The screenplay by Ray Harris and Humphrey Pearson is based on the book of the 1922 stage musical The Lady in Ermine by Frederick Lonsdale and Cyrus Wood, which had been adapted from the 1919 operetta Die Frau im Hermelin by Rudolph Schanzer and Ernst Welisch.

As he is emerging from the church following his wedding to Countess Anna-Marie, Beltrami learns that Colonel Vultow is quickly approaching the town in search of him.

At the behest of his bride, Beltrami flees the castle, but he asks Tangy, a silhouette cutter, to impersonate him and protect Anna-Marie.

The deception is discovered, and Vultow sentences Adrian to death by a firing squad unless Anna-Marie submits to his sexual demands.

Eager to save her husband, Anna-Marie shows a portrait of her great-grandmother to Vultow and explains why the woman is wearing only an ermine cloak.

and proceeds to begin a smoldering dance number on top of a long dinner table in a very seductive manner in an attempt to lure back Vultow from the charms of Anna-Marie.

[2] Aside from one tune retained from the original stage production - "When Hearts Are Young" - the songs for the film were composed by Edward Ward and Al Bryan.