy the smiling lieutenant directed by ernst lubitsch. Other articles where the smiling lieutenant is discussed. It may come on television occasionally, and lubitsch retrospectives at film societies and such often include this film. Nominated for an academy award as best picture, this musical, set in 19thcentury vienna, starred chevalier, claudette colbert, and miriam hopkins. Academy award best picture nominees and winners show list info. The smiling lieutenant is mostly about claudette colbert and miriam hopkins being in love with maurice chevalier, which is very straight, but they share one very charged scene with each other, which is very gay. In it, they go from enemies to friends over the course of a song, mainly through colbert teaching hopkins how to be a bad girl. The lieutenant suvorov and his small group of soldiers come to an abandoned village where only few people are left, and among them there is a schoolteacher with children. The smiling lieutenant jazz up your lingerie youtube.
For the first time i saw a good film print of this. For instance, franzi has no concern that nikis now a. It was not titled trouble in paradise until a month after filming was completed. Maurice chevaliers randy viennese lieutenant is enamored of claudette colberts freethinking, allgirlorchestraleading cutie. The synchronization of sound and image is deliciously humoristic, the small details as charming as the gags. Miriam hopkins, claudette colbert, maurice chevalier. The smiling lieutenant is a film directed by ernst lubitsch with maurice chevalier, claudette colbert, miriam hopkins, charlie ruggles, year. While there are some films such as babyface 33 that leaves you gaping with what they suggested, the the smiling lieutenant s beauty is that it takes more explicit, and even by todays standards, progressive content and places it within a very simple romantic comedy structure. The unabashed sexual energy here came in a few years before the hays code, and its tough to think that much of this film could have been released shortly after it was.
In my mind, they were both simply ernst lubitsch productions and that was sufficient reason to revisit eclipse. The smiling lieutenant is a delightful showcase for its rising female stars, who. The film stars michiel huisman, hera hilmar, josh hartnett and ben kingsley. Casanova maurice chevalier is torn between sexy bandleader claudette colbert and dowdy princess miriam hopkins. The series begins at the end with cluny brown, lubitschs final completed feature. Ernst lubitschs the smiling lieutenant criterion cast. Ernst lubitsch was in the middle of divorce proceedings with his wife, leni, who had been carrying on an affair with his friend and former screenwriter hanns kraly.
The film fits firmly into the gentleman crook genre, which began with raffles, the. The smiling lieutenant is a delightful showcase for its rising female stars, who are never more charming than when colbert tunefully instructs hopkins, jazz up your lingerie. The smiling lieutenant 1931 the criterion collection. The preparation of the royal bedchamber in the smiling lieutenant is one such scene, that kind of sneaks up on the viewer who doesnt quite get what all the fuss is about. When a sexually repressed princess hopkins has eyes for chevaliers lusty viennese lieutenant, sparks fly and songs swell. The smiling lieutenant letterboxd your life in film. Among the contributors to the screenplay was samson. But the smiling lieutenant was to be the first sound adaptation, and as such, with talking pictures still a very new phenomenon in 1930, the film features a minimum of dialogue scenes. The high point of this otherwise soso film is when night meets day, so to speak, as fun and sexy mistress claudette colbert meets prudish and dull wife miriam hopkins.
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