"Bride of the Regiment" (1930) Vitaphone Soundtrack with Surviving Clip!

4 months ago
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☆NOTE: Surviving 22 Second Film Fragment @ 28:52☆

☆PLOT:
During a period in which Austria controlled Italy, during the Austro-Italian War of 1830, Colonel Vultow, leader of Austrian cavalry regiment, is sent to Italy to put down a revolt led by the Lombardian aristocracy. Vultow decides to go to the castle of Count Adrian Beltrami, played by Allan Prior, one of the leaders of the revolution. This happens to be Beltrami's wedding day. As he is emerging from the church following his wedding to Countess Anna-Marie, Beltrami learns that Colonel Vultow is quickly approaching the town in search of him. At the behest of his bride, Beltrami flees the castle, but he asks Tangy, a silhouette cutter, to impersonate him and protect Anna-Marie. When Adrian returns in disguise, he is introduced to Vultow as a singer and silhouette cutter, and when the count demands for him create a silhouette, he enlists Tangy's aid. The deception is discovered, and Vultow sentences Adrian to death by a firing squad unless Anna-Marie submits to his sexual demands.

Eager to save her husband, Anna-Marie shows a portrait of her great-grandmother to Vultow and explains why the woman is wearing only an ermine cloak. Her ancestor once killed a man to protect her honor, and the countess fears she will be forced to do the same. The painting comes to life and Anna-Marie's great-grandmother steps down from the frame and embraces Vultow, now drunk on champagne. He falls asleep and dreams Anna-Marie willingly gives herself to him, and when he awakens, he orders Adrian to be freed in the mistaken belief Anna-Marie is now his. When Vultow receives news that the Italian troops are advancing, he departs, and the count and countess are reunited.

☆Pre-Code sequences:
The film was full of so much Pre-Code humor that it ran into censorship problems in many areas. The film drew large crowds in Chicago where it played as an "Adults Only" feature. The soundtrack reveals some amazingly suggestive dialogue. In one sequence, Myrna Loy (playing a depraved dancer named Sophie) finds out Vultow (Walter Pidgeon) who had previously fallen for her charms and made love to her has met with Anna-Marie (Vivienne Segal) and fallen for her charms and has completely forgotten about her. Sophie declares "I'll get him back! I'll dance until his blood is steaming!" and proceeds to begin a smoldering dance number on top of a long dinner table in a very seductive manner in an attempt to lure back Vultow from the charms of Anna-Marie. In another scene, Vultow has a conversation with Anna-Marie. He believes he has had sexual relations with her during the previous night. In reality, however, he dozed off after drinking too much liquor and dreamed the entire episode. The conversation runs as follows:

Vultow: "Have you learned that sometimes defeat can be sweet? That even surrender may have its, umm, compensation?
Anna-Marie: "I've learned how a gallant soldier, umm, conducts himself in victory"
Vultow: Merely a question of practice, my dear."
Anna-Marie: "Ha Ha."
Vultow: "My victories have been numerous."
Anna-Marie: "Really?"

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