''The Soldier and the Lady'' is the 1937 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

version of the oft-produced 1876

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

novel, '' Michel Strogoff''. Produced by Pandro S. Berman, he hired as his associate producer,

Joseph Ermolieff Joseph N. Ermolieff (1889–1962) was a Russian-born film producer. Ermolieff was a prominent figure in early Russian cinema during the Russian Empire, Imperial era, owning large studios in Yalta and Moscow. He fled to France following the Russian ...

. Ermolieff had produced two earlier versions of the film, '' Michel Strogoff'' in France, and ''

The Czar's Courier ''The Czar's Courier'' (german: Der Kurier des Zaren) is a 1936 German historical drama film directed by Richard Eichberg and starring Anton Walbrook, Lucie Höflich, and Maria Andergast. It is an adaptation of Jules Verne's 1876 novel ''Michael ...

'' in Germany, both released in 1936. Both the earlier films had starred the German actor Adolf Wohlbrück. Berman also imported Wohlbrück, changing his name to

Anton Walbrook Adolf Anton Wilhelm Wohlbrück (19 November 18969 August 1967) was an Austrian actor who settled in the United Kingdom under the name Anton Walbrook. A popular performer in Austria and pre-war Germany, he left in 1936 out of concerns for his o ...

to have him star in the American version. Other stars of the film were

Elizabeth Allan Elizabeth Allan (9 April 1910 – 27 July 1990) was an English stage and film actress who worked in both Britain and Hollywood, where she appeared in 50 films. Life and career Allan was born in Skegness, Lincolnshire in 1910 and educated in D ...

, Margot Grahame,

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character ac ...

Fay Bainter Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early life Bainter wa ...

and

Eric Blore Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appe ...

. RKO Radio Pictures had purchased the rights to the French version of the movie, and used footage from that film in the American production. The film was released on April 9, 1937.

Plot

The Tsar sends courier Michael Strogoff to deliver vital information to Grand Duke Vladimir far away in Siberia. The Tartars, aided by renegade Ogareff, have risen up against the Russian Empire.

Cast

as Michael Strogoff *

as Nadia *

as Ogareff * Margot Grahame as Zangarra *

as Strogoff's Mother *

as Blount *

Edward Brophy Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor and comedian, as well as an assistant director and second unit director during the 1920s. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently ...

as Packer *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...

as Vasiley *

William Stack William Stack (March 5, 1882 – January 15, 1949) was an American actor who began his acting career in Great Britain. Over the course of his career he appeared in over 50 films in the U.S. and the U.K, including such notable films as Mary of S ...

as Grand Duke *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as Tsar *

Michael Visaroff Michael Simeon Visaroff (December 18, 1889 – February 27, 1951) was a Russian American film character actor. Biography Visaroff was born Mikhail Semenonovich Vizarov ( Russian: Михаил Семёнович Визаров) in Moscow, ...

as Innkeeper

Reception

Writing for '' Night and Day'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a mildly positive review, claiming that this version of the film was a great cinematographic improvement of the 1926 classic directed by

Ivan Mosjoukine Ivan Ilyich Mozzhukhin ( rus, Иван Ильич Мозжухин, p=ɪˈvan ɨˈlʲjitɕ mɐˈʑːʉxʲɪn; —18 January 1939), usually billed using the French transliteration Ivan Mosjoukine, was a Russian silent film actor. Career in R ...

. Comparing the film to a "dashing and open-air ... good Western" Greene found the film to be "motivated in the grand manner", and noted that although the film "remains incurably comic even in tragedy", it remains a "simple, passionate and certainly sensuous

ilm Ilm or ILM may refer to: Acronyms * Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product * '' I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1 * Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets * Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion ...

like a poem for boys, and not a bad poem either." (reprinted in: )

References

External links

* * * * 1930s historical adventure films American historical adventure films American black-and-white films Films based on Michael Strogoff RKO Pictures films Films set in Russia Films set in the 19th century American remakes of German films American remakes of French films Films directed by George Nicholls Jr. Films scored by Nathaniel Shilkret 1930s American films 1930s English-language films {{Adventure-film-stub