The Bride of the Regiment (film)

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The Bride of the Regiment (1930)
Poster for the early Technicolor musical The Bride of the Regiment (1930)
Directed by	John Francis Dillon
Written by	Ray Harris Humphrey Pearson based on the play by Rudolph Schanzer and Ernst Welisch
Starring	Vivienne Segal Walter Pidgeon Myrna Loy Allan Prior Lupino Lane Ford Sterling Louise Fazenda
Music by	Al Bryan Leonid S. Leonardi Edward Ward Al Dubin
Cinematography	Devereaux Jennings Charles Edgar Schoenbaum (Technicolor)
Editing by	LeRoy Stone
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	May 21, 1930
Running time	79 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Bride of the Regiment is a 1930 musical operetta film photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was based on hit play The Lady In Ermine that opened on Broadway in 1922 and ran 232 performances. A new score was written for the film, with only one song ("When Hearts Are Young") being held over from the original show.

Contents 1 Film Plot 2 Pre-Code Sequences 3 Songs 4 Preservation

[edit] Film Plot

A newlywed countess is asked to make a tremendous sacrifice for her husband and herself in this musical comedy-drama. Count Adrian Beltrami (Allan Prior) is an Italian nobleman who on the day of his wedding to Anna-Marie (Vivienne Segal) is driven from his estate by Austrian rebels, who turn his castle their base of operations. While Beltrami maps out a scheme to win back his home, his new bride is left behind to deal with Col. Vultow (Walter Pidgeon) and his minions. The lecherous Vultow offers to grant freedom and safety to Anna-Marie and her husband, but only in exchange for her virtue. Myrna Loy, Ford Sterling, and Lousie Fazenda highlight the supporting cast of this early two-strip Technicolor musical.

[edit] Pre-Code Sequences

The film was full of so much Pre-Code humor that it ran into censorship problems in many area. The film drew large crowds in Chicago where it played as an "Adults Only" feature. The soundtrack reveals some amazingly suggestive dialogue. In one sequence, Myrna Loy (playing a depraved dancer named Sophie) finds out Vultow (Walter Pidgeon) who had previously fallen for her charms and made love to her has met with Anna-Marie (Vivienne Segal) and fallen for her charms and has completely forgotten about her. Sophie declares "I'll get him back! I'll dance until his blood is steaming!" and proceeds to begin a smoldering dance number on top of a long dinner table in a a very seductive manner in an attempt to lure back Vultow from the charms of Anna-Marie. In another scene, Vultow has a conversion with Anna-Marie. He believes he has had sexual relations with her during the previous night. In reality, however, he dozed off after drinking too much liquor and dreamed the entire episode. The conversation runs as follows:

Vultow: "Have you learned that sometimes defeat can be sweet? That even surrender may have its, umm, compensation?

Anna-Marie: "I've learned how a gallant soldier, umm, conducts himself in victory"

Vultow: Merely a question of practice, my dear."

Anna-Marie: "Ha Ha."

Vultow: "My victories have been numerous."

Anna-Marie: "Really?"

[edit] Songs

• "Broken-Hearted Lover" (Sung by Allan Prior)
• "Dream Away" (Sung by Walter Pidgeon and Vivienne Segal)
• "When Hearts Are Young" (Sung by Walter Pidgeon and Extras)
• "In a Gypsy Camp" (Danced by Myrna Loy)
• "Shrimp's Dance" (Danced by Lupino Lane)
• "Soldier Song" (Sung by Walter Pidgeon and Soldiers)
• "You Still Retain That Girlish Figure" (Sung by Lupino Lane and Louise Fazenda)

[edit] Preservation

No film elements are known to survive. The large amount of Pre-Code content, which raised alarm even before the Code began to be enforced (in 1934) may have contributed to the film's disappearance as this would have made the film unacceptable for television back in the 1950's when a number of early Technicolor features were transfered to black and white film. The soundtrack, which was recorded on Vitaphone disks, survives intact.