The Smiling Lieutenant

Director Ernst Lubitsch
Year 1931
Country USA
Runtime 1h 33m
Language English, French
Format 35mm
TMDB View entry
Synopsis

A frankly sexual musical from master Ernst Lubitsch. Casanova Maurice Chevalier is torn between sexy bandleader Claudette Colbert and dowdy princess Miriam Hopkins. All of the leads are at the top of their game and the amount of charm on-screen rivals any other film ever made. As is usual with Lubitsch, the sex narrative is always underneath it all, and it drives the characters to do ridiculous, and hilarious, things. The climactic musical number is about underwear, if that tells you anything about where this film’s heart is.

Listed at AFS

Archived on the AFS site between Thu, Jul 7 2022 and Fri, Apr 10 2026, across 5 captures. These dates are inferred from Wayback Machine captures and may not be accurate.

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