THE SMILING LIEUTENANT (Paramount, released 1 August 1931) Starring Maurice Chevalier,Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins. A light operetta directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch. Though this was a film nominated for an academy award, it seems to lack a spark of life seen in contemporary Lubitsch efforts. This film was lost for many years, it was among the early talkies that Paramount carelessly allowed to dissolve in their vaults before television would make them worth the upkeep.
In the late 1970's,a beautiful print was discovered in the Czechoslovakian archives. It was nice to see one last "new" Lubitsch/Chevalier film, but I don't think it lives up to it's reputation. The story concerning the obsessive protocols of royalty, the military and sexual relations in pre- World War one fictional balkan kingdoms gets overly predictible. There is some great singing in it, in Chevalier's unique style, and a memorable number; "Jazz up your Lingerie", cheerfully sung by Misses Colbert and Hopkins, niether of which has ever sung before.It's still charming. A French language version was shot similtaneously with some cast changes, but it remains a lost film.
The Smiling Lieutenant's TV debut wasn't until 2003, first broadcast on the TCM cable station.
Mark Johnson