The Firebird (1934 film)

Last updated
The Firebird
The Firebird (1934 film).jpg
Directed by William Dieterle
Screenplay by Charles Kenyon
Jeffrey Dell (adaptation)
Based onTűzmadár
1932 play
by Lajos Zilahy
Produced by Gilbert Miller
Starring Verree Teasdale
Ricardo Cortez
Lionel Atwill
Anita Louise
Cinematography Ernest Haller
Edited by Ralph Dawson
Music by Leo F. Forbstein
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. / The Vitaphone Corp.
Release date
  • November 3, 1934 (1934-11-03)
Running time
74-75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Firebird is a 1934 American murder mystery film starring Verree Teasdale, Ricardo Cortez, Lionel Atwill and Anita Louise, directed by William Dieterle and produced and released by Warner Bros. It is based on the 1932 play by Lajos Zelahy. [1] The Firebird suite by Igor Stravinsky is heard occasionally during the film.

Contents

Plot

In Vienna, smarmy matinee idol Brandt moves into an upscale apartment building whose principal tenants are the elite Pointer family: John, Carola and daughter Mariette, who's just turned 18. One day, Brandt encounters Carola on the stairwell and insists she come up to his apartment that night, telling her if she doesn't, he'll tell her husband they had the affair anyway. Outraged, she files a formal complaint with the building's owners, demanding he be kicked out. But before that can happen, he is found dead from a gunshot wound. Naturally suspicion falls on a variety of suspects, most obviously John, and it's up to police inspector Miller to figure out which of them did it. [2]

Cast

Reception

The New York Times reviewer, Andre Sennwald, dismissed it as "an ordinary mystery melodrama." "Among the definite failings of this smoothly filmed edition of Lajos Zilahy's play is the circumstance that, like the original, it conceals the actual murderer from the audience for such an extended period that the motivation for the homicide never becomes completely real." [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Madame Du Barry</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by William Dieterle

Madame DuBarry is a 1934 American historical film directed by William Dieterle and starring Dolores del Río, Reginald Owen, Victor Jory and Osgood Perkins. The film portrays the life of Madame Du Barry, the last mistress of King Louis XV of France. While this film does not serve accuracy to Madame Du Barry, it does feature antiques and jewelry that came from the actual days when Madame Du Barry lived. This film was being edited just as the Hollywood Production Code was gaining real power, and faced many problems with censors of the time. A May 27, 1934, New York Times column, “Studio Activities on the Western Front”, focusing on the “cracking down” of censors noted that a reel and a half had already been cut from the film, including a bedroom scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionel Atwill</span> English and American actor (1885–1946)

Lionel Alfred William Atwill was an English and American stage and screen actor. He began his acting career at the Garrick Theatre. After coming to the United States, he appeared in Broadway plays and Hollywood films. Some of his more significant roles were in Captain Blood (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939) and To Be or Not to Be (1942).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricardo Cortez</span> American actor (1900–1977)

Ricardo Cortez was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career.

<i>The Phantom of Crestwood</i> 1932 film

The Phantom of Crestwood is a 1932 American pre-Code murder-mystery film released by Radio Pictures, directed by J. Walter Ruben, and starring Ricardo Cortez, Karen Morley, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Anita Louise, H.B. Warner, and Pauline Frederick. Morley plays Jenny Wren, who plans to extort money from various wealthy ex-lovers, after she lures them to a ranch called “Casa de Andes” near Crestwood, California. The picture features what Leonard Maltin called an "eye-popping" flashback technique, where the camera seems to whirl from one scene to the next, although William K. Howard had actually pioneered this technique earlier that year in The Trial of Vivienne Ware.

<i>The Alphabet Murders</i> 1965 British film by Frank Tashlin

The Alphabet Murders is a 1965 British detective film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Tony Randall, Anita Ekberg and Robert Morley. It is based on the 1936 novel The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie.

<i>Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon</i> 1943 film by Roy William Neill

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) is the fourth in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of 14 Sherlock Holmes films which updated the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the then present day. The film is credited as an adaptation of Conan Doyle's 1903 short story "The Adventure of the Dancing Men," though the only element from the source material is the dancing men code. Rather, it is a spy film taking place on the background of the then ongoing Second World War with an original premise. The film concerns the kidnapping of a Swiss scientist by their nemesis Professor Moriarty, to steal a new bomb sight and sell it to Nazi Germany. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson have to crack a secret code in order to save the country.

<i>Murder on the Blackboard</i> 1934 film by George Archainbaud

Murder on the Blackboard is a 1934 American pre-Code mystery/comedy film starring Edna May Oliver as schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and James Gleason as Police Inspector Oscar Piper. Together, they investigate a murder at Withers' school. It was based on the novel of the same name by Stuart Palmer. It features popular actor Bruce Cabot in one of his first post-King Kong roles, as well as Gertrude Michael, Regis Toomey, and Edgar Kennedy.

