The Garden of Allah (1936).

The Garden of Allah (1936), Is a dramatic film directed by Richard Boleslawski and produced by David O. Selznick. Based on the 1905 novel of the same name by Robert S. Hichens. Hichens's novel had been filmed twice before, as silent films made in 1916 and 1927. Cast: Marlene Dietrich and Charles Boyer with Basil Rathbone, C. Aubrey Smith, Joseph Schildkraut, John Carradine, Alan Marshal, and Lucile Watson. The music score is by Max Steiner. It was the second film to be photographed in three-strip Technicolor gaining an honorary Academy Award for cinematography. The filming locations were in Buttercup, California and Yuma, Arizona.

After the death of her father, Domini Enfilden returns to Le Couvent de Ste. Cecile, where she grew up, to reunite with her friend,  Mother Josephine. The Mother Superior, advises her to travel to the Sahara Desert, where she might find the answers she is looking for.

Meanwhile, at a Trappist monastery at el Lagarnine in Tunis in Northern Africa, a visitor, Captain de Trevignac, tastes the liqueur for which the monastery is best known for. The liqueur is made from a secret formula by Brother Antoine, who has just fled the monastery, taking the secret with him.

While traveling to the city of Beni Mora, Algeria, Domini meets Antoine on a train, but he says nothing to her.

Later, in a cafe, Antoine can not take his eyes off an exotic dancer named Irena.



When Irena pulls a knife on her lover, Hadj, who will not marry her, the situation gets out of control and Antoine helps Domini escape with her life, and this is when Boris introduces himself as, Boris Androvsky.

The next day, they ride to the Oasis of the city Azur, where they meet Count Ferdinand Anteoni, who tells Domini to wait to travel into the desert until the urge is very strong. When native girls admire the crucifix around Boris' neck, he does not like them hanging on him, so he throws it into the water.

Domini, does not like his violent outbursts and Anteoni warns Domini, "a man who fears to acknowledge his God is unwise to set foot in the desert," and tells them that the Arabs have a saying that the desert is the garden of Allah.

Later, a man tells Domini that something glorious is waiting for her during her travels into the desert, but also gives her a warning.

While out riding, they come to a church. There, Father J. Roubier, who promised Mother Superior he would look out for Domini, notices Boris. Although, the priest warns Domini not to fall in love with Boris, he agrees to marry them the next day.

Following the wedding, Boris and Domini take a caravan into the desert with Domini's guide, Batouch, and Hadj.

One night, Domini lights a torch to guide Boris back to the camp and instead saves a patrol that has been lost for three days. Among the men is de Trevignac. Boris returns and de Trevignac is sure they have met before.

After Batouch serves a bottle of the Lagarnine liqueur, de Trevignac remembers who Boris is and leaves the table in anger. Domini, confused, pleads with Boris to tell her the truth about his past but, he refuses.

The next morning, before De Trevignac and his men leave, he tells Anteoni where the caravan is camped.

At dinner, Anteoni tells the story of the Lagarnine liqueur, which will never again be manufactured as the monk who knew the secret of the liqueur disappeared after taking his final vows. Boris, then states tearfully "that the man had a right to love".

Boris, then shares with Domini about his life at the monastery, where he had lived since childhood under the vow of silence, and spoke with people for the first time when, as an adult he was put in charge of the monastery's hotel.

Believing that no one who loves will be punished by God, Domini agrees to let Boris return to the monastery. At the gates of the monastery, Boris and Domini say good-by for the last time..

 

Fun Facts:

Merle Oberon was originally signed to play Domini, but was "bought off" by David O. Selznick at a cost of $25,000.

Marlene Dietrich's first film in Technicolor.

Gilbert Roland was originally cast as Boris Androvsky.

Among the actors David O. Selznick considered and tested for the role of the monk Boris Androvsky before casting Charles Boyer were Robert Taylor, Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone, George Brent, Laurence Olivier, Fredric March, Brian Aherne, Noel Coward, Maurice Evans, Robert Donat, Ivor Novello, John Gielgud and Jean Gabin.

