Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

After finally watching The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), I became fascinated by its first soundtrack choice: “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”

Originally a 1933 show tune, it appeared in three films—Roberta (1935), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), and Lovely to Look At (1952)—before The Platters recorded their famous 1958 version, which hit number one on the Billboard charts. Since then, The Platters’ cover has been featured in at least 24 movies, but The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant was the first to use it (in 1972).

Rainer Werner Fassbinder used it to illustrate the dynamic between Petra and her employee Marlene, injecting immediate romanticism yet hinting at the tension beneath the glamour.

Certain directors—Kenneth Anger, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino—excel at using pop songs in film, often for contrast. “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” however, usually adds a touch of wistful romance.

The song’s first American film usage came from George Lucas in American Graffiti (1973).

Lucas staged a fight between Ron Howard and Cindy Williams against the sweet slow-dance backdrop, the song’s romantic veneer highlighting their drifting apart.

Steven Spielberg used the same tune in Always (1989) as a nostalgic reflection on Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss’s relationship, turning it into a memory piece for his characters.

Similarly, in the New Taiwanese Cinema movement, both Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang used “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” in different ways. Edward Yang used it in The Terrorizers (1986) to underscore loneliness, while Hou Hsiao-hsien opened Three Times (2005) with the tune, establishing a nostalgic mood for his first story segment.

A pop standard can reinforce a film’s romantic themes or serve as a revealing counterpoint. “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” in particular, consistently carries a sense of bittersweet longing—making it a reliable choice for filmmakers seeking that emotional note.

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