History Film / DarlingLili

* HeroesWantRedheads: Lili is a redhead who attracts legions of admiring soldiers.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Subverted. Lili slaps Bill, but he just plants a BigDamnKiss on her.

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/darling_lili_342_7402.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Did anyone order GorgeousPeriodDress?]]

* ShallowParody: As detailed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg-u5LiZ4qo here]], the movie deconstructs the Julie Andrews persona - but only subverts the surface-level tropes - like the family-friendly image and the cloying songs.

[[quoteright:342:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/darling_lili_342_7402.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:342:Did anyone order GorgeousPeriodDress?]]

Lili Smith/Schmidt (Creator/JulieAndrews), half-English and half-German, entertains London and Paris on the music hall stage while using her celebrity status to gather information from her military admirers. Her latest assignment is Major William Larrabee (Creator/RockHudson), an American AcePilot with access to vital information about how airplanes are changing the war. A chance reference to "Operation Crepe Suzette" makes Lili think she's stumbled onto an important secret; but the lead goes nowhere, and she begins to suspect instead that Larrabee is seeing another woman behind her back. The idea bothers her more than it really should ....

Lili Smith/Schmidt (Creator/JulieAndrews), half-English and half-German, entertains London and Paris on the music hall stage while using her celebrity status to gather information from her military admirers. Her latest assignment is Major William Larrabee (Rock Hudson), an American AcePilot with access to vital information about how airplanes are changing the war. A chance reference to "Operation Crepe Suzette" makes Lili think she's stumbled onto an important secret; but the lead goes nowhere, and she begins to suspect instead that Larrabee is seeing another woman behind her back. The idea bothers her more than it really should ....

The production was plagued by problems at every step and only recouped a fraction of its cost at the box office. It has been to some extent VindicatedByCable, especially with the release of a [[ReCut director's cut]] on DVD in 2007. While the mixture of musical, romance, slapstick comedy, spy intrigue, and fighter plane action doesn't work for everyone, the film has some undeniable virtues: it is visually stunning, the aerial dogfights are spectacular, and it is a chance to see (and hear) Julie Andrews at her peak.

* DarkReprise: Early in the film, Lili performs "I'll Give You Three Guesses" as a cheery, wholesome song-and-dance number. Later, [[spoiler:after discovering her jealousy of Crepe Suzette,]] she changes it to a striptease.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler: Lili confesses to the police that she's the spy in order to prove that Bill didn't pass information to Suzette. This however puts a target on her back and she and the Colonel have to hurry to Switzerland]].

* BadGirlSong: "Your Goodwill Ambassador", where Crepe Suzette establishes herself as a romantic rival to Lili.

* BadGirlSong: "Your Goodwill Ambassador."

* MaleGaze: "Your Goodwill Ambassador" has plenty of shots showing Suzette's body.

* OldSchoolDogfight: Loads of them. You can't get any more old-school than biplanes. (See "Cool Plane" above.)

* BecomingTheMask

* FamilyFriendlyStripper: Despite its two striptease scenes, the movie still received a G rating.
* FemmeFataleSpy: Lili, of course.

* GlamorousWartimeSinger

* TheMusicalMusical

* RunForTheBorder

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: General Kessler is last seen when his car bumps into Duvalle and Liggett's as he tries to make his getaway. His fate after that is unknown.

* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: One character's hat contains more material than the rest of her costume put together.

* CluelessDetective: "We have reason to believe Major Larrabee is passing military secrets to a woman. You seem to be spending a lot of time with him lately, Miss Smith. Could you ... keep an eye on him and report anything suspicious?"

* GorgeousPeriodDress: And how.

* MataHari: Lili, of course.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: General Kessler is last seen when his car collides (at low speed) with Duvalle and Liggett's. His fate after that is unknown.

* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: One character's hat, in particular, contains more material than the rest of her costume put together.

* GreenEyedEpiphany: Actually, von Ruger figures it out before Lili does.