For the role of Capt. De Trevignac, David Niven, Cesar Romero and Ray Milland were tested before 'Alan Marshal was cast.

The young girl sewing in the first scene at the convent is Marlene Dietrich's daughter, Maria Riva.

This was the first Technicolor film to be shot on location. Yuma, Arizona gave the film makers all the sand dunes they could desire, but contaminated drinking water and 135 degree heat soon had the company in revolt. When the daily rushes showed Boyer's face had burned a bright  red, the remainder of the film was shot on a Hollywood sound stage.

I usually do not enjoy watching movies with this storyline.. but, this film was such fun and beautiful to watch, that I just could not stop watching.. This maybe.. one of my favorite Boyer performances. Color films of the 1930's are a rarity and the cinematography in this film showcased the desert beautifully.

Lucile Watson (May 27, 1879 – June 24, 1962)  began her career on the stage debuting on Broadway in the play Hearts Aflame in 1902.

Her next play was The Girl With Green Eyes, the first of several Clyde Fitch stories.

At the end of 1903, Lucile performed in Fitch's "Glad of It". This play featured several young performers including Lucile who would move on to major Broadway or motion picture prominence: Robert Warwick, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan and Grant Mitchell.

 For the rest of the decade she performed in several more Fitch stories into the 1910s.

Sometime in the 1910s she was briefly married to silent film star Rockliffe Fellowes.Her marriage to Fellows produced no children.

Watson's first film role was in the 1916 silent film The Girl with Green Eyes, a film version of the Clyde Fitch play she had performed in on Broadway in 1902.

She did not appear in another movie until 1930, when she had an uncredited role in, The Royal Family of Broadway.

Watson was primarily a stage actress, starring in plays: Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, Heartbreak House, Ghosts, The Importance of Being Earnest and Pride and Prejudice.

Her second husband was playwright Louis E. Shipman whom she married in 1928. She was widowed in 1933.

Watson reached the height of her adult acting career in playwright Lillian Hellman's anti-fascist dramatic stage play, Watch on the Rhine on Broadway (1941).

Two years later in Hollywood, she and Lukas reprised their roles in the film adaptation. In perhaps her best known film role, Lucile Watson's performance as 'Mrs. Fanny Farrelly' was also acknowledged with a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but she lost to actress Katina Paxinou for her performance as Pilar in, For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Watson died on June 25, 1962, after suffering a heart attack at age 83.

Crossroads(1942).

Crossroads(1942). Mystery directed by Jack Conway. Cast: William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor and Basil Rathbone.

The story begins when, French diplomat David Talbot's marriage and his future plans to be Brazil's ambassador, are threaten after receiving an anonymous letter. Addressed to "Jean," which demands one million francs.

Later, David leaves a the money at the drop-off point, but.. when Carlos Le Duc, retrieves it, he is arrested.

At Le Duc trial, he testifies that the letter was only asking for money owed to him and that he knew David, when he was known as the criminal, Jean Pelletiel.



The next day, eccentric, kind hearted Dr. Tessier, testifies that David had been in a train wreck and suffers from amnesia.

Soon after.. his testimony is challenged by the well respected Dr. Dubroc, then singer Michele Allaine, who back ups Le Duc's story. Next, on the stand is, wine salesman Henri Sarrou, who says that he also knew Pelletier, before he died.

After De Luc's conviction, Sarrou comes to see David and demands one million francs. Sarrou says that he and Pelletier had been partners when Pelletier killed a man during a robbery, then disappeared with all the money. Sarrou, then tells him that Pelletier, has a powder burn on his hand. David, starts to make a call to the police when he sees the mark on his left hand and changing his mind. He now begins to suspect that he is... Pelletier.

The next day, Michele comes to see David and begs him for forgiveness and then warns him about Sarrou. He thinks she is part of the blackmailing scheme and threatens to turn her into the police. She then shows David a locket with a picture of the two of them together.

Later, Michele comes to see David and Lucienne and tries to show Lucienne the locket, but David stops her and tells his wife that Michele had come to apologize for what she said at the trial. Lucienne, begins to wonder what is really going on..

