The Smiling Lieutenant

Aug 1, 1931

1h 29m

★ 6.8

Maurice Chevalier laughing and loving again in Ernst Lubitsch's sparkling cocktail of romantic merriment

Overview

An amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violin-playing girlfriend on the side.

Genres

Comedy

Romance

Production Companies

Paramount Pictures

The Smiling Lieutenant Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Lt. Nikolaus 'Niki' von Preyn

Maurice Chevalier

Franzi

Claudette Colbert

Princess Anna

Miriam Hopkins

Max

Charles Ruggles

King Adolf XV

George Barbier

Niki's Orderly

Hugh O'Connell

Lady in Waiting (uncredited)

Maude Allen

Bill Collector (uncredited)

Granville Bates

Count Von Holden (uncredited)

Harry C. Bradley

Lady in Waiting (uncredited)

Carrie Daumery

Man (uncredited)

Ludwig Heinsich

Emperor Franz Josef (uncredited)

Cornelius MacSunday

Claire Tree spends the night in the hotel room of her friend and confidante, saying goodbye to him before her impending marriage the following day. When she returns to the hotel with her husband the following night, the house detective accuses her of prostitution and throws them out. Now Claire must explain everything to her unsympathetic husband.

5.9

Half Shot at Sunrise

Sep 19, 1930

Two soldiers go absent without leave in Paris during World War I.

6.8

Hold 'Em Jail

Aug 19, 1932

Two yokels are framed and sent to prison, but wind up playing football on the warden's championship team.

5.7

Three Cornered Moon

Aug 4, 1933

Elizabeth Rimplegar inhabits a household populated by virtual lunatics. Her mother, Nellie, mishandled the family fortune, and, alas, the stock market crash has depleted their worth. Elizabeth's goofy brothers cannot easily adjust to the life of the average worker. Meanwhile, the family doctor has his eye on Elizabeth, but he will have to compete with her suitor, an ill-informed writer.

5.6

Madam Satan

Sep 20, 1930

A socialite masquerades as a notorious femme fatale to win back her straying husband during a costume party aboard a doomed dirigible.

5.0

Sailor's Luck

Mar 17, 1933

U.S. sailor Jimmy Harrigan, on shore leave in San Pedro, meets and falls for Sally Brent She promises to wait for him when he ships out to San Francisco, but Jimmy becomes jealous and tells her off when he learns Sally has entered a marathon dance contest sponsored by a lecherous snake named Baron Portola. Along with several of his Navy pals, Jimmy goes to the ballroom the night of the dance marathon, to try to change Sally's mind and win her back.

5.3

Murder in the Private Car

Jun 29, 1934

Ruth Raymond works on the telephone switchboard of a large NYC office building. One day, a private detective informs her that she is actually the daughter of railroad tycoon Luke Carson, and that she had been kidnapped as a baby 14 years ago by Luke's vindictive brother Elwood, and placed with strangers.

5.4

The Penguin Pool Murder

Dec 9, 1932

New York schoolmarm Hildegarde Withers assists a detective when a body of unscrupulous stockbroker Gerald Parker suddenly appears in the penguin tank at the aquarium.

4.1

Apocalypse, CA

Dec 13, 2011

Wry, cynical and full of off-beat humor, 'Apocalypse, CA' is the story of friends as they prepare for certain death at the hands of a massive asteroid, sex-inducing drugs, a three-hundred foot giant, and a horde of other absurd problems.

6.1

Min and Bill

Nov 29, 1930

Min, the owner of a dockside hotel, is forced to make difficult decisions about the future of Nancy, the young woman she took in as an infant.

7.0

Cracked Nuts

Apr 18, 1931

To impress his fiancee's aunt, a young man tries to become king in a small kingdom, but the people there have already crowned one, who has won this honor by gambling. So he plans a coup d'etat. He tries to achieve this with a bomb, but then something goes wrong...

0.0

Moonlight and Honeysuckle

Jul 1, 1921

When an Arizona ranchman (Willard Louis) is elected senator, he heads for Washington with his daughter, Judith Baldwin (Mary Miles Minter). But they leave behind ranch hand Tod Musgrove (Monte Blue), who is in love with Judith. In Washington, two men propose to Judith -- Congressman Hamill (Guy Oliver) and Robert Courtney (William Boyd). Since she doesn't know which one to pick, she puts them to a test at her aunt's woodland cabin.

5.9

The Song of Songs

Jul 19, 1933

After her father dies, Lily moves to the city to live with her strict aunt. During the day Lily works in her aunt's bookstore, and at night she sneaks across the street to model for Richard, a sculptor with whom she falls in love. A patron of Richard's, Baron von Merzbach, develops an interest in Lily that may not be with the best of intentions.

7.2

The Dark Horse

Jun 16, 1932

The Progressive Party convention is deadlocked for governor, so both sides nominate the dark horse Zachary Hicks. Kay Russell suggests they hire Hal Blake as campaign manager; but first they have to get him out of jail for not paying alimony. Blake organizes the office and coaches Hicks to answer every question by pausing and then saying, "Well yes, but then again no." Blake will sell Hicks as dumb but honest. Russell refuses to marry Blake, while Joe keeps people away from Blake's office. Blake teaches Hicks a speech by Lincoln. At the debate when the conservative candidate Underwood recites the same speech, Blake exposes him as a plagiarist. Hicks is presented for photo opportunities and gives his yes-and-no answer to any question, including whether he expects to win.

5.3

This Is the Night

Apr 8, 1932

When Stephen, the husband of Gerald’s mistress, Claire, discovers a pair of tickets for their planned trip to Venice, Gerald must invent a wife to cover their tracks. He is then forced to hire a woman to play “his wife” when Stephen insists he and Claire accompany them to Venice.

4.6

Sinners in the Sun

May 13, 1932

A New York fashion model finds herself being pursued by a poor but honest garage mechanic and a rich philanderer.

6.3

Merrily We Go to Hell

Jun 10, 1932

A drunken newspaperman, Jerry Corbett, is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress, Joan Prentice, whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.

5.6

Born to Be Bad

May 18, 1934

Letty, a young woman who ended up pregnant, unmarried and on the streets at fifteen is bitter and determined that her child will not grow up to be taken advantage of. Letty teaches her child to lie, steal, cheat and anything else he'll need to be street smart.

6.8

Thirty Day Princess

May 18, 1934

A European princess arrives in New York City to secure a much-needed loan for her country. She contracts the mumps, and an actress who looks exactly like her is hired to impersonate her.