Bride of the Regiment
Bride of the Regiment | |
---|---|
Rudolph Schanzer and Ernst Welisch | |
Produced by | Robert North |
Starring | Vivienne Segal Walter Pidgeon Myrna Loy |
Cinematography | Devereaux Jennings Charles Edgar Schoenbaum |
Edited by | LeRoy Stone |
Music by | Edward Ward |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Bride of the Regiment is a 1930
Plot
During a period in which Austria controlled Italy, during the Austro-Italian War of 1830, Colonel Vultow, leader of Austrian cavalry regiment, is sent to Italy to put down a revolt led by the Lombardian aristocracy. Vultow decides to go to the castle of Count Adrian Beltrami, played by Allan Prior, one of the leaders of the revolution. This happens to be Beltrami's wedding day. 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. When Adrian returns in disguise, he is introduced to Vultow as a singer and silhouette cutter, and when the count demands for him create a silhouette, he enlists Tangy's aid. 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. Her ancestor once killed a man to protect her honor, and the countess fears she will be forced to do the same. The painting comes to life and Anna-Marie's great-grandmother steps down from the frame and embraces Vultow, now drunk on champagne. He falls asleep and dreams Anna-Marie willingly gives herself to him, and when he awakens, he orders Adrian to be freed in the mistaken belief Anna-Marie is now his. When Vultow receives news that the Italian troops are advancing, he departs, and the count and countess are reunited.
Pre-Code sequences
The film was full of so much
- Vultow: "Have you learned that sometimes defeat can be sweet? That even surrender may have its, umm, compensation?
- Anna-Marie: "I've learned how a gallant soldier, umm, conducts himself in victory"
- Vultow: Merely a question of practice, my dear."
- Anna-Marie: "Ha Ha."
- Vultow: "My victories have been numerous."
- Anna-Marie: "Really?"
Cast
- Vivienne Segal as Countess Anna-Marie
- Allan Prior as Count Adrian Beltrami
- Walter Pidgeon as Colonel Vultow
- Ford Sterling as Tangy
- Myrna Loy as Sophie
- Lupino Lane as Sprotti
Songs
- "Broken-Hearted Lover" (Sung by Allan Prior)
- "Dream Away" (Sung by Walter Pidgeon and Vivienne Segal)
- "When Hearts Are Young" (Sung by Walter Pidgeon and Extras)
- "In a Gypsy Camp" (Danced by Myrna Loy)
- "Shrimp's Dance" (Danced by Lupino Lane)
- "Soldier Song" (Sung by Walter Pidgeon and Soldiers)
- "You Still Retain That Girlish Figure" (Sung by Lupino Lane and Louise Fazenda)
Production
The film is notable as the first Technicolor feature to include an outdoor sequence filmed at night, a difficult task due to the lighting that was necessary for Technicolor photography at that time.
Critical reception
The quality and beauty of the Technicolor photography was universally praised. One reviewer proclaimed that it was "one of the most thrilling and at the same time pictorially beautiful picture that has reached the screen for a long time. The color is clear, brilliant and remarkable for its depth, giving an illusion of third dimension."[4] Another reviewer noted the "beautiful indoor shots and the brilliance of its parade of costumes."[5]
Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times observed, "The dialogue here may be suited to an operetta on the stage, but it is scarcely suited to scenes in a picture ... As one witnesses the scenes being unfurled, it seems as though the actors were enjoying this film so much they did not care whether audiences found it entertaining or not."[6]
Preservation status
The only known surviving fragment is a 20 second long clip found in 2023. The large amount of
See also
- List of lost films
- List of incomplete or partially lost films
- List of early color feature films
- List of early Warner Bros. sound and talking features
References
- ^ For example see the August 23, 1930 issue of The Chicago Daily Tribune with an article entitled Adults May See This Film, Censors Rule on page 9.
- ^ a b Reading Eagle – July 20, 1930 – Page 10
- ISBN 0-7864-2029-4, pp. 188-89
- ^ Prescott Evening Courier – September 1, 1930 – Page 4
- ^ The Montreal Gazette – November 12, 1930 – Page 7
- ^ The New York Times review