Soon, David receives a 1922 newspaper headline about the robbery. David then goes to see Michele at the night club where she is performing and confronts her, saying that he does not believe Sarrou's story and offers to pay them off. She angrily calls him a fake and tells him to go see Pelletier's mother, who was left penniless.

David goes to see Pelletier's mother, who says he resembles her son but, that is not her son. But, her odd behavior causes David, to believe that he could have been a thief and murderer in his past life.

The next day, Lucienne finds Tessier's address and goes to see him, saying that if David were Pelletier, she would still love him and would sell everything she has to pay Sarrou off.

The next day, Sarrou shows up at David's club, and tells him that Tessier came to see him. Sarrou then demands his money and says that David must bring it that night or the police will be contacted. David goes to Tessier, who tells him that his identity is only thing that matters.

David, goes into a travel agency and buys a single ticket to Saigon. That evening, David sends Lucienne, on ahead to a party at the home of Deval, saying that he has to help a colleague, but will join her later.

After she leaves, David gets a call from Sarrou, who knows about the ticket and threatens him. Meanwhile, at Michele's place, it is revealed that "Mme. Pelletier" is really De Luc's wife.

She leaves just before David arrives, who confesses to Sarrou that he does not have one million francs. Sarrou, suggests that they get the money from his office safe and make it look like a robbery.

Meanwhile, at Deval's, Lucienne sees the colleague with who David was supposed to be working and realizes that he lied to her. She leaves, seeing David and Sarrou, together on the street, she then follows them back to the office.

After David turns off the lights, Sarrou is able to sneak past the guard and take the money after David opens the safe. Lucienne, then arrives by cab and begs David not to go through with the plan, but Sarrou threatens them and orders that she tie David up. Just then, the police arrive and arrest them.

At police headquarters, David admits that he is Pelletier and, when Michele is brought in, he begs her and Sarrou to join him in confessing their past crimes. Is this a trick to bring out the truth or is he really Pelletier?

William Powell, plays a man who is very much in love with his wife and you will be hooked, as evidence begin to reveal, the possibility of his shady past. A must see for all William Powell and Hedy Lamarr fans.

Margaret Wycherly (26 October 1881 – 6 June 1956). She was best known as a stage actress, appearing in one silent film.

In 1929 at the advent of sound pictures she appeared in her second film, but first talkie, The Thirteenth Chair, based on the 1916 play by her husband in which she had starred. The film was directed by Tod Browning and was in the genre of mystery-old house melodrama.

Twelve years later, Wycherley appeared in Sergeant York in 1941. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role of Mother York, though perhaps her best remembered screen role was as "Ma Jarrett", the mother of the psychopathic gangster Cody Jarrett, in White Heat (1949), which starred James Cagney.

Wycherly starred in several popular Broadway plays, including Tobacco Road, Random Harvest, Liliom, Six Characters in Search of an Author and The Thirteenth Chair (which role she reprised in the film of the same name).

Her other films include Keeper of the Flame, The Yearling, Forever Amber, The Man with a Cloak and Johnny Angel starring George Raft.

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929).

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929). Comedy, directed by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay by Hanns Kräly is based on the 1925 play of the same name by Frederick Lonsdale. The film was remade twice, with the same title in 1937 and as The Law and the Lady in 1951. Cast: Norma Shearer, Basil Rathbone and Hedda Hopper.

The story begins as part of a jewel theft ring, Mrs. Fay Cheyney, pretends to be a wealthy Australian widow at a Monte Carlo hotel to get close to Mrs. Webley and her pearl necklace. Mrs. Cheyney, decides the best time to take the necklace during a party at the Webleys'. Dilling, finds her with it and threatens to expose her. Mrs. Cheyney, calls all the guests to her room and confesses. The guests want to call in the police until Lord Elton, who is in love with Mrs. Cheyney, remembers a love letter he wrote her which could put them in a awkward position. Now... what will become of Mrs. Cheyney?

