I Was an Adventuress

I Was an Adventuress
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gregory Ratoff
Produced by	Nunnally Johnson
Screenplay by	Karl Tunberg Don Ettlinger John O'Hara
Based on	J'étais une Aventurière 1938 French film  by Jacques Companéez Herbert Juttke Hans Jacoby Michel Duran
Starring	Vera Zorina Richard Greene Erich von Stroheim Peter Lorre
Music by	David Buttolph
Cinematography	Leon Shamroy Edward Cronjager
Edited by	Francis D. Lyon
Distributed by	Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Release dates	May 10, 1940 (1940-05-10)
Running time	81 min
Country	United States
Language	English

I Was an Adventuress is a 1940 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Vera Zorina, Richard Greene, Erich von Stroheim and Peter Lorre.^[1] Actress/ballerina Countess Tanya Vronsky (Vera Zorina) is a phony countess, working in concert with two international con artists Andre Desormeaux (Erich von Stroheim) and Polo (Peter Lorre).^[2]

Plot summary

Countess Tanya Vronsky acts as bait for notorious jewel thief Andre Desormeaux and his assistant, Polo, on their tour through Europe. Everything goes according to plan until Tanya falls in love with their next target, Paul Vernay. Still, the gang manages to take Paul to the cleaners. After the heist, Tanya announces that she is retiring and goes on to marry Paul. Desormeaux tries to convince her to change her mind, but in vain.

They meet again months later in Paris, and Desormeaux makes another attempt at getting the countess to work with them again. In order to get rid of them for good, she pretends to go along with their plans, but instead sets them up to be caught.

However, her plan is thwarted, and her two accomplices come to her home during a party and pretend to be guests. They manage to steal the guests' jewels and escape from the house without getting caught. Before they leave, Desormeaux blackmails Tanya, threatening to tell Paul about her past if he doesn't get 200,000 Francs.

The theft is soon discovered and Paul and Tanya come after the thieves in their car. On the way Paul gets to hear about Tanya's background and forgives her. While they are away, Polo returns to their house in a sudden change of heart, and gives back the jewels. Meanwhile, Desormeaux is boarding a ship that will take them both to America.

Paul and Tanya come back and discover that the jewels have been returned. They are impressed by Polo's act and forgive him. Tanya entertains her guests at the Vernay mansion, by performing a dance from the ballet "Swan Lake".

Polo then goes to the ship and boards it, pretending to still have the jewels in a briefcase. After boarding the ship he pretends to accidentally drop the suitcase in the water.^[3]

Cast

Notes

• Vera Zorina, whose real name was Brigita Hartwig, was married to dance director George Balanchine.^[4]
• The twelve-minute ballet sequence of Swan Lake was the longest ballet scene to appear in any film to date. For the scene, a $15,000 (equivalent to $253,361 in 2016) all-glass set, the first of its kind, was built using 40,000 square feet (3,700 m²) of ¼-inch plate glass.^[4]

References

External links

• I Was an Adventuress at the Internet Movie Database
• I Was an Adventuress at AllMovie
• I Was an Adventuress at the TCM Movie Database
• I Was an Adventuress at the American Film Institute Catalog