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

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

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 extraor ...

novel, '' Michel Strogoff''. Produced by

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal ...

, he hired as his associate producer, Joseph Ermolieff. Ermolieff had produced two earlier versions of the film, '' Michel Strogoff'' in France, and '' The Czar's Courier'' 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 to have him star in the American version. Other stars of the film were Elizabeth Allan, Margot Grahame,

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tamiroff developed a pr ...

, Fay Bainter and Eric Blore. 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

* Anton Walbrook as Michael Strogoff * Elizabeth Allan as Nadia *

as Ogareff * Margot Grahame as Zangarra * Fay Bainter as Strogoff's Mother * Eric Blore as Blount * Edward Brophy as Packer *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American character 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 returned for ...

as Vasiley * William Stack 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 as Innkeeper * Leonard Ceeley as Tsar's aide (uncredited)

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 novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

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. 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 ilmlike 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 English-language historical adventure films {{1930s-adventure-film-stub