Maid Of Salem (1937)

 

Maid Of Salem - 1937

Coming up next we have 1937's "Maid Of Salem", a story about a young woman who is wrongly accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.  Her sympathies for those accused and her own origins conspire against her, and only the testimony of a "phantom" can save her.

The film's cast includes Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Harvey Stephens, Gale Sondergaard, Louise Dresser, Benny Bartlett, Edward Ellis, Beulah Bondi, Bonita Granville, Virginia Weidler, Donald Meek, E.E. Clive, Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Sterling Holloway, Zeffie Tilbury, J. Farrell MacDonald, and Lionel Belmore.

Our story takes place in the quiet, Puritan town of Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

A lovely young woman named Barbara Clarke resides there with her aunt.  The two women support themselves by making candles.

On one of her deliveries, Barbara makes the acquaintance of political refugee Roger Coverman of Virginia, who is hiding out with his uncle because of a bounty on his head.  Barbara is quite charmed by Roger, and the two of them begin spending time together secretly.

They have to be careful to not be seen.  Because of the bounty on Roger's head, it is imperative that he stay in the shadows.  The two of them spend as much time as possible together.  However, observers see Barbara on occasion speaking in dark corners with a cloaked figure who does not show his face.  She is also observed dancing with no one occasionally.  Roger eventually has to return to Virginia so that he can clear his name.

Barbara is already a figure well-acquainted with scrutiny.  She loves pretty things, and earns the ire of the elders at church when she appears in something other than Puritan garb.

At one Sabbath meeting, the sin of witchcraft is said to be spreading throughout the surrounding countryside.  Everyone is advised to be on the lookout and guard themselves against the evil that seems to be encroaching on the surrounding area.

The wife of one of Barbara's oldest friends becomes jealous of her and begins to harbor resentment towards Barbara.  This is especially dangerous because the woman is one of a small handful of people who know a secret about her.

Soon, witchcraft seems to reach the town of Salem, with various "outbreaks" being reported.  Mass hysteria breaks out and many people (mostly women) are arrested for having brought the community into contact with the dark arts.

Barbara is warned by her aunt and a friend not to speak out in support of any of the accused.  Her own mother was burnt as a witch in England when someone who hated her fabricated the information with which she was arrested.  Any suspicion cast in her direction would be enough to spell her doom.

However, at a trial Barbara can not sit idly by while her friends are accused and found guilty of witchcraft even though they are completely innocent.  Because she speaks up for them, she is arrested.

At her trial, her acquaintance with a cloaked, faceless figure is brought up.  Because of his situation, Barbara cannot name him, and by doing so seemingly seals her fate.  The information about her mother is also made public by the jealous wife of her friend.  Barbara is sentenced to be hanged.

Roger Coverman's appearance at the eleventh hour puts to rest all of the charges against Barbara.

The two fall into each other's arms as the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony puts an end to the witch trials and orders that the tree on which the accused were hung be destroyed.

Cast rundown:

   Claudette Colbert..............................Barbara Clarke

   Fred MacMurray.................................Roger Coverman

   Harvey Stephens...............................Dr. John Harding

   Gale Sondergaard.............................Martha Harding

   Louise Dresser..................................Ellen Clarke

   Benny Bartlett..................................Timothy Clarke

   Edward Ellis.....................................Elder Nathaniel Goode

   Beulah Bondi....................................Abigail Goode

   Bonita Granville................................Ann Goode

   Virginia Weidler................................Nabby Goode

   Donald Meek....................................Ezra Cheeves

   E.E. Clive.........................................Thomas Bilge

   Madame Sul-Te-Wan..........................Tituba

   Sterling Holloway..............................Miles Corbin

   Zeffie Tilbury....................................Goody Hodgers

   J. Farrell MacDonald..........................Captain Edwards

   Lionel Belmore.................................Tavern Keeper

And that's it for Maid Of Salem.  Taking place between February 1692 and May 1693, the Salem Witch Trials saw the arrest of over 200 people for the crime of witchcraft.  Thirty were found guilty, and nineteen of them were executed.  It has been established that nearly all of them were innocent and were the victims of the mass hysteria and panic that were the result of pamphlets that cautioned and gave instances of witchcraft in the area.

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The Merry Widow (1934)

 

The Merry Widow - 1934

Coming up next we have 1934's "The Merry Widow", a story about a wealthy widow who holds the fate of a European country in the form of her taxes.  The king sends a man to woo her, but it won't be as easy as he hopes.

