Screenplay:
Samson RaphaelsonCinematography:
Leon ShamroyCast:
Betty Grable, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Cesar Romero, Walter Abel, Reginald Gardiner, Whit Bissell, David Bond, Harry Davenport, Belle Mitchell, Don Haggerty (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
That Lady in Ermine tells two parallel stories, both taking place in the small Mittel-European duchy of Bergamo, but one set in the 19th century and the other in the 16th. In 1861, the Countess Angelina (Betty Grable) and her newlywed husband, Baron Mario, have just entered the bridal chamber when a Hungarian army regiment under the command of Colonel Teglash (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) invades. Mario flees the castle, leaving Angelina to face the invaders, just as her 16th --century ancestor Francesca (also Betty Grable) was forced to protect her turf under similar circumstances. Colonel Teglash is struck by a portrait of Francesca (the lady in ermine of the title), and the resemblance between her and Angelina makes it difficult for him to rule with his customary iron fist. Meanwhile, Francesca haunts the dreams of both Angelina and Teglash. She appears to advise Angelina to pretend interest in the colonel and then kill him, much as she herself did so many years ago. At the same time, Teglash dreams that Francesca/Angelina overcomes the desire to kill him and falls in love with him. The 19th-century couple play out their story against the backdrop of Francesca's own tale, but with the twist that Angelina really does find herself caring for Teglash. Although the direction is credited to Ernst Lubitsch, he died after 8 days of filming; the film was completed by Otto Preminger. - Craig Butler, All Movie Guide (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Betty Grable
USA
Best movies:
The Gay Divorcee (1934)
I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
Follow the Fleet (1936)
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
USA
Best movies:
The Great Manhunt (1950)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
The Three Musketeers (1921)
Cesar Romero
USA
Best movies:
Tales of Manhattan (1942)
The Racers (1955)
The Thin Man (1934)
Walter Abel
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
Mr. Skeffington (1944)
Reginald Gardiner
UK
Best movies:
The Great Dictator (1940)
The Lodger (1927)
The Flying Deuces (1939)
Whit Bissell
USA
Best movies:
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
The Defiant Ones (1958)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
David Bond
USA
Best movies:
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Lust for Life (1956)
Julius Caesar (1953)
Harry Davenport
USA
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Little Women (1949)
Belle Mitchell
USA
Best movies:
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)
Lust for Life (1956)
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Don Haggerty
USA
Best movies:
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Dirty Harry (1971)
The Desperate Hours (1955)
Edmund MacDonald
USA
Best movies:
Texas (1941)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Detour (1945)
Harry Cording
UK
Best movies:
East of Eden (1955)
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
Ray Hyke
USA
Best movies:
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Red River (1948)
Harry Carter
USA
Best movies:
Laura (1944)
The Proud Ones (1956)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Francis Pierlot
USA
Best movies:
Song of Love (1947)
Strike Up the Band (1940)
Madame Curie (1943)
Jack George
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
Joe Haworth
USA
Best movies:
Spartacus (1960)
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)