The Emperor's Candlesticks 1937
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-revolutionary Russia.
Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-revolutionary Russia.
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All 0 Videos & 3 Photoscast
Full Cast & Crew... Baron Stephan Wolensky
... Countess Olga Mironova
... Grand Duke Peter
... Maria Orlich
... Colonel Baron Suroff
... Prince Johann
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews17 Sep 2022 by CinemaSerf
Based on the Baroness Orczy tale of Russian Imperial espionage, this is actually quite a fun, if insubstantial, historical drama. It all centres around attempts to free a Polish dissident from prison. At the time, Poland was a vassal of the Czar, and so a group of influential Poles coerce the Grand Duke "Peter" (Robert Young) to write to his father imploring his intervention. What's this got to do with candlesticks, you might think? Well these clever little ornate gadgets have secret compartments - easy enough to smuggle a letter in. When they are inadvertently moved, then sold-on a few times it falls to Polish agent "Wolensky" (William Powell) to stay one step ahead of his Czarist protagonist "Countess Mironova" (Luise Rainer) and recover them before their secret is discovered and heads start to roll. Of course, you just know that these two are going to start to fall for each other, and sadly that is where the thriller element of this film starts to give way to the romantic one, and once we are in full slush mode, the whole thing rather falls away as we approach an ending that offers us little by way of jeopardy. It's a good looking film, though. Plenty of attractive people in attractive costumes; there is some chemistry between Powell and Rainer and Frank Morgan is quite fun as "Baron Suroff". Franz Waxman provides us with a rather unremarkably derivative score though - a sort of "Scarlet Empress" (1934) type affair that doesn't really help the rather uninspiring dialogue. It's my kind of genre and the Baroness did know how to conjure up a good intrigue, but this is all just a bit too join-the dots.
Directors:
Producers:
Release Date:
Jul 02, 1937 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 29`
MMPA Rating:
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Based on the Baroness Orczy tale of Russian Imperial espionage, this is actually quite a fun, if insubstantial, historical drama. It all centres around attempts to free a Polish dissident from prison. At the time, Poland was a vassal of the Czar, and so a group of influential Poles coerce the Grand Duke "Peter" (Robert Young) to write to his father imploring his intervention. What's this got to do with candlesticks, you might think? Well these clever little ornate gadgets have secret compartments - easy enough to smuggle a letter in. When they are inadvertently moved, then sold-on a few times it falls to Polish agent "Wolensky" (William Powell) to stay one step ahead of his Czarist protagonist "Countess Mironova" (Luise Rainer) and recover them before their secret is discovered and heads start to roll. Of course, you just know that these two are going to start to fall for each other, and sadly that is where the thriller element of this film starts to give way to the romantic one, and once we are in full slush mode, the whole thing rather falls away as we approach an ending that offers us little by way of jeopardy. It's a good looking film, though. Plenty of attractive people in attractive costumes; there is some chemistry between Powell and Rainer and Frank Morgan is quite fun as "Baron Suroff". Franz Waxman provides us with a rather unremarkably derivative score though - a sort of "Scarlet Empress" (1934) type affair that doesn't really help the rather uninspiring dialogue. It's my kind of genre and the Baroness did know how to conjure up a good intrigue, but this is all just a bit too join-the dots.
Cast & Crew of
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
Cast
... Baron Stephan Wolensky
... Countess Olga Mironova
... Grand Duke Peter
... Maria Orlich
... Colonel Baron Suroff
... Prince Johann
... Mitzi Reisenbach
... Anton, the Thief
... Mr. Korum, a Conspirator
... Dr. Malchor, a Conspirator
... Leon, a Conspirator
... Albert, Stephan's Butler
... Pavloff
... Hotel Clerk
... Santuzzi
... Auctioneer
... Anna - Olga's Housekeeper
... Col. Radoff
... Waiter (uncredited)
... Bidder (uncredited)
Produced By
... Producer