The Guardsman (1931)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Sidney Franklin

Writers:

Ferenc Molnár (play)
Ernest Vajda (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 November 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

An acclaimed actor and his equally acclaimed actress wife, who have been married for less than a year...

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Russian | Actress | Marriage | Infidelity

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Alfred Lunt	...	The Actor
Lynn Fontanne	...	The Actress
Roland Young	...	Bernhardt the Critic
Zasu Pitts	...	Liesl, the Maid
Maude Eburne	...	Mama
Herman Bing	...	A Creditor

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1972-R, 17 January 1936 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Ferenc Molnár's play opened in Budapest in 1911. English versions were staged in London (as "Playing With Fire") and New York (as "Where Ignorance Is Bliss") in 1913. But the definitive English version, adapted by Philip Moeller, opened in New York in 1924 and starred Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

Quotes:

[encouraging the Actor to test his wife's fidelity]
Bernhardt the Critic: Follow her now, or you'll never know. You'll *never* know.
[Actor leaves]
Bernhardt the Critic: Nor will I.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Der Gardeoffizier (1925)

A Classic in Every Regard

Many people seem to regard this film as important simply because it is a living testament to Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontaine's acting. After all, it is the only preserved sound performance in which they have starring roles. In reality, however, the film is not only historically important because of the legends in it; it is one of the most fresh and funny films to emerge from the pre-Code period. The story is irresistible: a vain acting couple constantly insult and tease one another. In order to test his wife's fidelity after a bout, the Actor (Lunt) disguises himself as a foreign guardsman, goes out of his way to meet his wife in disguise, and furthermore goes on to try and seduce her. After he succeeds, he reveals himself, furious at her perfidious attitude. The Actress (Fontaine) begins laughing, claiming that she knew all along. At first dubious, the Actor is eventually convinced that his wife was playing along with him, and the two romantically embrace. The Actress looks at the camera and gives the most priceless look, letting the audience know that she may not have really known all along... Lunt and Fontanne make this film come to life. There dominating presence creates a satirical and realistic portrait of what an egomaniacal acting couple's life might really be like.

In addition, there are some priceless supporting roles: Maude Ebourne as a sarcastic maid, Zasu Pitts as a strange (to say the least) servant, Roland Young, and always-reliable Herman Bing as "a creditor." Sidney Franklin, perhaps the most unjustly forgotten of all screen directors (his classics include Private Lives, Smilin' Through, The Good Earth, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, and The Dark Angel), adroitly guides the ensemble, allowing the acting to take center-stage but never neglecting the details so important to cinema. In all, this short, fast-paced romp with two bona fide legends of American stage history is an essential lesson in screen comedy and romance. Although the Lunts, when asked to do later film work, replied "We can be bought but we can't be bored!" there is absolutely no sign of unenthusiasm on screen here. Each earned an Oscar nomination for their performance in The Guardsman, and they left their indelible stamp, albeit only for a short eighty some-odd minutes, on American motion picture history.