Tovarich (1937)

 

Tovarich - 1937

Coming up next we have 1937's "Tovarich", a story about displaced Russian nobility who find work in Paris as house servants.  Little do they know that in taking this position they are set to do Russia a very great service.

The film's cast includes Claudette Colbert, Charles Boyer, Basil Rathbone, Anita Louise, Melville Cooper, Isabel Jeans, Maurice Murphy, Gregory Gaye, Fritz Feld, Doris Lloyd, and Ferdinand Munier.

Mikail and Tatiana may seem just like a normal down-on-their-luck couple living in Paris.  However, they are not a normal couple.  He is Prince Mikail Ouratieff and she is his wife, Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna, niece of the last czar.

And while they, themselves, are living in abject poverty, they have some surprising assets, including nearly 40 billion francs entrusted to them by the czar before the revolution.  The President of the Bank of France wants the money to fund a counter-revolution in Russia, touting the couple as being the savior's of Russia should it succeed.  Mikail, however, refuses what he knows will be a fool's errand.

Faced with a lack of personal finances, Mikail and Tatiana read an advertisement in the newspaper.  A wealthy family is seeking a butler and a maid.  They feel they would be perfect for the job, for who could know more about etiquette and what is required of the job than they?

To conceal their identities, they re-invent themselves as "Michel" and "Tina", former servants of the Prince and Grand Duchess.  Of course, they come with nothing but the highest references.

They go to meet with their prospective employers, who are oil-rich Charles and Fermonde Dupont.

They are given lodgings, food, clothes, and the use of the car once a week.  However, they are tasked right away with seemingly insurmountable tasks.  They must locate a lost dog, a lost shoe, mend a dress, and iron a tie...all within the space of five minutes...or else they can hit the pavement.

Everybody is shocked when they actually pull it off.  Nobody, however, is more shocked than "Michel" and "Tina", who are delighted to be able to stay on with the Duponts.

Surprisingly, it is the Dupont's children, Georges and Helene, who take an even greater liking to their new butler and maid.  Impromptu fencing lessons, Russian folk-singalongs, and cocktails abound.

The pair went to spend as much time as possible with the help, even fancying themselves in love (he with Tina, she with Michel).  They take up learning Russian, lose a small fortune at cards, and even want to help with the laying of the table before a New Year's Eve dinner party.

After the table is laid, Madame Dupont informs Michel and Tina who the guest of honor is to be: Soviet Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko.

"Michel" and "Tina" apprise the Duponts of the tactics that Commissar Gorotchenko used on their former employers, the Prince and Grand Duchess, during the Russian Revolution.  Both were tortured and humiliated.  The Duponts are, naturally, shocked and appalled.

"Oh, I do hope you're not going to think about these awful things when you're serving the soup," pleads Madame Dupont.

Events take a turn when during the course of the evening, "Tina" is recognized by one of the guests as Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna and curtsies deeply to her.

The Duponts are absolutely flabbergasted when they realize that they've been employing royalty and now they are to come face to face with the man who caused them untold personal injury.

It turns out that Mikail and Tatiana were not exaggerating.  Commissar Gorotchenko is every bit as nasty as they said he was.

He takes every opportunity of humiliating them during the course of the evening.

He further intrudes upon them when he arrives in the kitchen unannounced.  Tatiana wants him gone.  "But it’s my recollection that once Madame was a Grand Duchess of Russia," says Gorotchenko.  With a fixed gaze, Tatiana replies, "I am always a Grand Duchess."  He then informs her that as such she is the highest ranking lady in the house and therefore the hostess, and any slight to a guest would be a serious breach of etiquette.

Gorotchenko informs them that he came to the house with a purpose.  Knowing that they were there, he wanted to plead with them for the 40 billion francs they are keeping for the czar.  Various factions want to split Russia's oil amongst themselves and he needs the money to be able to keep Russia intact.  Tatiana urges Mikail to give the money, knowing that this is what the czar would wish: to keep Russia whole.  Gorotchenko is sufficiently moved to offer them safe passage to Russia and a few other concessions should they choose to ever return.

They refuse.  After the party is over, Mikail and Tatiana dress to attend a Russian New Year's Eve party, to which they've invited Georges and Helene.  They appear in all their finery (made possible by their winnings from cards).

The Duponts want them to stay on as servants even though they've been outed as a prince and grand duchess.  It takes some doing, as Mikail and Tatiana are determined to leave.

"Oh, why did you have to be born a grand duchess and a prince when good servants are so hard to get?" asks Madame Dupont.  Eventually, "Michel" and "Tina" agree to stay.

They are thrilled that they get to stay in a place where they've been happy.  After embracing, they hurry to their party, where, as Michel says, "You may break everything at a Russian party...windows, lamps, musical instruments, and possibly a few hearts."  Before they go, however, they put out the milk bottles and empty the wastebasket.

Cast rundown:

   Claudette Colbert..............................Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna

   Charles Boyer....................................Prince Mikail Ouratieff

   Basil Rathbone..................................Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko

   Anita Louise......................................Helene Dupont

   Melville Cooper..................................Charles Dupont

   Isabel Jeans......................................Fermonde Dupont

   Maurice Murphy.................................Georges Dupont

   Gregory Gaye....................................Count Frederic Brekenski

   Fritz Feld..........................................Martelleau

   Doris Lloyd.......................................Madame Chauffourier-Dubieff

   Ferdinand Munier...............................Mr. Van Hemert

And that's it for Tovarich.  Screen rights had been obtained so that Marion Davies could star as the Grand Duchess.  However, Warner Bros. ultimately went with Claudette Colbert, which was a major reason Davies left the studio.  Colbert fought with the director for most of the filming.  She demanded that the cinematographer be fired after she felt he wasn't filming her according to her wishes.  She liked to be filmed only from the left side.  Conversely, Charles Boyer liked to be filmed only from the right side.  The director refused to give in to Colbert's demands, resulting in constant feuding for the duration of the filming session.  It's a wonderful film, though.  If you can at all get a chance to view it, grab it!

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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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