Shearer is her usual charming self and there are some clever twists and turns in this wonderful little film.

Hedda Hopper (May 2, 1885 – February 1, 1966), began her acting career in silent movies in 1915. Her motion picture debut was in, Battle of Hearts (1916). She performed in more than 120 movies over twenty-three years, usually portraying society women. As her movie career began to fade she was offered a career doing something she loved.. gossip.

Her gossip column called "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" debuted in the Los Angeles Times on February 14, 1938. She maintained a on going feud with Louella Parsons, competing fiercely, for the title "Queen of Hollywood".

She was well known for her flamboyant hats. Her hats were so famous that, in the movie, Breakfast in Hollywood (1946), Del Porter, backed by Spike Jones and his City Slickers, sang a  song, "A Hat for Hedda Hopper" while Hopper was sitting in the audience.

She was known for getting a "scoop" before almost anyone else most of the time. Fictional columnist J.J. Hunsecker, played by Burt Lancaster in the film, Sweet Smell of Success, is said to have been inspired in part by Hedda Hopper.

My favorite Basil Rathbone Scene.

My favorite Basil Rathbone scene is from, The Mark of Zorro (1940), an adventure film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Basil Rathbone. I'm a huge fan of movies with duel fighting. In this scene the action unfolds into a wonderful duel between to actors who look as if they are really enjoying what they are doing..
The film was Nominated for Academy Award for the Best original score in the 1941 Academy Awards.

 Based on the Johnston McCulley story The Curse of Capistrano, originally published in 1919, which introduced the masked Zorro, the movie's story is set in Southern California during the early 19th century.

It is about the son of a wealthy ranchero, Don Alejandro Vega who returns to California after studying in Spain, only to become angry at the way the people were being mistreated by Governor Quintero. Don Diego decides to become Zorro, a defender of the people. He falls in love with the governor's niece, Lolita and shares with the governor's wife Inez, how wonderful Madrid is hoping to talk her into moving there with her husband. He also has to fight off the governor's henchman, Captain Pasquale.

This film is a remake of the 1920 silent version, The Mark of Zorro, with Douglas Fairbanks. Its largest claim to fame is the climactic duel toward the end between Zorro and Captain Pasquale. Rathbone was known already in Hollywood as an outstanding Classical fencer.

Basil Rathbone

Basil Rathbone, performed in over 70 films, mostly costume dramas, swashbucklers, and horror films. He usually played suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His most famous role, was that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series. His later career included Broadway and television work; he was awarded a Best Actor Tony Award in 1948. So it is truly a surprise to find him performing in the film: Bathing Beauty (1944). A Musical, with Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone and Esther Williams. At the time of its release, this was MGM's third-highest grossing film, after Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) and Gone with the Wind (1939).

The story is about a songwriter Steve Elliott, who is getting ready to marry Caroline Brooks, who has promised to give up her job as a college swimming instructor once they are married. Steve also plans to quit his songwriting career, even though producer George Adams(played by Basil Rathbone) has already hired him to write new songs for a water ballet show. When George hears Steve talking about his "retirement", he comes up with a plan to stop the marriage and conspires with Maria Dorango, to help him. During the ceremony Maria rushes in, claiming that Steve is her husband and the father of her three redheaded children. Even though Steve says he is innocence, Caroline returns to Victoria College.

In another Basil Rathbone scene: Steve is visited by George, who promises to blackmail him unless he finishes his songs. When Steve swears revenge on the person who hired Maria, George feeling remorseful offers to help Steve do his homework.

In Basil Rathbone's last scene: Maria is on campus, looking to expose George, who has been trying to get rid of her. George unexpectedly arrives, while Maria makes her presence known to Caroline. Later, Steve promises to write songs for George's water ballet show on condition he make Caroline the star. George agrees, and after Maria is finally able to tell Caroline the truth, Caroline reunites with Steve, who then gives George a piece of her mind.

It seems that Basil might have been a little out of his element in this film, but he stills gives a wonderful performance. I'm a little surprised that TCM added Bathing Beauty, to their line up of Basil Rathbone featured films.