5.1
It's a tale of power and passions when a Russian siren, who wants the finer things in life, sinks her hooks into a judge, a decadent aristocrat and an estate superintendent, with surprising results.
George Sanders
Fedja Michailovitch Petroff
Linda Darnell
Olga Kuzminichna Urbenin
Anna Lee
Nadina Kalenin
Edward Everett Horton
Count "Piggy" Volsky
Hugo Haas
Anton Urbenin
Laurie Lane
Clara Heller
John Philliber
Polycarp
Sig Ruman
Kuzma
John Abbott
Lunin
Mary Servoss
Mrs. Kalenin
André Charlot
Mr. Kalenin
Robert Greig
Gregory
Nina Koshetz
Gypsy Singer
Paul Hurst
Orloff
Charles Trowbridge
Doctor
Don Brodie
Bit Player (uncredited)
Jimmy Conlin
Man Mailing Letter (uncredited)
Byron Foulger
Clerk in Newspaper Office (uncredited)
John Kelly
Bit Player (uncredited)
Kate MacKenna
Woman with Umbrella (uncredited)
Mike Mazurki
Tall Policeman Bending Over Petroff (uncredited)
Sharon McManus
Beggar Child (uncredited)
Fred Nurney
Judge in Kharkov (uncredited)
Frank Orth
Cafe Maitre d' at End (uncredited)
Sarah Padden
Beggar Woman (uncredited)
Constance Purdy
Dinner Guest (uncredited)
Elizabeth Russell
Dinner Guest Offended by Kuzma (uncredited)
Ann Staunton
Dinner Guest (uncredited)
Charles Wagenheim
Bit Part (uncredited)
Director, Adaptation, Writer
Douglas Sirk
Novel
Anton Chekhov
Screenplay
Rowland Leigh
Writer
Robert Thoeren
April 4, 2022
6
George Sanders is the local magistrate "Petroff" in Czarist Russia in 1912. He is contentedly engaged to his rather uninspiring fiancée "Nadena" (Anna Lee) when he encounters the temptress peasant "Olga" (Linda Darnell). She quite literally knocks this otherwise pillar of the community figure off his feet much to the chagrin of "Nadena" who tells him to get lost. Turns out, "Olga" is a bit of a gold-digger, and when she has an affair with his close friend "Count Volsky" (Edward Everett Horton), "Petroff" is livid - and tragedy ensues. It's based on the Chekhov "Shooting Party" play and is a fair adaptation at that. Sanders and Darnell are well matched by director Douglas Sirk and the machinations of all concerned flow quite well. The production is a bit on the basic side, I'm not sure I recall any outside scenarios, but there is a good supporting cast (Hugo Haas and the usually reliable John Abbott) and the arrival of the Russian Revolution adds an extra twist to what can be, at times, just a little too melodramatic a romance. No, it isn't a great film - but it is quite enjoyable.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00