Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Top Billed Actors: Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 1 Oscar:
Outstanding Production - Paramount Publix
Plot: An ordinary lieutenant finds himself married to a woman he doesn't love, until she updates her lingerie. Then he's all for it.
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Top Billed Actors: Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 1 Oscar:
Outstanding Production - Paramount Publix
Plot: An ordinary lieutenant finds himself married to a woman he doesn't love, until she updates her lingerie. Then he's all for it.
Although The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) is the first movie I am watching for the 5th Awards batch, I could already see a huge improvement in quality from the previous films in this project. From the first scene, I was instantly satisfied as there is a musical score included. Technology finally came to a point in 1931 where music could be included in a sound picture and how very appropriate it is to be in a Lubitsch musical. Many people hail this as one of the greatest Lubitsch musicals due to a great mix of sound and silence with the improved sound-on-film technology. This movie seemed very similar to The Love Parade (1929). Maurice Chevalier reprises his role as a singing uniformed man, with his recognizable French accent. The posters are even similar. We also get to see Claudette Colbert, three years before she participates in the first Academy Award Big Five sweep, in It Happened One Night (1934).
The biggest positive I gleamed from this movie is the music. Hearing an orchestra expand upon themes from the songs that the actors sing throughout the film kept me engaged throughout. The actual songs that are sung are not that memorable, but because they are not too lengthy, they never became a burden on the pace of the film. I did find myself humming along every other song or so.
In between songs, the film did appear rather weak in several departments. The plot is very simple. Chevalier's character winks at his girlfriend while a princess rides by. She thinks the lieutenant is laughing at her so she demands an explanation. Chevalier doesn't want to be punished for breaking ranks so he lies and tells her he is affectionate towards the princess. BAM - a boring love triangle. I also did not like any of the songs. They are infrequent so when one comes up, it seems out of place. The comedy is not very funny as well. Perhaps it is because the times have changed, but this movie does not live up to its comedy genre.
Overall, this Lubitsch musical propels film to another level, with its inclusion of music in every scene. It is a refreshing change of pace from the quieter films of the early 1930s. However, some strange jokes and unmemorable songs hold it back.
My Score: 6/10
The biggest positive I gleamed from this movie is the music. Hearing an orchestra expand upon themes from the songs that the actors sing throughout the film kept me engaged throughout. The actual songs that are sung are not that memorable, but because they are not too lengthy, they never became a burden on the pace of the film. I did find myself humming along every other song or so.
In between songs, the film did appear rather weak in several departments. The plot is very simple. Chevalier's character winks at his girlfriend while a princess rides by. She thinks the lieutenant is laughing at her so she demands an explanation. Chevalier doesn't want to be punished for breaking ranks so he lies and tells her he is affectionate towards the princess. BAM - a boring love triangle. I also did not like any of the songs. They are infrequent so when one comes up, it seems out of place. The comedy is not very funny as well. Perhaps it is because the times have changed, but this movie does not live up to its comedy genre.
Overall, this Lubitsch musical propels film to another level, with its inclusion of music in every scene. It is a refreshing change of pace from the quieter films of the early 1930s. However, some strange jokes and unmemorable songs hold it back.
My Score: 6/10