''Salome, Where She Danced'' is a 1945 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

, directed by

Charles Lamont Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was an American filmmaker, known for directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed nine Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography ...

and starring:

Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film star and sex symbol in the 1940s a ...

, Rod Cameron and Walter Slezak. The film follows the adventures of a dancer in 19th-century Europe and the United States. It is loosely based on the story of Lola Montez. Choreography was by Lester Horton.

Plot

The film opens in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in 1865, shortly after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. A

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

, Jim Steed, exchanges comments with Count von Bohlen, an arrogant Prussian army officer serving as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. A year later, Steed is in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

shortly before the outbreak of the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

of 1866. There, he encounters a famous dancer, Anna Marie, whom he persuades to spy for him on von Bohlen, now a member of the Prussian general staff, who has become infatuated with her. The secret plans, though, which they manage to pass on to the Austrians, are unable to prevent the decisive Prussian victory. Escaping Vienna just ahead of the conquering Prussian army, they journey to the United States, where they plan to organize a career for her in show business. Stopping in a small western town to stage a show, they choose the exotic ''

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

'' for her debut, but it is robbed at gunpoint by local desperados. After the money is recovered from the bandits, the town elders decide by popular acclaim to rename the settlement "Salome, Where She Danced". The bandit leader, Cleve Blunt, an ex- Confederate soldier, develops a romantic interest in Anna Marie and accompanies her on the journey westward. After moving on to San Francisco, they persuade a wealthy Russian colonel to back her career. Just as she is set to make a success, the arrival of Count von Bohlen seeking revenge leads to a final confrontation.

Cast

as Anna Marie * Rod Cameron as Jim Steed * David Bruce as Cleve Blunt * Walter Slezak as Col. Ivan Dimitrioff * Albert Dekker as Count Erik von Bohlen * Marjorie Rambeau as Madam Europe * J. Edward Bromberg as Prof. Max *

Abner Biberman Abner Warren Biberman (April 1, 1909 – June 20, 1977) was an American actor, director, and screenwriter. Ruthless-looking, he was in demand to portray a wide variety of heavies and foreign nationalities during the Golden Years of Hollywo ...

as Dr. Ling * John Litel as General Robert E. Lee * Kurt Katch as Count Von Bismarck * Richard Alexander as Shotgun (uncredited) * Larry Steers as Party Guest (uncredited)

Production

The project had originally been connected to

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

in 1941, but it was acquired by producer Walter Wanger. He envisaged it as "an

Arabian nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

story in a Western setting". The film was loosely based on a short story inspired by the Arizona legend about a town, "Drinkmens Wells", which came to be known as "

Salome, Where She Danced ''Salome, Where She Danced'' is a 1945 American Technicolor western (genre), Western drama film, directed by Charles Lamont and starring: Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron (actor), Rod Cameron and Walter Slezak. The film follows the adventures of a da ...

". The story was about a Mexican dance-hall performer called "Salome", who danced to hold the attention of a group of outlaws and give the law-abiding members of the town enough time to assemble and arm in protection of their homes. The script expanded the story to incorporate characters such as Robert E. Lee and Bismarck.

Casting

Yvonne De Carlo had been under contract to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and had been short-listed for important roles in '' The Story of Dr Wassell'' and '' Rainbow Island'' without actually being given them. She was cast in September 1944. Wanger later said he discovered her by looking at a camera test of another actor in which de Carlo also appeared. Another source says 21 Royal Canadian Air Force bombardier students who loved her as a pinup star campaigned to get her the role. De Carlo later said this was done at her behest; she took several pictures of herself in a revealing costume and got two childhood friends from Vancouver, Reginald Reid and Kenneth Ross McKenzie, who had become pilots, to arrange their friends to lobby on her behalf. The crew at Universal was set to shoot a wardrobe test for Ava Gardner on a sound stage at Universal. Gardner did not show, and art director Alexander Golitzen ran to producer Walter Wanger's office, asking: "Walter, what the hell is happening?" Wanger replied: "MGM just called, they wouldn't let her go." Yvonne De Carlo was in waiting room with her agent and Golitzen said: "Why don't we test her." Golitzen grabbed De Carlo and raced her to the wardrobe department, and that was it. Golitzen also received an associate production credit for the film. 'Sic, passim''"An Oral History with Alexander Golitzen" by Barbara Hall, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California 1992. (Page 71-73)

Shooting

Filming took 64 days at a budget of almost $1.2 million.

Reception

On its release, the film received one of the worst critical receptions of any of Wanger's films. Nonetheless, the film made a profit of $149,387 and launched Yvonne de Carlo as a star.

References

External links

''Salome, Where She Danced'' at IMDBReview of film
at ''Variety'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salome Where She Danced 1945 films 1940s historical romance films 1945 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films directed by Charles Lamont Films set in 1865 Films set in 1866 Films set in Virginia Films set in Vienna Films set in Prussia Films set in San Francisco Universal Pictures films Films produced by Walter Wanger American historical romance films Films scored by Edward Ward (composer) 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language romantic drama films English-language historical romance films