* MusicalWorldHypothesis: Firmly #3, diegetic. Nearly all the songs are stage performances or sing-alongs. There is also a song (not appearing in the director's cut) sung by some French schoolchildren whom Lili and Bill follow for a while during their romantic weekend in the country.

AcePilot: Several, including Bill Larrabee and the Red Baron himself.

BadGirlSong: "Your Goodwill Ambassador."

BattleButler: Bedford, Lili's butler, always carries a gun and is also handy in a fistfight.

BecomingTheMask

BookEnds: The movie opens and closes with Lili singing "Whistling Away the Dark" at two different concerts.

ButtMonkey: Duvalle and Liggett share this dubious honor, coming in for most of the slapstick.

CluelessDetective: "We have reason to believe Major Larrabee is passing military secrets to a woman. You seem to be spending a lot of time with him lately, Miss Smith. Could you ... keep an eye on him and report anything suspicious?"

CoolPlane: Loads of them. The aerial sequences were filmed in Ireland using World War I replica fighter aircraft, facilities, and support equipment originally put together for ''Film/TheBlueMax. Darling Lili'' utilized the assembled aircraft for thousands of flying hours and accumulated hundreds of hours of aerial footage over the course of two years. Pilots were drawn from the Irish Air Corps and civilian circles.

CulturedBadass: Kurt von Ruger.

DarkReprise: Early in the film, Lili performs "I'll Give You Three Guesses" as a cheery, wholesome song-and-dance number. Later, [[spoiler:after discovering her jealousy of Crepe Suzette,]] she changes it to a striptease.

FallingInLoveMontage: For Bill Larrabee, as Lili's just doing her job at that point.

FamilyFriendlyStripper: Despite its two striptease scenes, the movie still received a G rating.

TheFool: Perpetually drunk pilot T.C.

GlamorousWartimeSinger

GorgeousPeriodDress: And how.

GreenEyedEpiphany: Actually, von Ruger figures it out before Lili does.

HistoricalDomainCharacter: Baron von Richthofen.

HoneyTrap: Lili's assignment for Major Larrabee.

IgnoredConfession: Duvalle takes Lili's attempt to turn herself in as merely a GrandRomanticGesture ... until Liggett points out that she's [[INeverSaidItWasPoison mentioning some very specific details]].

MataHari: Lili, of course.

TheMusicalMusical

OldSchoolDogfight: Loads of them. You can't get any more old-school than biplanes. (See "Cool Plane" above.)

RedBaron: Averted. The nickname is never used in the film; instead, he's called Baron von Richthofen or just "the Baron."

RunForTheBorder

ShowerScene: Starts as a ShowerOfAngst and turns into a ShowerOfLove.

SpeechImpediment: Liggett has a stammer.

TheSpymaster: Kurt von Ruger.

SpySpeak: Averted with Lili. She makes her reports to von Ruger in straightforward language. However, she does have a book of codes which she uses late in the movie [[spoiler:to frame Crepe Suzette as a spy.]]

TrappedBehindEnemyLines: T.C. and Bill are shot down near a German air base. [[spoiler:They steal the Red Baron's plane to get away.]]

WhatHappenedToTheMouse: General Kessler is last seen when his car collides (at low speed) with Duvalle and Liggett's. His fate after that is unknown.

WrongNameOutburst: In an attempt to find out the meaning of "Operation Crepe Suzette," Lili accuses Bill of calling her "Suzette" in bed.

YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: One character's hat, in particular, contains more material than the rest of her costume put together.

Lili Smith/Schmidt (Creator/JulieAndrews), half-English and half-German, entertains London and Paris on the music hall stage while using her celebrity status to gather information from her military admirers. Her latest assignment is Major William Larrabee (Rock Hudson), an American AcePilot with access to vital information about how airplanes are changing the war. A chance reference to "Operation Crepe Suzette" makes Lili think she's stumbled onto a major secret; but the lead goes nowhere, and she begins to suspect instead that Larrabee is seeing another woman behind her back. The idea bothers her more than it really should ....

TrappedBehindEnemyLines: T.C. and Bill are shot down near a German air base and must make their way back. [[spoiler:They steal the Red Baron's plane to get away.]]