Directed by:
Allan DwanCinematography:
Reggie LanningCast:
Nelson Eddy, Ilona Massey, Joseph Schildkraut, Elsa Lanchester, Hugo Haas, Lenore Ulric, Peter Whitney, Ernö Verebes, Rick Vallin, Richard Alexander (more)Plots(1)
Because of his long standing desire to do a western, Nelson Eddy accepted a starring role, as Jim Laurence, in this musical about Russian aristocrats living in 19th Century California. Viewers can decide for themselves whether the term 'western' applies. Natalie Alanova (Ilona Massey) arrives at the Russian settlement at Fort Ross in 1830, and is greeted by Prince Nicolia Balinin (Hugo Haas) and his wife Princess Tanya (Elsa Lanchester). When Natalia catches sight of a group of convicts she looks for her husband Prince Igor Savin (Joseph Schildkraut), among them. Prince Nicolai explains to Natalie that, since the U.S. is taking possession of the territory, his current employee, former soldier Jim Laurence, will be commanding the fort, and will need to validate her papers. When Laurence discovers that she's forged a signature on her papers, she explains that she was forced both to sign and to marry her husband under political pressure. Natalie goes to visit Savin on a prison ship, and he threatens to have her father, who is held by his political associates, killed, unless she uses her influence with Laurence to bargain for his release. For good reason, this proved to be Nelson Eddy's last film appearance. As a warning to those who may see this film, the image of the singing Eddy leading a parade of muzhiks down the main street of Fort Ross might well be indelibly etched in your synapses. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Nelson Eddy
USA
Best movies:
Phantom of the Opera (1943)
Rose-Marie (1936)
Dancing Lady (1933)
Ilona Massey
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
Love Happy (1949)
Invisible Agent (1942)
Joseph Schildkraut
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)
Elsa Lanchester
UK
Best movies:
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Murder by Death (1976)
Hugo Haas
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Skeleton on Horseback (1937)
Morality Above All Else (1937)
Long Live with Dearly Departed (1935)
Lenore Ulric
USA
Peter Whitney
USA
Best movies:
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
The Big Heat (1953)
Ernö Verebes
USA
Best movies:
The Great Sinner (1949)
Houdini (1953)
Copper Canyon (1950)
Rick Vallin
Best movies:
The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955)
Lone Star (1952)
Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949)
Richard Alexander
USA
Best movies:
The Mysterious Lady (1928)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Modern Times (1936)
Henry Brandon
German Empire
Best movies:
The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Pony Express (1953)
Jay Silverheels
Canada
Best movies:
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
Key Largo (1948)
Ray Teal
USA
Best movies:
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
John Bleifer
Russian Empire
Best movies:
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
Call Northside 777 (1948)
Igor Dolgoruki
Best movies:
Days of Glory (1944)
Constantine Romanoff
German Empire
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
After the Thin Man (1936)
The Kid Brother (1927)
Sam Savitsky
Russian Empire
Best movies:
Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
Silver River (1948)
The Last Command (1928)
Max Willenz
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
Michael Mark
Russian Empire
Best movies:
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)
Casablanca (1942)
City Girl (1930)
Henry Kulky
USA
Best movies:
Compulsion (1959)
Call Northside 777 (1948)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)