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Overview
Scarlet Dawn is an American romantic film drama first released in 1932,
directed by William Dieterle.
The film is based on a novel by Mary C. McCall Jr. and stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Nancy Carroll, Lilyan Tashman, Guy Kibbee and Sheila Terry.
Our overall rating for this film is: good.
Synopsis
1917. Prince Nikiti Krasnoff is an officer in the Imperial
Russian army. Shortly after returning to his native country after
fighting against the Germans in WWI, Prince Nikiti finds himself caught
up in the Bolshevik uprising. To save his life, the prince
disguises himself as a poor Russian labourer. His loyal household
servant Tanyusha conceals his identity and the two escape across the
Turkish border. In Constantinople, they marry and find menial
work; it is a hard life but they are content. Then, one
day, Nikiti’s former mistress Vera Zimina puts in an unexpected
appearance. She persuades the prince to leave Tanyusha and start
a new life with her in Paris. Missing the life he once knew,
Nikita has no hesitation in joining Vera, but he has second thoughts
when he discovers he that must sell a fake necklace to buy his passage
out of Turkey...
Film Review
Scarlet Dawn is one of the first
films that William Dieterle made after leaving Germany and beginning
his successful career in Hollywood. Despite the obvious
budgetary constraints (Warner Brothers weren’t exactly famous for
throwing money around), the film impresses with its imaginative
chiaroscuro cinematography and set design, which provide an authentic
recreation of the period and location. This is one of the
few American films set at the time of the Russian revolution which
doesn’t get mired in historical detail or degenerate into tacky generic
melodrama once the setting has been established.Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is appropriately cast as the handsome romantic lead, exposing his chest in a few scenes to the delight of his many female admirers (something his illustrious father would never have got away with). Although Nancy Carroll plays the most sympathetic character, and does so with some poignancy, it is the stunning Lilyan Tashman who makes the biggest impression as the voluptuous Russian femme fatale, exuding vile decadence and calculating sensuality in every shot. Not up to Dieterle’s usual standards of excellence, but an engaging and well-crafted film all the same. © filmsdefrance.com 2009 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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