104: The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - released 8/1/1931, viewed 7/2/08.
DOUG: For his follow-up to the dreary Monte Carlo, Lubitsch gathered three of his most reliable muses, Maurice Chevalier, Miriam Hopkins, and Claudette Colbert, all in one movie. The territory is very familiar: Chevalier plays the titular Lt. Niki, ANOTHER charming, straw-hat wearing military man who catches the eye of ANOTHER naïve princess from ANOTHER fictional country. Colbert plays Franzi, Niki's spunky violinist girlfriend, and Miriam Hopkins plays the princess, endearingly sexually repressed and prone to crying spells. It's not a terribly dramatic plot, even by the standards of a romantic comedy. Especially charming are the scenes between Franzi and Anna, particularly the racy musical number "Jazz up your Lingerie." (That can't be Code approved.) As in the best Lubitsch fare, everyone's that unique brand of crazy that's endearingly charming and sexy and funny. Right along with Trouble in Paradise, this is one of Lubitsch's best, and one of the great Pre-code comedy-musicals.
KEVIN: And now we flash back to the first meeting of Ernst Lubitsch with the beautiful bag of wonderfulness called Miriam Hopkins. Lubitsch again teams with Maurice Chevalier (as the titular lieutenant), and also brings in Claudette Colbert, who's never looked lovelier as the titular lieutenant's initial love interest. Chevalier's character finds himself once again playing a high-ranking member of society who is suckered into an unhappy marriage to a royal. But this time, there's another woman thrown into the mix. Unfortunately the three leads are never all together in any major way, but the film climaxes when the two ladies finally confront each other, with unexpected consequences, including the film's most memorable jingle "Jazz Up Your Lingerie." And on a more aesthetic note, I suspect that this film has the least amount of dialogue of all the Lubitsch talkies I've seen. ***SPOILER*** The ending surprised me. I was sure all through the story that Chevalier would end up with Colbert, the one he really loved from the beginning, but the unexpected consequences of said final confrontation made this one more than a little fresh. Plus, it leads us to the image of Miriam Hopkins that we would come to love in later films. ***END SPOILER***.
Last film viewed: The Criminal Code (1931). Last film chronologically: M (1931). Next film viewed: Shanghai Express (1932). Next film chronologically: Monkey Business (1931).
DOUG: For his follow-up to the dreary Monte Carlo, Lubitsch gathered three of his most reliable muses, Maurice Chevalier, Miriam Hopkins, and Claudette Colbert, all in one movie. The territory is very familiar: Chevalier plays the titular Lt. Niki, ANOTHER charming, straw-hat wearing military man who catches the eye of ANOTHER naïve princess from ANOTHER fictional country. Colbert plays Franzi, Niki's spunky violinist girlfriend, and Miriam Hopkins plays the princess, endearingly sexually repressed and prone to crying spells. It's not a terribly dramatic plot, even by the standards of a romantic comedy. Especially charming are the scenes between Franzi and Anna, particularly the racy musical number "Jazz up your Lingerie." (That can't be Code approved.) As in the best Lubitsch fare, everyone's that unique brand of crazy that's endearingly charming and sexy and funny. Right along with Trouble in Paradise, this is one of Lubitsch's best, and one of the great Pre-code comedy-musicals.
KEVIN: And now we flash back to the first meeting of Ernst Lubitsch with the beautiful bag of wonderfulness called Miriam Hopkins. Lubitsch again teams with Maurice Chevalier (as the titular lieutenant), and also brings in Claudette Colbert, who's never looked lovelier as the titular lieutenant's initial love interest. Chevalier's character finds himself once again playing a high-ranking member of society who is suckered into an unhappy marriage to a royal. But this time, there's another woman thrown into the mix. Unfortunately the three leads are never all together in any major way, but the film climaxes when the two ladies finally confront each other, with unexpected consequences, including the film's most memorable jingle "Jazz Up Your Lingerie." And on a more aesthetic note, I suspect that this film has the least amount of dialogue of all the Lubitsch talkies I've seen. ***SPOILER*** The ending surprised me. I was sure all through the story that Chevalier would end up with Colbert, the one he really loved from the beginning, but the unexpected consequences of said final confrontation made this one more than a little fresh. Plus, it leads us to the image of Miriam Hopkins that we would come to love in later films. ***END SPOILER***.
Last film viewed: The Criminal Code (1931). Last film chronologically: M (1931). Next film viewed: Shanghai Express (1932). Next film chronologically: Monkey Business (1931).