Moscow Nights (1935 film)

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Moscow Nights
Moscow Nights (1935 film).jpg
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Written byErich Seipmann
Anthony Asquith
Based onan unpublished novel by Pierre Benoît
Produced by Alexis Granowsky
Starring Laurence Olivier
Penelope Dudley-Ward
Harry Baur
Cinematography Philip Tannura
Edited by Francis D. Lyon
Music by Muir Mathieson
Production
companies
Distributed by General Film Distributors
Release date
6 November 1935
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Moscow Nights (released as I Stand Condemned in the United States) is a 1935 British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Laurence Olivier, Penelope Dudley-Ward and Harry Baur. The screenplay concerns a wounded officer who falls in love with his nurse.

Contents

Based on a novel by Pierre Benoit, it is a remake of the 1934 French film of the same title. Harry Baur was the only actor to reprise his role from the original. It was shot at Denham and Isleworth Studios, both controlled by Alexander Korda's London Films. [1] The film's sets were designed by the art director Vincent Korda. It was released in the United States by United Artists.

Plot summary

During the First World War a wounded Russian officer Captain Ignatoff falls in love with his nurse. Matters are complicated by the fact that she is already engaged to a wealthy merchant. [2] [3]

Cast

Critical response

Writing for The Spectator in 1935, Graham Greene called the film "completely bogus", and "the worst, as well as the most ballyhooed, film of the year". Asquith and Dudley-Ward were criticized in particular, with Greene describing Asquith's direction as puerile, and Dudley-Ward's acting as "country-house charades". Although Greene praised the acting from the rest of the film's stars, and noted that Asquith's past direction had been characterized by trickery, he commented that "now [Asquith's] bag of tricks seems empty". [4]

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<i>Moscow Nights</i> (1934 film) 1934 film

Moscow Nights is a 1934 French war drama film directed by Alexis Granowsky and starring Annabella, Harry Baur and Pierre Richard-Willm. It is based on a story by Pierre Benoît. The film's sets were designed by the art director Andrej Andrejew. It marked the screen debut of the Corsican singer Tino Rossi, who went on to star in a number of films.

References

  1. Wood p.87
  2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027989/ [ user-generated source ]
  3. BFI.org
  4. Greene, Graham (15 November 1935). "Last Love/Moscow Nights/Oil for the Lamps of China". The Spectator . (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome . pp.  35–36. ISBN   0192812866.)

Bibliography