The film's cast includes Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Edward Everett Horton, Una Merkel, George Barbier, Minna Gombell, Sterling Holloway, Donald Meek, and Ferdinand Munier.

Charming playboy Count Danilo is in distress.  For the first time, he sees a woman in Marshovia, a European kingdom, that he doesn't know.  This woman drives by in her carriage hiding her face behind a mask.

This woman is Madame Sonia, a very wealthy widow.  In fact, she owns 52% of Marshovia, and is one of the most powerful women in the country because of it.  She's beautiful and has a singing voice like an angel.

Danilo sneaks into her estate at night and meets with her.  He tells her that he's longing to make her better acquaintance, but she refuses to remove her veil.  "Tell me, your eyes, are they blue or brown?  Are you pretty or beautiful?," he asks her longingly.  "Gorgeous!" she replies.

Tiring of Danilo's forwardness and presumptuous nature, Sonia sends him on his way and retreats back into her huge home.

As her maids get her ready for bed, we find that Sonia is very dedicated to her mourning.  Everything she wears is black.  Even her dog is black.

Once the maids withdraw, Sonia opens the doors to the balcony and listens to the music from a tavern across the way from her house.  She sings along.  Everyone is captivated as she sings "Vilia".

Soon, Sonia decides that she's through with mourning.  Everything dark is now changed to lighter colors (even the dog!).  She has also made the decision to leave Marshovia and move to Paris.

Furious that Sonia is leaving the country and could possibly get remarried to someone that doesn't have Marshovia's interests at heart and could have her remove her money, the King is desperate for a plan.  He goes to see the Queen and finds her in a compromising situation with the amorous Danilo.  "No, no, Dolores.  That’s not right.  You know well enough I have to go down in history as Achmed the Great.  And how do you cooperate?  Falling in love with the captain of the guard.  That’s hitting below the crown," he tells her.

However, the King gets an idea.  He decides to send Danilo to Paris (a city which he knows very well) in an effort to woo Sonia back to the country.  Danilo is very happy to be going back to his favorite city in the world.

He's going to have to work fast.  There is already quite a line of men who are interested in courting the beautiful Sonia.

Before he gets down to the business at hand, Danilo decides to head for Maxim's "where all the girls are dreams.  Each kiss goes on the wine list, and mine is quite a fine list!"

Sonia follows him there (having heard him pass in the street).  She decides to have a little fun with him.  Since he doesn't know who she is, she pretends that she works in the famous cabaret and goes by the name of Fifi.  Naturally, the flirtatious Danilo wants to spend as much time with this new girl as possible.

During the course of the evening, Sonia finds out that all of Danilo's attentions aren't headed for a long-term commitment.  And she leaves.  Danilo is crushed, having never been refused by a girl before.  He also finds out that he has developed real feelings for "Fifi".

At a party at the Marshovian Embassy, the Ambassador tells Danilo that the King has commanded that he marry Sonia.  Danilo is less than thrilled with the idea of marrying a complete stranger.

However, when they are introduced, Danilo changes his mind.  He now knows that "Fifi" and the masked woman from Marshovia are one and the same.  Sonia isn't happy at all.  But, before the evening is out Danilo has convinced her that he is going to give up his playboy ways for her.

Trouble brews for the couple during the course of the evening in the form of a misunderstanding, and Sonia decides to cast him off forever.

Back home in Marshovia, news that Sonia has refused to marry Danilo has reached the ears of the King and Queen.  "Looks like exile to me," says Queen Dolores, knowing that they will be run out of the country for failing to secure its most wealthy citizen.

The King gets busy packing up the palace.  He gets his crown and wraps it in newspaper so that it can be packed away.

Don't worry.  Everything turns out alright.  Sonia and Danilo do get together, albeit in a very unconventional way engineered by the King.  Danilo tells Sonia that any man who can dance through life with hundreds of women and is willing to walk through life with one should be married.

Cast rundown:

   Maurice Chevalier............................Count Danilo

   Jeanette MacDonald........................Madame Sonia

   Edward Everett Horton.....................Ambassador Popoff

   Una Merkel....................................Queen Dolores

   George Barbier...............................King Achmed II

   Minna Gombell................................Marcelle

   Sterling Holloway............................Orderly Mishka

   Donald Meek...................................Valet

   Ferdinand Munier.............................Jailer

And that's all for The Merry Widow.  This was the final film that Jeanette Macdonald and Maurice Chevalier appeared in together.  Though extremely popular and financially successful and was the top-grossing film of 1934, the two actors were at odds during the filming.  And their relationship was fast deteriorating.  He called her a "prude" and she called him a "bottom pincher".

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