<i>Rendezvous</i> (1935 film) 1935 spy film

Rendezvous is a 1935 American spy film set in World War I, directed by William K. Howard, starring William Powell and Rosalind Russell and featuring Binnie Barnes, Lionel Atwill, Cesar Romero and Samuel S. Hinds. Powell plays an American cryptologist who tangles with German spies while falling in love.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verree Teasdale</span> American actress

Verree Teasdale was an American actress born in Spokane, Washington.

<i>The Case of the Black Cat</i> 1936 film by William C. McGann

The Case of the Black Cat is a 1936 American mystery film directed by William C. McGann and an uncredited Alan Crosland, based on the 1935 Perry Mason novel The Case of the Caretaker's Cat by Erle Stanley Gardner. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as Perry Mason and co-stars June Travis and Jane Bryan in her film debut. The film is the fifth Perry Mason adaptation distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in the 1930s and the first in the series not to feature Warren William as Mason.

<i>Star of Midnight</i> 1935 film by Stephen Roberts

Star of Midnight is a 1935 American mystery comedy film directed by Stephen Roberts. William Powell was loaned to RKO Pictures from MGM to star with Ginger Rogers.

<i>Charlie Chan in Panama</i> 1940 film by Norman Foster

Charlie Chan in Panama is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler. It is an unaccredited remake of Jacques Deval's novel "Marie Galante", produced by 20th Century Fox in 1934, directed by Henry King.

<i>The Secret of the Blue Room</i> 1933 film by Kurt Neumann

The Secret of the Blue Room is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Lionel Atwill, Gloria Stuart, Paul Lukas, and Edward Arnold. A remake of the German film Geheimnis des blauen Zimmers (1932), it concerns a group of wealthy people who stay at a European mansion that features a blue room that is said to be cursed, as everyone who has stayed there has died shortly after. Three people suggest a wager that each can survive a night in the blue room.

<i>Charlie Chans Murder Cruise</i> 1940 film by Eugene Forde

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise is a 1940 murder mystery film starring Sidney Toler in his fifth of many performances as Charlie Chan. It is based on the Earl Derr Biggers 1930 novel Charlie Chan Carries On.

<i>Murder Over New York</i> 1940 film by Harry Lachman

Murder Over New York is a 1940 American mystery film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. The cast also features Marjorie Weaver, Robert Lowery and Ricardo Cortez. Chan must solve a murder mystery while attending a police convention. Shemp Howard plays "Shorty McCoy" in an uncredited appearance.

<i>The Sphinx</i> (1933 film) 1933 film by Phil Rosen, Wilfred Lucas

The Sphinx is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery drama film directed by Phil Rosen. The film was remade by William Beaudine as Phantom Killer in 1942.

<i>The Casino Murder Case</i> (film) 1935 film by Edwin L. Marin

The Casino Murder Case is a 1935 American mystery film starring Paul Lukas and Alison Skipworth. Rosalind Russell is in the supporting cast. It was directed by Edwin L. Marin from a screenplay by Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by S. S. Van Dine. It was the ninth film in the Philo Vance film series.

<i>A Shot in the Dark</i> (1941 film) 1941 film by William C. McGann

A Shot in the Dark is a 1941 American comedy mystery film directed by William C. McGann and starring William Lundigan, Nan Wynn and Ricardo Cortez. It was released by Warner Bros. on April 5, 1941. The film was based on the short story "No Hard Feelings" by Frederick Nebel in the Black Mask magazine. The movie is also a remake of the Torchy Blane film Smart Blonde (1937).

<i>The Murder of Dr. Harrigan</i> 1936 film by Frank McDonald

The Murder of Dr. Harrigan is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Peter Milne and Sy Bartlett. The film stars Ricardo Cortez, Kay Linaker, John Eldredge, Mary Astor, Joseph Crehan and Frank Reicher. The film was released by Warner Bros. on January 11, 1936. A story by Mignon G. Eberhart was the basis for the film.

<i>The Man Who Reclaimed His Head</i> 1934 film by Edward Ludwig

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head is a 1934 American drama film directed by Edward Ludwig and written by Jean Bart and Samuel Ornitz. The film stars Claude Rains, Joan Bennett, Lionel Atwill, Juanita Quigley, Henry O'Neill and Henry Armetta. The film was released on December 24, 1934, by Universal Pictures.

References

  1. "The Firebird". prod.tcm.com. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  2. 1 2 Andre Sennwald (November 15, 1934). "The Firebird (1934): The Screen; Murder of a Disagreeable Actor in 'The Firebird,' the New Photoplay at the Strand". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.