ERNST LUBITSCH
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB.5.
USA, 1934
Harmless fluff musical about a gigolo soldier (Maurice Chevalier, annoying as ever) sent on a mission by his worried superiors from a fictional eastern European country to retrieve a traveling widow (Jeanette MacDonald at her most tuneful) whose vast inherited fortune they need to save their small country’s dire finances. This charming operetta was adapted (somewhat faithfully) from the original stage play, but Ernst Lubitsch’s starry-eyed direction and opulent sets will be what most impress you about it. The music is beautiful, and performed with exceptional vigour.