She falls for Niki, marries him (he has no choice in the matter), and whisks him off to Flausenthurm. Scenes from the film were included in the 1931 promotional film by Paramount, The House That Shadows Built. The Smiling Lieutenant is a 1931 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins, and released by Paramount Pictures. The Lieutenant sneaks away from his bride to wander the streets of Flausenthurm to find his girlfriend. Franzi, much more experienced in the ways of the world, gives Anna lessons on how to win the affections of her husband. Adapted from the 1907 operetta The Waltz Dream by Leopold Jacobson and Felix Doermann with music by Austrian composer Oscar Straus and Hans Muller’s novel “Nux der Prinzgemahl”, which was made into a silent German film also titled The Waltz Dream in 1926. The Smiling Lieutenant is a delightful and entertaining movie to watch. The other two were Trouble in Paradise and Design for Living. Add the first question. But this one was The Smiling Lieutenant, a very oddly-structured romcom (a feature, not a bug) seeing as Chevalier is almost immediately in a relationship with Claudette Colbert, but then he gets in hot water with visiting aristocrats, thinks he can charm/Bugs Bunny himself out of it, and finds out what happens when a princess takes a shine to him. 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 Lubitsch's The Smiling Lieutenant, 1931.> He's crazy about her and is smiling at her while on duty in the street. In Vienna, Lieutenant Nikolaus "Niki" von Preyn (Maurice Chevalier) meets Franzi (Claudette Colbert), the leader of an all-female-orchestra. He's crazy about her and is smiling at her while on duty in the street. As her father, George Barbier contributes impressively, too. ", Film Comment 8, p. 21. The princess learns of this and decides to confront Franzi. NYSA records list a French version of the film called Le lieutenant souriant , directed by Ernst Lubitsch and written by Ernest Vadja, that starred Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins, with French dialogue and lyrics by Jacques Bataille-Henri. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. An unhappily married couple try to come between a happy one. The Smiling Lieutenant was nominated by AMPAS for Best Picture of 1931/32, and NYT included it in its 1931 "Ten Best" list. London", p. 169. [5] For Andrew Sarris, The Smiling Lieutenant stands between the "lilting lyricism" of Love Parade and the "tempered ironies"[6] in Trouble in Paradise. Was this review helpful to you? I mention this because my wife was livid after the end of Franzi follows and enjoys a brief affair with Niki before Anna finds out. They soon fall in love with each other. A woman cannot decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship. Ratings & Reviews. Niki (Chevalier), an officer with Vienna's Royal Guards, is romancing violinist Franzi (Colbert). [1], The film was not made under pleasant circumstances: the shift to the Astoria, New York, studios accounts for the sense of confinement on set. 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 violin-playing girlfriend on the side. Lieutenant sneaks away from his bride to wander the streets of Flausenthurm to find his girlfriend to! Plague outbreak, where he has no choice in the ways of the Austrian guard., new York City, new York, USA wander the streets of Flausenthurm ( Hopkins. A wink meant for Franzi the wrong girl gets the man '' romantic comedy with its sly... 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