Balalaika

Director: Reinhold Schunzel Reinhold Schunzel

Overview

In this romantic musical, a Russian prince sees a lovely singer in a town cafe and falls head-over-heels. Realizing that he cannot be seen with her in royal garb, he masquerades as a worker. Later he secretly arranges for her to sing at the Imperial Opera. Unfortunately, his father the emperor is wounded that night by the wicked Reds. The girl's father is among the would-be assassins. Years pass. Just before the dawn of WWII, the girl and her family are exiled to Siberia while the former prince heads for Paris to become a famous nightcub singer. When revolution erupts in Russia, the girl is freed and the lovers are eventually reunited.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/08/2012
UPC:	0883316450260
Original Release:	1939
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	37,915

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Nelson Eddy	Prince Peter Karagin
Ilona Massey	Lydia Pavlovna Marakova
Frank Morgan	Ivan Danchenoff
Charlie Ruggles	Nicki Popoff
Lionel Atwill	Prof. Marakov
C. Aubrey Smith	Gen. Karagin
Joyce Compton	Masha, Lydia's Maid
Dalies Frantz	Dimitri Marakov
Walter Woolf King	Capt. Sibirsky
Phillip Terry	Lt. Smirnoff
Frederic Worlock	Dr. Ramensky
Abner Biberman	Leo
Arthur W. Cernitz	Capt. Pavloff
Roland Varno	Lt. Nikitin
George Tobias	Slaski, the Counterman
Paul Sutton	Anton
William Costello	Capt. Testoff
Paul Irving	Prince Morodin
Mildred Shay	Jeanette Sibirsky
Alma Kruger	Mrs. Danchenoff
Zeffie Tilbury	Princess Morodin
Lee Phelps	Doorman
John Holland	Actor

Technical Credits

Charles Bennett

Leon Gordon

Jacques Deval

Reinhold Schunzel	Director
Charles Bennett	Screenwriter
Leon Gordon	Screenwriter
Jacques Deval	Screenwriter
Lawrence Weingarten	Producer
Eric Maschwitz	Playwright

Editorial Reviews

Balalaika's title, combined with the knowledge that it is an operetta, is enough to let astute viewers know that they are in for a ridiculous romance set in a foreign land (or lands) that is going to depend upon much more heavily upon its score, cast or physical production (or a combination of the three) than upon its screenplay. Indeed, this turns out to be the case, for Balalaika's story is a soppy, derivative and quite artificial one, and the screenplay concocted around it has done nothing to alleviate these conditions. Because of this initial handicap, Balalaika has to struggle to provide real entertainment. Fortunately, the film does have a number of assets to compensate, including star Nelson Eddy. Granted, Eddy does the film few favors in his dialogue scenes, as drama was never his real forte. But his heavenly baritone more than makes up for his histrionic shortcomings, and he is marvelous when singing here. Indeed, his "Silent Night" is stunningly beautiful and also benefits from a very strong presentation in one of director Reinhold Schunzel's nicest and most effective sequences. Co-star Ilona Massey provides glamour and considerably more dramatic skill and more than holds her own in the musical sequences. The sets and costumes are lavish and opulent, and Frank Morgan's rendition of "Land of Dreams" is genuine moving. None of this makes Balalaika a great film, but it does raise the entertainment value significantly.