The Smiling Lieutenant 1931

In Vienna, Lieutenant Nikolaus “Niki” von Preyn, Maurice Chevalier, meets Franzi, Claudette Colbert, the dynamic leader of an all-female orchestra, and a tender romance soon blooms between them. While standing in the parade lineup for a royal visit, Niki winks at Franzi in the crowd. The gesture is intercepted by Princess Anna, Miriam Hopkins, who takes offense; to placate her, the lieutenant insists that he winked and smiled at her because of her beauty. This backfires: the princess is charmed and declares she must marry Niki, even threatening to wed an American if she cannot have him. Franzi departs in distress as Niki returns in a royal carriage. Emperor Franz Josef, Cornelius MacSunday, steps in, and a potential international incident is narrowly averted by a marriage between the lieutenant and the princess, though the union is not consummated, since Niki will only kiss his bride—and his father-in-law.

Homesick and lovesick, Niki wanders the streets and encounters Franzi, who has continued to perform with her orchestra in Flausenthurm since the wedding, unable to move on. The two resume their romance.

Anna learns of this and confronts Franzi. In the confrontation, Franzi realizes that the princess is genuinely in love with the lieutenant. She resolves to save the marriage by giving the dowdy princess a makeover, and they sing the duet

“Jazz up your lingerie!”

before Franzi departs for good. The plan works: the lieutenant returns home, follows his satin-clad, cigarette-puffing wife into the bedroom, and closes the door—opening it briefly to give the audience one last song and a playful wink.