Balalaika (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | balalaika |
| Original title | balalaika |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1939 |
| length | 104 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Reinhold Schünzel |
| script |
Charles Bennett Jacques Deval Leon Gordon |
| production | Lawrence Weingarten |
| music | Herbert Stothart |
| camera |
Karl friend Joseph Ruttenberg |
| cut | George Boemler |
| occupation | |
| |
Balalaika is an American musical romance from 1939. The script is based on the play of the same name by Eric Maschwitz .
action
In Tsarist Russia, Prince Peter, a Cossack officer, falls in love with the singer Lydia. Peter pretends to be a student because he suspects that Lydia, whose brother and father are the leaders of the revolutionary movement, would never be with a member of the Tsar's house. The two fall in love, but the romance is shaken when Lydia Peters discovers true identity when he tries to break up a demonstration with a squadron of his Cossacks. Her brother Dimitri is killed in the mix.
Shortly thereafter, the First World War breaks out. Peter and Lydia are separated when Peter is called to the front against the Germans. At the end of the war, many of Russia's aristocrats sought asylum in Paris. There they find work as taxi drivers and doormen. Peter's friend Nicki opens Café Balalaika in Paris , where many of the exiles meet. Peter and Lydia meet there on New Year's Eve. Both are traumatized by the war and the revolution and are coming back together.
criticism
The lexicon of international films writes about the film: "With the dusty operetta film, the German exiled director Schünzel (" Amphitryon "," Viktor und Viktoria "), who lives in Hollywood, was unable to build on his earlier artistic successes."
Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times described the film as a pretty decent Christmas show.
Awards
1940 was Douglas Shearer in the category Best Sound Oscar nominations.
background
The first performance of the MGM production took place on December 15, 1939. In Germany the film first appeared in cinemas in 1949.
Cedric Gibbons and Edwin B. Willis were responsible for setting the film. The costumes were made by Gilbert Adrian and Arlington Valles.
The following songs are performed in the film: At the Balalaika by George Posford, George "Chet" Forrest and Robert Wright; Tanya , Ride, Cossack, Ride, and Shadows on the Sand by Robert Wright and Chet Forrest; Magic of Your Love by Gus Kahn . Traditional pieces, an excerpt from Carmen by Georges Bizet and the Russian national anthem will be played.
The stage musical was premiered in London on December 22, 1936 and had 569 performances.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Balalaika. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Critique of the New York Times (Eng.)
Web links
- Balalaika in the Internet Movie Database (English)